Art Bridges Summer 2025 Internships

Art Bridges Summer 2025 Internships

About Art Bridges Foundation

Art Bridges Foundation is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. Since 2017, Art Bridges has created and supported projects that bring outstanding works of American art out of storage and into communities. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of nearly 250 museums of all sizes and locations on nearly 900 projects—impacting more than 5.3 million people across 49 states and Puerto Rico—to provide financial and strategic support for exhibition development, loans from the Art Bridges Collection and Partner Loan Network, and programs designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local audiences. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices. For more information, visit artbridgesfoundation.org.

Required Documents to Apply

Please provide a copy of your resume and a cover letter explaining your interest in the Art Bridges Internship Program. In your cover letter, please list your top three preferred internship positions and indicate if you are open to being interviewed for other summer internships at Art Bridges. If desired, you are also welcome to include a writing sample, though this is not required.

The Art Bridges Internship Program and Summer Residency

Since its launch in 2020, the Art Bridges Internship Program has hosted over 60 students and emerging arts professionals from across the country in positions throughout the foundation. Our Internship Program is committed to providing a wide array of professional development opportunities to individuals with any level of experience or exposure to working in the arts, nonprofits, or philanthropic organizations.

The Art Bridges Internship Program Summer Residency is an eight-week opportunity for interns to gain hands-on experience working on-site at the Art Bridges office. Art Bridges summer interns will live and work in Bentonville, Arkansas full-time for the duration of their residency, with travel cost coverage, housing, bikes, and additional benefits provided by Art Bridges. Summer interns will participate in a wide range of events such as cultural site visits, guest lectures, professional development workshops, and networking opportunities (please see “Residency Inclusions and Events” for further details). Our intern events prioritize the incorporation of interns into Art Bridges’ work culture at all possible levels, and emphasize themes of professional development, personal growth, and peer collaboration, which summer interns will experience fully over the course of their residency.

Job Description

Position: Art Bridges Summer 2025 Intern

Position Type: Paid internship, in addition to travel and housing support.

In-person, full-time (35 hrs/wk) in Bentonville, Arkansas for eight-week residency (June 2-July 25, 2025).

Number of Available Positions: 12

Internship positions are available across Art Bridges departments and programs, including the Cohort Program, Curatorial, Evaluation, Fellows and Internship Programs, Funding & Awards, Learning & Engagement, Marketing & Communications, Operations, Partner Loan Network, Partnership Development, Registration, and Traveling Exhibitions.

Timeline:

               Applications Due by: January 10, 2025

               Interns Selected by: March 14, 2025 

               Interns Start: June 2, 2025

About the Positions

The Art Bridges Internship Program seeks twelve interns for the summer 2025 term.

In your cover letter, please list your top three preferred internship positions and indicate if you are open to being interviewed for other summer internships at Art Bridges. Candidates will be evaluated for their top three internship positions and, if the candidate consents, considered for summer internships in additional departments.

Hiring departments include:

Cohort Program:

• Fosters collaborative efforts among institutions across the country by creating museum groupings in which larger museums select a group of regional museums to collaborate on multiyear exhibitions, community programming, and shared resources.

Curatorial:

• Stewards the research and presentation of the Art Bridges Collection, conducting object research, label copy writing, and exhibition consultation discussions with Art Bridges partners.

Evaluation:

• Helps partners collect data to better understand audiences, measure program impact, and make responsive, visitor-centered decisions.

Fellows and Internship Programs:

• Provides new and emerging arts professionals with opportunities to immerse themselves in museum and nonprofit operations through fellowships at Art Bridges partner institutions and training Interns in the Art Bridges office, including program planning, professional development workshops, and mentorship.

Funding & Awards:

• Oversees the distribution of awards to Art Bridges partners, providing assistance to partners throughout the award-making lifecycle, including communicating Art Bridges funding priorities to potential partners, application review, reporting, and maintaining and updating records.

Learning & Engagement:

• Collaborates with Art Bridges partners to activate their loans and create community engagement through multidisciplinary, community-building, and transformative programs.

Marketing & Communications:

• Manages communications and content relevant to Art Bridges’ brand and core programs through press interactions and coverage, social media, Art Bridges’ monthly newsletter, and developing organizational content.

Operations:

• Manages key organizational initiatives and projects that ensure the seamless execution of strategic goals, focusing on strategic planning, business operations, project management, systems implementation, and process improvement to enhance operational efficiency.

Partner Loan Network:

• Brings art out of storage and into communities across the country by partnering with museums that have extensive American art collections available for long-term loans at partner museums.

Partnership Development:

• Leads Art Bridges’ national partner growth and museum engagement efforts by coordinating outreach across the foundation, promoting Art Bridges core programs and driving interest in partnering with Art Bridges across the country.

Registration:

• Monitors, maintains, and updates the policies and care measures considered for objects within the Art Bridges Collection. Oversees the transportation, handling, and care of objects across Art Bridges Collection and initiatives, ensuring the safe transportation, installation, and deinstallation of objects.

Traveling Exhibitions:

• Engages with museums of all sizes to develop and travel exhibitions drawn from a single institution’s collection, supporting the creation, preparation, and presentation of traveling exhibitions with lending and borrowing partners across the country.

Summer Residency Inclusions and Events

• Travel and housing supported by Art Bridges
• Free rental bikes for the summer upon request
• Site visits to regional cultural institutions
  • Past trips include: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Momentary, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange (CACHE), and a day trip to Tulsa, OK (Philbrook Museum of Art, Greenwood Rising, the Gathering Place).
• Participation in the Art Bridges Speaker Series (in person or virtual)
  • Past guests include: Jason Herrick (Chief Philanthropy Officer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art), Nisa Mackie (Director of Learning & Audience Engagement, MoMA)
• Professional development workshops and trainings
  • Past topics include: resume building, cover letter writing, curriculum vitae development, job interview preparation
  • Networking opportunities with staff across Art Bridges and within other regional cultural institutions and organizations
• Intern-led public speaking program, This American Art Life, in which summer interns present on current art news with support of the Curatorial department
• Additional recreational and social activities such as social mixers with interns across Bentonville and staff events

Candidate Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a university degree program (at the undergraduate or graduate level) or a recent graduate (<1 year) with an interest in entering the workforce as an emerging arts professional
• Enthusiasm for working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and ability to work effectively in a team and independently
• Strong organizational and coordination skills with attention to detail
• Effective time-management skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 and familiarity with CRM systems and research and Web-based search tools is strongly preferred

Application Requirements

Please provide a copy of your resume and a cover letter explaining your interest in the Art Bridges Internship Program. In your cover letter, please list your top three preferred internship positions and indicate if you are open to being interviewed for other summer internships at Art Bridges. If desired, you are also welcome to include a writing sample, though this is not required.

Candidates will be evaluated for their top three internship positions and, if the candidate consents, considered for summer internships in additional departments.

Work Schedule

This is a full-time (9am-5pm, lunch break from 12-1pm), Monday to Friday, in person role. Our Flexible Work Policy allows an option to work one day per week from home between Tuesday and Thursday. Occasional evening or weekend work may be required.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical demands: Occasionally, while performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to travel independently, regionally, and in communities served. This position requires working at a desk and utilizing a computer and a telephone for prolonged periods of time and good eye/hand coordination, bending and stretching for filing, and physical stamina to lift a minimum of 25 pounds to a height of at least three feet for art materials storage and preparation and as appropriate for the demands of the office. Visual acuity to review written materials is required for this job.

Work environment: Work will be performed in an office environment, museum spaces, and in communities served. Occasional evening and weekend hours may be required. The noise level in the office is usually low to moderate.

Computer equipment: Laptops will be provided to interns.

Art Bridges and DEAI

At Art Bridges, diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are central to all work and decisions made within our organization. We support our colleagues and partners in learning and growing together to make this important work part of our daily lives.

Art Bridges is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building and maintaining a culturally diverse workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. We encourage all qualified applicants including women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.

All offers of employment are contingent on your successful completion (where permitted by state law) of a confidentiality agreement and background check. In addition, you will need to provide proper identification verifying your eligibility to work in the United States on your first day of work.