The Department of Contemporary Art is responsible for the acquisition, study and display of art created from 1955 to today. Contemporary art at the MFA encompasses many media including film and video art, sculpture, installation, photography, paintings, design, craft, decorative arts and performance. In September 2011, the Museum opened its renovated Linde Family Wing as a space dedicated to contemporary art, vastly expanding the department’s capacity for exhibition.
The Department of Contemporary Art is seeking highly motivated research interns to build the research files for objects in the collection: creating, organizing, and maintaining object files, identifying gaps in documentation, and gathering relevant research material. The interns will research exhibition, publication, and provenance history and ensure that this information is properly documented in both the object files and our electronic database.
Interns will have the opportunity to write and contribute to texts, with a focus on recent acquisitions and objects slated for exhibition. He/she will use the materials gathered to draft preliminary interpretive texts for exhibition which will be used in the galleries and online. Projects will be assigned based on the needs of the curators and the intern’s interests and skills.
This is an unpaid position, working under the Contemporary Art Department curators. It offers an opportunity to gain invaluable practical experience by learning first-hand about museum work and personally contributing to the study of one of the most dynamic and varied collections in the Museum. Over the course of the internship, the Research Interns will:
• Become familiar with the Museum’s world-renowned collections and in particular the collection of contemporary art
• Get a firsthand view of how a curatorial department functions
• Learn Museum standards for editing text and formatting information
• Draft and edit object-related texts and gallery-specific text panels with a focus on the general visitor
• Work collaboratively with the curators and interact with staff across the Museum
Qualifications:
• Enrollment in, or recent graduation from, a B.A. (if currently enrolled, juniors and seniors only), M.A. or M.F.A. program in Art History, History of Decorative Arts, Museum Studies, Arts Administration or Art program, or B.S. or M.S. program in Library or Information Science with an interest in museums.
• Demonstrated written and communication skills
• Familiarity with computer databases
• Careful attention to detail
• Ability to commit at least 10-15 hours per week through mid August (Those interested in continuing their internship beyond the summer are welcome to apply, as this opportunity could be extended into the fall semester.)
• Ability to attend orientation on Tues, May 28 99am-12pm) or Tues, june 11 (9am-12pm)
• *Candidates selected for interview may be requested to submit a writing sample of no more than 500 words with professor’s comments