During our semester in New York City, we had the option of having an internship or having extra studio time on Tuesday and Wednesday of every week. I recently interviewed two of my classmates, Jada Haynes and Le-Tone Wei, and will also be sharing my experiences interning at Gagosian Gallery.
Jada Haynes (B.F.A. ’19)- The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Internship at the concert and lectures department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Summary: Learned a lot about how The Met operates, being such a large museum. Jada noted that there are several departments at the museum and that they all work together while still being separate. She went to a symphony concert, saw how they record and edit performances, and interviewed with different staff in the educational department. Jada mentioned that many of the employees are also working artists.
Take-away: For the future, Jada wants to intern at a smaller museum, a not-for-profit, or for a commercial gallery. “I want to absorb as much as I can right now and see what sticks and what doesn’t,” she said.
Le-Tone Wei (B.F.A. ’19) – The Time In Children’s Arts Initiative: a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children from underserved schools.
Summary: Brought kids to Time In’s studio in Harlem, where artists and opera singers exposed the children to high art and a variety of operas. The Time In staff showed a clip of opera, and the children made art inspired by the opera. Le-Tone encouraged the children to make whatever they wanted, and exposed them to a variety of artistic mediums. Le-Tone also visited and worked with children at PS 30 and PS 197 in Harlem.
Take-away: Le-Tone continues to be very passionate about art education however the administrative work at Time In tended to be monotonous. Her internship encouraged her to apply to other museum education departments, including her summer job where she will be working as an education intern at the Jewish Museum.
Maggie O’Keefe (B.F.A. ’19)- Gagosian Gallery: Gagosian Gallery is a contemporary art gallery with multiple locations. I worked at the 980 Madison location on the Upper East Side.
Summary: My experience at Gagosian was extremely insightful, providing me with some insight into what it is like to work in the commercial art market. I was lucky to see behind the scenes of how an international gallery operates. From helping out at gallery openings, to assisting in operative motives, to researching current exhibitions in New York City, something was always happening there. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with renowned artists and enjoyed the hands-on experience with the art and administration at Gagosian.
Take-away: In the future, I would like to continue experiencing different sides of the art world. In the future perhaps working at museums, galleries, as well as more experience in public art, illustration, and design.
Among our class of 14 B.F.A.’s, almost half of us had some sort of internship, either working at a museum, a not-for-profit, a commercial gallery, assisting individual artists or working as visiting critic Linda Norden’s assistants. The other half enjoyed their days working in studio or visiting the many museums New York has to offer.