Schmucker Art Gallery and the Special Collections Department of Musselman Library invite Gettysburg College students to apply for our 2024 Biernat Internship. The intern will experience the various roles and responsibilities of managing art and image collections, supporting exhibitions, and providing educational support and outreach. This internship offers a hands-on experience for students with an interest in art history, public history, museum studies, or a career focus in archival, museum, or curatorial work.
Begins: Second full week of February
Hours: 6-8/week
The intern will schedule weekday hours with each supervisor and may be involved in occasional evening events
Pay: $10.25/hour
Internship is eligible for course credit: ARTH 470
Co-supervisors:
Sarah Kate Gillespie, Director of Schmucker Art Gallery
Carolyn Sautter, Director of Special Collections and College Archives
Position Description: This is a shared internship between the Schmucker Art Gallery and Special Collections which begins in spring 2024 with opportunities to extend into fall 2024. For the Schmucker Art Gallery, the Biernat intern will spend the spring 2024 semester planning, researching, and writing the exhibit catalog for their student curated exhibit. The exhibit will be installed in the Schmucker Art Gallery Project Space as the first show of the fall 2024 semester. The intern will also give a gallery talk for the opening. This internship offers exceptional opportunities to students to gain firsthand experiences in museum/gallery operations and arts administration. For Special Collections, the student will have collection management and metadata responsibilities.
Training is given onsite and prior gallery or archival experience is not required. This internship is open to all students from all majors.
Essential duties and responsibilities:
Schmucker Art Gallery
- Participate in exhibit curation including research, planning, writing catalog entries/labels, and installation
- Assist with promotion of exhibits, including educational outreach, tours, and gallery talks
- Assist with class visits in Schmucker Art Gallery
- Collaborate with supervisors on preparation and research for upcoming student-curated exhibitions
- Work with faculty and students to incorporate art objects and exhibitions into their teaching, assignments, and student exhibitions
- Curate online exhibitions from the collection as needed
- Create content and schedule/manage posts for social media
- Assist in the handling and installation of artwork, including condition reporting
Special Collections
- Inventory and research the College’s art and image collections
- Scan and photograph collection items
- Create and enter metadata for GettDigital Collections (CONTENTdm), MUSCAT Plus (Alma/Primo), and PastPerfect
- Arrange and describe physical and digital historical images in Special Collections
- Support class visits in Special Collections that use art and image collections
- Assist in the handling of archival materials
Required skills:
- Have completed at least one semester of coursework at Gettysburg College
- Expressed interest in exhibit design
- Experience applying research skills to a topic or question in an academic setting
- Effective organizational skills
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively as an independent researcher
- Demonstrated ability to manage time, finish tasks, and see a project to completion
- Willingness to speak in public settings
Evaluation process: The intern will participate in a mid-semester check-in and end-of-semester performance review with supervisors.
Application process
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Applications are due through Handshake (Job 8591754) on February 4, 2024, by 11:59 p.m.
1) Submit a letter of interest indicating specifically why you would like to be an intern working in both Schmucker Art Gallery and Special Collections. While prior experience is not necessary, please share any relevant course work, career goals, and/or related activities.
2) Submit a copy of your resume including past work experience, course projects, activities, volunteer work, etc.
3) Provide the names and contact information for 1-2 references (references may be faculty members who can tell us about you and your work in the classroom, and/or your supervisor in a campus job or other relevant job or project).
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From the pool of letters/resumes, 3-4 students are selected for in person or Zoom interviews which take place in during the week following the deadline.
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The search committee is comprised of:
Sarah Kate Gillespie, Director of Schmucker Art Gallery
Carolyn Sautter, Director of Special Collections and College Archives
Jill Titus, Associate Director of the Civil War Institute
The Biernat Intern will be selected from those candidates invited to interview.
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For questions, please contact Sarah Kate Gillespie, Schmucker Art Gallery, sgillesp@gettysburg.edu
Musselman Library diversity and inclusion statement
Musselman Library is committed to creating, through our learning spaces, programs, services, collections, and policies, an environment that supports, values, and respects everyone in the Gettysburg College community. At Gettysburg, diversity includes but is not limited to age, country of origin, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, geography, learning differences, political beliefs, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic level.