Right from the start, this amazing non-profit arts space welcomed me with open arms and instantly I felt
like part of the team. Jacob, the gallery manager, and Alex the exhibition designer were absolutely
amazing. Jacob taught me how to contact artists and how to interact with donors. I was surprised at
how laid back and relaxed he was since his online presence is so formal. He let me talk to many of the
artist donating to the super 8 fundraiser one on one and I even got to visit some of them in their studios.
Alex taught me how to hang a show. I didn’t really understand how much math goes into it and how
hard it is to hang a large show (especially one with hundreds of individual pieces!) Honestly, these two
made me feel like I was more than an intern, they’re some of the greatest people I’ve ever met. Truly
inspiring.
Every Thursday, I would get to the gallery early in the morning before they opened and work side by side
as a studio assistant with Amanda Thackray. A teacher at SUNY purchase, Amanda has a very intricate
and detailed approach to her work. I got to work with glassblowing and making wax molds of books. I
also beaded lengths of beads which she then made into nets. A lot of her work revolves around ropes
and we made rubber ropes which was super interesting. There was definitely not a boring moment and I
learned a lot of new skills that I wouldn’t have otherwise been interested in figuring out myself.
Overall I had an amazing summer working with the team of interns. We managed to pull off some major
events and I really got to be a functional part of the gallery. I never felt like the “intern getting coffee”. I
always felt like a meaningful part of the team. While I’m still figuring out if I want to pursue curatorial
work, I know for sure that I would love to be involved in running a non-profit arts space similar to Aferro
and I feel better prepared to make decisions about just what that might look like when I graduate.
