INTERNSHIP STORIES

Blue Light Junction is a natural dye garden and artist collective situated in Station North, Baltimore. They are committed to preserving natural dye techniques and crafts through workshops, residencies, and support of local artists. I discovered Blue Light Junction through the legacy of the Baltimore Natural Dye Initiative and various community events hosted at the space. This opportunity was secured in part due to my previous experiences in similar work environments and my eagerness to learn and benefit Blue Light Junction as a company.  During my time at Blue Light Junction, my responsibilities encompassed supporting community outreach, managing the concept store, and supporting the administrative proceedings of the center. I organized the studio’s library, drafted emails and newsletters, and helped maintain a smooth workflow. Additionally, I helped organize and market the residency exhibition showing in the fall.  I am most proud of my proposal to transform the concept stor...

My work is done in the studio with Fahimeh Vahdat, who  is an artist, activist, feminist, professor, and mother. For my internship I handled a plethora of different tasks. I worked with archival, managing, website redesigning, and editorial matters.   To stay on track, we use a task manager and Google Drive for smooth  collaboration.  One of our early projects involved creating a plan to reorganize her workspace,  allowing us to catalog her extensive art collection. Additionally, we worked on developing a  tailored internship program specifically for her studio that would also benefit me.  The internship covers everything needed to help the artist reestablish herself in the  industry. Together, we outlined her needs to identify areas for improvement and determine the  additional support required.  I cataloged artwork that had not been documented or photographed,  as well as new and incomplete pieces. I examined each piece individual...

I discovered the opportunity to intern with Empact Art through the MICAnetwork’s E-internship program and the RCCE. After learning about the program, I was excited to apply. I ultimately secured the position by completing a successful interview with the artist. During our conversation, we found our goals and values aligned. This set a strong foundation for my internship. My supervisor, Danyett Tucker, is an artist and a member of the Empact art collective. Empact Art is a 501(c)(3) community-centered public art non-profit. It is dedicated to creating bold, inclusive, and meaningful art experiences and installations. In addition to her work with the collective, Danyett also pursues independent projects. These include puppetry, workshops, and mural painting.  I was Danyett's assistant in whatever she happened to be working on. Over the summer, that meant a huge variety of projects. I helped design flyers for events and sewed curtains for puppet theaters. I also guided community art w...

I learned that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame offered internships through my previous internship at the Cleveland Metroparks. I was able to have an informational interview with the head of marketing, in which I gathered the timeline for my application about a year in advance. I prepared my application by further researching the organization and catering my design projects towards this internship. I selected classes that would be advantageous for curating my portfolio. I made sure to find a professor for my recommendation letter far in advance and prepared my other application materials. I was able to secure an interview and internship offer by the second week of April through this entire process. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a renowned, non-profit organization based in Cleveland, Ohio with the mission “to engage, teach, and inspire through the power of Rock & Roll.” The Rock Hall carries out this mission through their educational programs, library and archives, and through...

I found my internship through the MICAnetwork. I was looking for an internship that I could use my video production skills in, I purposely choose an internship that wasn’t in my field to get a broader production experience. I applied to two different fashion houses but chose Yele Stitches. My many tasks included filming and editing videos, helping with planning, assisting with photoshoots, helping with website maintenance, and learning how to run a business. Before I started there, I had no idea how much planning goes into producing a collection. My supervisor had to start planning almost a year in advance to get ready for a future season. So, that means she had to be really creative to stay within fashion trends and be innovative. What I’m most proud about is the documentary I shot of Yele Stitches. It took a lot of time and effort to get the right shots and coverage. But, I captured it in its truest form and showed just how hard working and innovative people can be. Working with Yele...

Over the summer, I interned at Paperhand Puppet Intervention. Every year, Paperhand puts on a summer performance at the Forest Theater in Chapel Hill. This is an intensive production with original puppets, music, and a new story each year. I worked in the studio with seven other interns, two hired sewists, two studio managers, and the founders, who took on the role of creative directors and head artists for the production. The summer was rather chaotic, there was never a time to be idle. The first month and a half was spent creating molds for puppet masks, making prototypes, sketching concepts for character creation, and lots and lots of paper mache. During late June and July, the studio was expected to be kept cleaner as it needed to also be a space for rehearsal. During rehearsals painting, final touches on masks, costuming and ornamentation were being worked on for each puppet. The final week was dedicated to sign-making, moving to the forest theater, making the shadow show, and men...

Over the past few months I was keeping a personal log of all the available internship and job opportunities within my area of interest. However, none of the internships I found caught my eye. I took inspiration from my friends who were applying for more extravagant internships to finally start applying to places. Through my search my love for printmaking had resurfaced and I stumbled upon Flatbed's internship. I applied through their website and had a brief interview with the head of lithography printing/education supervisor. Flatbed Press is a community and professional print shop with a gallery component. The press was started and is currently run by an intaglio printmaker. The owner and my supervisor work as the shop's professional collaborative printers working in monotype, relief, intaglio, and lithography. Flatbed also hosts regular workshops and classes taught by local printmakers and artists I reported to both the owner and my supervisor although I believe I was technic...

I heard of this opportunity through my illustration professor. I was really excited for this opportunity so I quickly created a tailored portfolio and submitted my application with my fingers crossed. I was really hoping to get accepted because this internship sounded like a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and collaborate with other artists. About six weeks later, I got an email and I signed an acceptance form. I worked with several other interns. We had three advisors who taught us a lot about professionalism and ecology and helped by giving critiques throughout the process. The organization we partnered with is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and our point of contact was a BLM archaeologist. Our point of contact worked with 30+ Native American tribes to protect and sustain public lands and foster an interest in our national heritag e. Our group traveled to Dolores, Colorado, to experience the land for ourselves and make signs for the park that would withstand th...

I found my internship opportunity with IndieCade through LinkedIn! I spent a lot of time preparing for applying to summer internships in the fall and spent the summer and fall revising and adding to my resume and my portfolio. After applying through the site, I got reached out during winter break for an interview with my supervisor. I prepared for my interview and secured my internship through this. I was honest about my capabilities, what skills I wanted to learn and how this internship aligned with them. I then started working under IndieCade and HEVGA for their collaboration called Horizons! The two organizations work together to highlight exceptional student work to the public and being the connection between students and people in the industry. The organization hosts events such as conferences, showcases and game jams to succeed in this. My responsibilities included project management tasks, organizing meeting notes and documentation. I was involved in providing student perspectiv...

I found out about the Conservation Internship for Broadening Access (CIBA), through the Smithsonian’s internship opportunities website. I was looking for conservation experience as I plan on pursuing it in graduate school, so I looked up several museums online until I found this one. The Smithsonian is one of the largest national research and museum networks, they provide research and educational opportunities, as well as maintain a vast public museum network. I was specifically placed at the National Museum of American History (NMAH), which specializes in objects and stories pertaining to American History. Specifically in the Paper Conservation Lab, we worked to maintain, repair, and store paper objects of American History.  My responsibilities centered around learning and practicing conservation and preventative conservation skills, including page repair, rehousing objects, testing inks, and cleaning objects. The specific projects I worked on were: repairing the Mack McCormick pa...

I ran into an old acquaintance who went to MICA and graduated from the MFA program, running his own LLC; I thought to myself this would be a perfect internship opportunity to learn from someone who understands the world I come from and is on the path I wish to be in the near future. I briefly exchanged contacts and eventually in contact with my future supervisor. He used to live down the street from me as kids growing up, so it was cool to see things come full circle for us.  Ikonic Visions is a multimedia film production company The group’s focus is to serve its clients by creating “Ikonic” moments through the medium of video specializing in documentaries, brand stories, event recaps, and social impact-driven content.  Since this is a small business, I had a lot more responsibilities compared to the average film intern. The average intern would be introduced into the world as a PA slowly working up the ranks delving into gaffing, grip, assistant camera, and so forth. But here...

The Washington Printmakers Gallery is an artist-run gallery founded in 1985 that houses contemporary fine art prints and photographs. It now has a membership of local and national printmakers, photographers, and book artists. They host juried shows, both group and solo exhibitions, workshops, classes, talks, and outreach programs. The gallery also houses bins and flat files with artist’s prints and photographs. When I first heard about the Washington Printmakers Gallery, it was through my dad who was interested in visiting the gallery with me over summer break. When researching on their website, I noticed that they offered internship opportunities for academic credit. I decided to reach out and after a few exchanges, we discovered that my advisor and a professor were members of the gallery for many years. With this connection, I managed to secure an interview as well as the request of my art in person. I arrived with my art and was accepted as an intern almost immediately. We decided t...

I got the internship at UX is Fine all by chance! I took a Concept Art class and we had to design a character for a project. I presented my character and my professor was so impressed he wanted to invite me to the UX is Fine Slack Team. After meeting the team, I was offered an internship to work on a really big project! UX is Fine! is a moderately sized game-development third-party company that mainly focuses on the visual design of each UI/UX component and also implements them in the video games for ease of export. UXiF has a history of well-known names such as Riot Games as its clients. Due to NDA reasons, I cannot reveal what the projects I worked on were as the game has yet to be released. However, I can say that I had the responsibility as a UI artist and I had to use my painting and illustration skills to edit and create images for versatile UI/UX uses! I also had the responsibility to continuously report to both supervisors on my progress.  From my experience, I think the mo...

I was following shoestring press on social media, they specialized in social activism which really stuck out to me. I emailed them early in December to lock down a summer internship. Shoestring Press is a community print studio in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. They work as a shop for experienced and new artists, providing space for 40+ printmakers and creatives to engage with both each other and their own work. It creates a space to do the rather technical sides of printmaking that require specific equipment, all at a relatively low cost and with quite a bit included. The team handles a lot of the prep for printing for members, mostly in regards to screen printing, trying to make it as accessible as possible for members. The press also has a master printing and commercial printing side, doing official work for larger artists and taking spare print jobs on their large LaserJet printer for banners and posters. My direct supervisor while I was on the job was the master printer and owner at Sho...

Last winter I exhibited Vestments of the Magus, a suit of steel armor I fabricated during my sophomore year. Nick Ireys attended the opening and was impressed with my piece. He was interested in meeting up to show me around his workshop, which I very happily agreed to! Through my time there we eventually got around to talking about summer plans and internships, at which time Nick offered me this opportunity to work as his summer intern! Nick Ireys is a blacksmith and metalworking artist that specializes in public art, restoration and fabricating high end architectural metalwork. His fine art work blends forged metal with blown glasswork, and primarily takes on a wide variety of metalworking projects through his personal studio label, NI Metal Design. He also started up his own blacksmithing school, Baltimore Hot Metal, where he teaches basic blacksmithing workshops in 3 hour long sessions.  I worked primarily as a workshop assistant for Nick, helping him with fabrication tasks that...

Limonata Creative During my Studio Lighting class out professor took us to a Prop Up Shop, called Limonata Creative. A Prop Up Shop is a prop house full of props and a studio that people can use for various projects. The owner started out in corporate work. After working in that world for a while, she decided to make a creative change and became a prop stylist and created her own prop house. After the tour, I told the owner how inspired I was from her story and asked if she needed an intern. She said yes and told me to email her, after that everything else fell into place.My responsibilities included helping the owner with styling the props during photoshoots. Also, during these photoshoots, I learned different skills from the photographers that I meet and even made some connections. I also worked with the in-studio photographer who photographed the inventory and uploaded it to the company website. When I worked with him I got a closer look at the ins and outs of photography and gained...