INTERNSHIP STORIES

Live Painting Internship with Anton Merbaum My previous roommate had always mentioned being neighbors with an artist upstairs. Throughout the spring semester we would run into each other and have quick conversations about being at mica, since he was also an alumni. Until this summer while moving out we happened to cross paths again this time offered an internship and interviewed the following month about the position. Anton Merbaum is a fine art artist, who specializes in live wedding painting, bridal portraiture, c ustom commissions, and murals. Anton Merbaum was also my direct supervisor, he was in charge of mentoring me about the fine art industry, especially live wedding painting as well as foundational works in creating a painting. I’m most proud of my ability to network as well as being able to work at a venue drawing eyes for people. This opportunity gave me a chance to see how it is working at a live event. Also learning fundamentals of starting a business and growing into the...

 Luxury Fashion Design and Production Intern My internship with Bibhu Mohapatra was a pivotal and eye-opening experience that marked the beginning of my journey in the fashion industry. I made it a daily habit to search "fashion design internship" on LinkedIn, and ensured my cover letter and resume were always ready to go. I sent out countless applications. Then, one day, I received an email from Bibhu Mohapatra. I traveled to NYC for the interview and it turned out to be an incredible experience, and I was thrilled to join his design team. Bibhu Mohapatra design focuses on upscale women's clothes, especially for Couture. They focus on weddings and various other designs in collaboration with the emerging designer. His works are praised for their sophisticated modern design, fine details, and fusion of traditional workmanship with modern aesthetics. I worked directly with the Production Manager and Creative Director, which provided me with an opportunity to collaborate clo...

  Curatorial Practice at Pazo This fall, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at Pazo Fine Art, a leading contemporary art gallery in the Washington metropolitan area. I discovered this opportunity through my program director, who encouraged me to reach out to the gallery’s owner and director. From the very beginning, the owner was warm, welcoming, and supportive, setting the tone for an enriching and inspiring experience. Pazo Fine Art , founded in 2020, has quickly established itself as a dynamic presence in the art world. With locations in Kensington, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.'s historic U Street corridor, the  gallery is dedicated to showcasing innovative exhibitions across  various media while amplifying the voices of underrepresented  artists. Under the owners thoughtful leadership, the gallery  explores influential movements like Neo-Geo, Color Field, and  Light and Space, blending historical reevaluation with contemporary abstraction. I w...

Design and Marketing Internship for an Independent Bookstore Wonderland Books is an independent Bookstore and community space in Bethesda, Maryland which will be opening in early December. I had the opportunity to work together with the Wonderland Books team this semester to help them prepare for opening – learning about how an independent bookstore comes together and how to work to solidify and market a new brand in the process.  I discovered this opportunity through mutual contacts — one of the two  co-owners of Wonderland Books is a family friend who reached out looking for a bit of help with some of the design work over the summer, and from there I was able to start working with them and their brand designer, who had already created a strong brand identity for the bookstore. I was able to use those brand identity guidelines to help create a wide variety of both print and digital design material for use in-store and online. Throughout this internship, I was able to create a...

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...

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...

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...

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...

I found out about this internship opportunity through the junior pin-up which was held by the Graphic Design department for juniors. I was approached by a senior designer at Wide Angle Youth Media (WAYM). We talked briefly about my work and they told me that they was interested in my work and we had discussed a potential internship opportunity. They emailed me, and I eventually accepted the offer. WAYM is a Baltimore Youth-based organization whose mission is to make space for creativity and instill confidence in young people, supporting them to navigate school, career, and life. Within WAYM is a design studio with young designers, and they mostly take on local work around Baltimore. They do a lot of branding and re-brand work.  My direct supervisor role's was to assist other designers and help them with their directions. I spent most of my time working on rebrands and other branding work and spent the rest of my time giving feedback and helping other designers with other small proj...