My name is Christy Chong, and I am a senior
General Fine Arts Major. Throughout my time at MICA, I have had several field
trips to the American Visionary Art Museum, and it soon became one of my
favorite places to visit. During my last visit in Spring 2013, I asked Rebecca
Alban Hoffberger, the founder and director of AVAM, if there were any
internship opportunities available for the summer. After applying for positions
at the development, education, and media departments and submitting my resume
and cover letter, I had a chance to be interviewed and ended up with an
internship in the development department.
AVAM is a non-profit organization that educates
and focuses on art produced by self taught individuals, who usually have no
formal training in the arts. I worked alongside Abigail Baer, head of the
development department. She took care of all the details that go behind running
a museum and many opportunities to help with a little bit of everything. I helped
her keep track of grant sponsorship, attendance, groupons, filing, surveys,
different events at the museum, etc. Because AVAM has a small staff, everyone
helped one another out. I sometimes assisted the education office with a few
projects, like creating trophies for Pet Parade, revamping Baby Fifi, painting
the sidewalk mural inspired by the Star Spangled Banner right outside of the
museum, and Flicks every Thursday night.
Interning at AVAM was such an interesting
and fun experience. I learned so much about the technical details that go into
maintaining a museum but was also able to use my artistic ability to help out
with many hands on projects too. Although I am not the most tech-savvy person, I
learned how to use the different databases and computer programs in order to
keep track of certain things, forcing me to step outside of my comfort zone. My
organization skills and technological capability have improved as a result of
this internship, and I am taking away the importance of team work and an open
mind. Running a museum, especially one as unique as AVAM, where new tasks and
activities are constantly presented requires a lot of cooperation, communication,
and flexibility from all staff members. This internship has equipped me with a
better understanding of non-profit organizations and arts administration. Interning
at AVAM has clarified my desire to work a job that is more hands on, and I’ve
realized that I may want to pursue a Master’s degree in arts administration if
I plan on pursuing a career in this field.