My name is Amanda Almarshoud and I am a Junior GFA major. In
Summer 2014, I completed an internship at The Third Line Gallery in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates. My own Arab background influences me to explore the art
that is being produced in the Middle East. This summer I had plans of going
home to Kuwait, and I thought it would my trip to the Middle East worthwhile if
I also worked in Dubai. Dubai is a successful, thriving, and growing art and
business center in the Middle East, and an extremely international community
for the world to gather in.
I started to research and contact galleries during my
Freshmen year hoping to have an internship in Dubai during Summer 2013.I
contacted almost all of the art galleries in Dubai. Three galleries accepted my
resume and cover letter, and notified me that I was allowed be their intern.
Due to unexpected circumstances, I was unable to go to Dubai that summer, so I
contacted the galleries back apologizing for my decline of the internship
offer. I felt so bad! But I knew 100% that I was going to the Middle East this
summer so I contacted the Third Line Gallery back during winter break of my
Sophomore year, hoping they wouldn’t forget about me and let me still be an
intern. I did extensive research on the galleries in Dubai. Out of all the
galleries, The Third Line seemed like the most interesting and aligned with my
career. I found that The Third Line Gallery is one of the oldest and most
prominent galleries in Dubai, one of the most acclaimed galleries in the whole
Middle East.
This internship was to purely understand how a gallery runs
and to understand and observe how Middle Eastern artists express themselves
artistically. I worked with almost all the members of The Third Line team to
assist them with their projects, complete quick tasks, research institutions
and clients, look through art publications, digitally file documents on the
server, and be a secretary frequently throughout the week. I also participated
in helping open their Summer 2014 show and hold weekly film screenings. I
learned so much about event setup, public relations, management, pricing,
selling, buying, organization, finances, and communication between artist and
gallery, just from being present in the office for all the conversations and
events that occurred. The tasks I was given and the people I met within the
gallery, and in the city helped me understand how a gallery functions
internally and externally, locally and in the global community. Since the Third
Line is a gallery for Middle Eastern contemporary art, I was highly active in
observing, researching, and participating in displaying Middle Eastern art. Working in an office setting was a refreshing change from art making. We always had fun while working as The Third Line team is one big family. Everyday was a pleasure to work in a fun atmosphere where I could contribute to the growth of Middle Eastern contemporary art and understand the art world through a gallery’s perspective.
