My name is
Victoria Schultz and I am a junior General Fine Arts major. During the summer
of 2018, I was a Collections Intern for the Greenville Museum of Art, a gallery
based in Greenville, North Carolina.
Since running my
own pop-up gallery during the summer of 2017, I have wanted to explore the
possibilities of a career in a established gallery or in arts administration. I
have been involved with the museum since high school, having taken part in
their annual shows and going to their artist talks. Those experiences helped
shape my desire to obtain a degree in the Fine Arts.
During spring
break, I returned home and began my search. I had no idea if the gallery was
hiring or not, but I took a chance and showed up with my resume and a cover
letter. They gladly took it into review, but I did not hear back from them
right away. By the time I came back to Baltimore, there was still no response,
so I made a follow up call. Within the next week, I got an e-mail of
acceptance. I was over-the-moon happy to be spending my summer learning from
gallery professionals.
This experience
included a lot of desk work. During my shifts, my supervisor and I would work
on a task such as a catalog or inventory. My shifts were long and seemed to drag
on, but nothing beat the days when I could go into the vault. I had the
opportunity to handle works by artists such as Salvador Dali and Josef Albers,
something I will truly cherish forever.
I am glad to have
experienced what it is truly like to work in a gallery this summer. Especially
when I was able to do so alongside such an amazing staff. My supervisor was new
to the museum, meaning we were learning things together. However, she had the
expertise and experience in order to guide me in the right direction. Working
at a small gallery back home gave me insight into the world of nonprofit work. It’s
all about networking, getting grants written and sponsorships obtained in order
to continue serving the local community.
This internship
was a good way for me to start looking into my field of interest, even if it wasn’t
as glamorous, and hands on, as I was expecting. I am happy that I planned this
internship prior to the start of my junior, before I became immersed in my
Curatorial Practices concentration. It will help me to further research my
career options and explore new ones as they come.
