Make Studio is a nonprofit organization that serves as a supportive platform for artists with disabilities.
Each of the artists essentially work for Make Studio and create work to be displayed either at the studio or at off
site exhibitions. The studio also helps manage the sales of work. They provide critique when necessary and
offer art therapy to those that need/want it. I had some background knowledge about Make Studio from my
research in preparation for the internship fair at MICA, and spoke with their representative at the fair. After
speaking with them, I sent a follow up email afterwards and through that correspondence was able to secure an
interview. 
My responsibilities included a bit of studio upkeep, but my supervisors and I made sure
my experience was more enriching than just that. I often assisted with pulling work for shows and was able to voice my opinion in the process. I installed and selected work for the Everything Else
(A Market Space) exhibit featuring Nicole Dyer and Amanda Burnham. I searched for exhibition opportunities
for the studio, archived artwork, and spent time with the program artists. I offered critique and guidance while the artists were working and documented their progress and behaviors in studio logs. I am most proud of the connections I have made with the people at Make Studio – both program artists and supervisors. I am proud of the projects we’ve all completed together and the insightful conversations we’ve had. I am now able to more accurately install, document, store, sell, and archive artwork. This internship also allowed me see how exhibitions are organized and planned, including the artwork selection process for upcoming shows.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about curatorial work. As an artist, it is important for to understand how work is marketed, what type of work appeals to a space the best, etc. I was also able to learn more about art therapy, a career I had considered pursuing in the past, and what type of requirements would be needed to obtain an art therapy license. Most importantly, I learned what it takes to run an exhibit space efficiently and understand how to archive work within a gallery/studio.
