INTERNSHIP STORIES

Curatorial Internship at a Non-profit Arts Organization I had originally first gotten into contact with AED last school year through the EDS program. Through that class, I was able to meet the director of operations at AED. After the class I reached out to who would be my supervisor to participate with more hands-on experience through this internship. Arts Every Day is a non profit organization dedicated to advancing equitable access to arts education in Baltimore City Public Schools. Some ways they achieve this is through art experience/materials funding, teacher professional development, and the 10x10 exhibition. This exhibition is the project I would be working on. This is an annual exhibition hosted by AED where Baltimore City students and teachers alike submit artwork to celebrate the creativity that is abundant within our community. This year's exhibition theme is “Culture: Symbols, Rituals and Heroes.” “Arts Every Day is proud to present its 9th Annual 10X10 Exhibit titled: ...

Summer Internship at the BMA The first time I heard about this position was through a MICA email announcing that BMA was open for Summer intern applications. I had been actively looking for internship opportunities and had a strong interest in the BMA, so I immediately decided to apply. I was responsible for drafting proposals for grants and sponsorship applications, communicating with colleagues in various departments, and gathering information to strengthen the proposals. One challenge I faced is how to effectively translate creative ideas from the programs I hear about into compelling proposals for potential funders and donors. I was also assigned the task of creating forms to track potential funders, which involved using specific software for data collection. Overall, the work is both challenging and rewarding, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity. So far, I am most proud of my growth in writing, research, and communication skills. I have become more confident in both re...

Blue Light Junction is a natural dye garden and artist collective situated in Station North, Baltimore. They are committed to preserving natural dye techniques and crafts through workshops, residencies, and support of local artists. I discovered Blue Light Junction through the legacy of the Baltimore Natural Dye Initiative and various community events hosted at the space. This opportunity was secured in part due to my previous experiences in similar work environments and my eagerness to learn and benefit Blue Light Junction as a company.  During my time at Blue Light Junction, my responsibilities encompassed supporting community outreach, managing the concept store, and supporting the administrative proceedings of the center. I organized the studio’s library, drafted emails and newsletters, and helped maintain a smooth workflow. Additionally, I helped organize and market the residency exhibition showing in the fall.  I am most proud of my proposal to transform the concept stor...

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 found this opportunity when I reached out last year to a MICA Alum whose most recent position was at MacMillan, but completed the Barefoot Books internship in the past. I wanted more insight into the publishing industry and she had indicated that the program was a valuable experience. I submitted my website portfolio, made it through the final interview rounds where I highlighted my improvement over the year within my work, how I have researched the company and what I could contribute to them all while highlighting my passion to make a difference in the publishing industry. I got my offer letter about a week later. Barefoot Books is an independent children's book publisher based in Concord MA whose mission is to publish books that open kids' hearts, minds and worlds. There is a strong encouragement and advocacy for more representational diversity and educational concepts within the books they publish. My responsibilities included designing graphics for marketing and promotio...

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...

I had the absolute pleasure to be working at Universal Studios Orlando over this summer as a Graphic Design and Project Management Intern. I found out about this job while looking and applying for positions on LinkedIn. At first I got an email regarding a phone interview which then led to a one on one teams interview, the day after which I was told I secured the job.  Universal Destinations & Experiences, a unit of Comcast NBCUniversal, which offers guests around the globe today’s most relevant and popular entertainment experiences. Its theme parks are known for immersive experiences that feature some of the world’s most thrilling and technologically advanced film- and television-based attractions. Universal Destinations & Experiences in the U.S. are Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort. Around the world, UP&R includes Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, a license agreement with Universal Studios Singapore at Resorts World Sentosa, and the recently-ope...

 Texere Internship in Oaxaca I studied weaving at Weaver House in Philadelphia. An artist there attended the Texere internship for one week and posted to her Instagram account about her time there. Inspired by their story, I was motivated to apply. Texere is an organization located in Oaxaca Mexico that seeks to bring in artists to familiarize them with the practices of local artisans in Oaxaca. Culturally, Oaxaca is significant because of the large indigenous population of Zapotec people. The artisans of the Teotitlan, Mitla, Aztompa and Oaxaca Centro area are actively working to preserve and retain their ways of being. Texere helps to support preservation of these crafts and artisans by bringing in outsiders to familiarize them with the importance of Zapotec people and their work. My direct supervisor is the on-site coordinator for the organization. She supervises both individual and group interns and also coordinates local artisan trainings both at Texere and within the local co...

I learned about this internship through the Practice & Pie event. I was spotted by someone who told me that an employer liked my handknit sweater, who then directed me to them. She connected me with this artist after the event and I later introduced myself via email. My supervisor is a working artist who addresses and creates conversation around racism in America–with a focus on Baltimore, through craft. Many of her works are woven photography, repurposed ‘trash’ items such as plastic bags, caution tape, and more recently fruit bags. She uses various weaving techniques, hand-sewing, and other innovative joinery to create large sculptural works. My responsibilities were mainly to assist with making tests, or sketches, as she calls them. “Sketches” were like prototypes of larger works or playing around with materials. The sketches I created served as smaller models for larger projects, scalable measurements, potential joinery methods, and/or to learn about the characteristics of the ...

I found the internship through my supervisor, someone who I have been involved with since I was in the sixth grade, and she has been helping me find new opportunities in the local art scene. I’m fine. is a non-profit art community that organizes workshops where people are invited to create clay masks, while also promoting the discussion of mental health.  I did a little bit of anything that was needed, from creating masks, helping with demos, helping set up the gallery... etc. I am most proud of getting to connect with a handful of people and getting to hear their stories about why they are creating their masks. I got a taste of what it is like to work/run a nonprofit, community art group, which was very important to me. I learned to help a person with little to no art experience channel their thoughts and ideas into the thing that they were creating.  The main thing that I’ve gained from this internship was the various methods of how I could create a space that both invites...

I found out about the opportunity to intern at Blue Light Junction through word of mouth and social media. I first learned about the organization through a couple of field trips during my freshman and sophomore year. I had followed them on social media, saw them posting about having interns, and decided to apply. I contacted the founder/director of Blue Light Junction to inquire about the opportunity and after a brief interview, we determined that it would be a good fit for me and the organization. She wound up being my supervisor throughout the internship. Blue Light Junction is a community arts organization with a studio space and an annex garden for growing natural dye plants. They grow, process, and sell natural dye materials and seeds, run workshops teaching about natural dyes and occasionally other gardening and craft skills, and are beginning to work with local businesses to create naturally dyed products for display and sale. They additionally collaborate with local farmers inv...

Over the summer I worked as a Public Programs Intern for NURTUREart in  Brooklyn, NY. I met the executive director and gallery manager during the Fine Art  Review at MICA. Christopher Ho, who was one of my instructors, and is currently  the president of the board for NURTUREart later mentioned that they were looking  for a summer intern. At his suggestion, I wrote an email to Will Penrose, the  executive director with my resume, a cover letter, and professional references. After  a phone interview, I was offered the position. NURTUREart is a nonprofit gallery and arts organization that has been  operating in for 20 years. They focus on exhibiting work by emerging artists and  curators, and lean towards showing more experimental and challenging works,  since they do not rely on sales. They also have several youth education programs in  Brooklyn schools that provide opportunities for all grades K-12. I worked directly...

I found about my internship through one of my father’s co-workers, who happens to know the owner,  Rebecca Schweiger, of The Art Studio NY. I e-mailed Ms. Schweiger, who then gave me the contact information of the  studio and sent my resume, a cover letter, and a link to my Behance. They invited me in for an interview shortly after.  The Art Studio NY is a studio that offers art classes for all ages. Their goal is to get beginners feeling comfortable  expressing themselves through art, and to be a resource for anyone who wants to make art. There are medium specific  classes, teen classes, and children’s classes. For my internship, I was specifically involved with the children’s summer  classes. My supervisor was Katiri Helmeid, who is a studio coordinator and adult and children’s art teacher. I was  responsible for setting up the studio for the day’s activities, helping plan out daily projects, working hands-on with  students, and cl...

My name is Shelby Norton and I am an Interdisciplinary Sculpture. During my freshman year I took a class called Community Arts Partnership (CAP): Finding Baltimore. An advocate for restorative justice came to talk to the class with a psychologist from the city jail. He liked what we were doing in the class and arranged for us to meet with the art group at Patuxent Institution in Jessup, MD. It was a pivotal moment for the way I view art and my career path. To this day, Dr. McCamant is a dear friend and mentor. I worked with him for a year through the CAP program at the Baltimore City Detention Center in the ward of psychiatric health as an art therapy intern building community. The jail was in unrest with Big Gorilla Family (BGF) scandals, and Dr. McCamant had been petitioning against some of the warden’s unjust decisions when he was asked to resign from that position. He continued to work for the state at JCI, but I didn’t work with him for a full year. I was interested in ...

My name is Melvin Thomas and I am a Junior Sculpture major. After participating in Introduction to Newer Genres with Graham Coreil-Allen during the Spring 2014 semester, I sought to explore my instructor’s public art practice. I found the possibility of assisting Graham in the realization of his public works intriguing since it was completely uncharted territory for me as an artist. Introduction to Newer Genres introduced me to a wide range of approaches to executing concepts employing video, performance, interactivity, and digital media. I saw working for Graham Projects as another opportunity to expand my range as an artist. Craving more, I decided to send my resume to Graham Projects after being informed by the artist himself that he was looking for an assistant. Graham Projects is lead by the artist, Graham Coreil-Allen, as an independent public works entity. In recent years, Graham Coreil-Allen has taken participants on walking tours around various public ...