Since starting my fine art degree, I have been on three different art internships. All of these internships have varied from each other, not only in the tasks and roles I have been involved in but also in the nature of the actual organisations themselves.
The Cutting Room, Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham
(3+ months)
The Cutting Room comprises two graduates from the NTU fine art degree course: Jennifer Ross and Clare Harris. One of the best ways of seeking out opportunities is to utilise the contacts and networks that already exist on your course and at your university. As recent graduates still based in Nottingham, they were offering internships to students particularly on our course. Not only did I benefit from being an intern in a working art organisation but I also gained valuable advice and mentorship from people who had already done what I had.
I did a huge variety of jobs whilst I was there but some of the highlights were looking through exhibition submissions and choosing artists for forthcoming exhibitions, filming and recording interviews for a private view showreel and designing the marketing material that eventually went to print.
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| The Way Forward (2012) Exhibition Flyer, designed by Vivienne Du |
(2 weeks)
As I mentioned above, my course was excellent when providing extra opportunities. Every year the members of staff run a two week artist residence in the university studios during the summer months. This residency brings together many of the lecturers and tutors on the course, local artists and graduates. As an intern, we were able to work side to side with those in the Nottingham art scene. One of the intriguing pleasures was working with tutors on your course and getting to learn about their practices and their working methods, it felt very much like a role reversal. At the end of the residency, every member and intern came together for a day long symposium that addressed some interesting issues of concern and debate. It was a fantastic series of discussions.
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Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham
(3 months)
Having done internships with more familiar organisations, working at Nottingham Contemporary allowed me to get a completely new experience - one from a more established institution. Nottingham Contemporary is possibly the largest contemporary gallery in Nottingham, and getting an internship in their exhibitions department was a fantastic prospect. I was assigned to work specifically on their current exhibition Aquatopia, handling, organising and updating the status of over 100 artworks from galleries and museums alike. I was asked to correspond with the involved artists and intuitions. I did a bit of everything whilst working at this gallery, from hands-on installation and condition-checking of artworks, to sieving through artist submissions.
What I would suggest is taking any opportunity you can be offered. It may not be directly relevant to your practice but it really gives you a better understanding of the industry you want to work in, as well as the types of people you will be working with as an artist. Many internships no longer have the luxury of paying their interns anymore, but I wouldn't let this faze you. I have participated as a volunteer in a lot of unpaid jobs, and all of this amounts to a lot of experience on your artist CV.
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