Curatorial Internship – Summer 2021 (8 week period between June and August)
Interested applicants should email their cover letter and resume to hr@telfair.org to apply.
Serious inquiries only.
Job Description:
Date Posted: | March 29, 2021 |
Classification: | Paid Internship |
Application Deadline | April 30, 2021 |
Scope of Position:
The intern will receive a $1,150 stipend for an 8 week internship. Interns also receive many other benefits, including a complimentary Telfair Museums membership, free admission to Museum functions, discounts at the café and gift shop, and the ability to observe and receive instruction that enhances their knowledge of the museum. Students are responsible for making arrangements with their schools to receive credit. Telfair Museums does not provide travel, relocation, parking or housing assistance for interns.
The individual selected must be able to commit sixteen (16) hours per week. This time commitment can be organized in different structured blocks of time in consultation with the Curator (i.e. 2 days per week or 4 hours/4 days). Internship hours will take place in person or virtually during normal office hours in the Curatorial department: 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday.
Department/Location: Curatorial – Jepson Center – Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA.
Purpose and Goals:
Telfair Museums is seeking a resourceful and initiative-driven intern to assist with art historical research relevant to an upcoming exhibition about the Ossabaw Island Project artist residency. The intern will primarily work with the curatorial department, performing research about the Project and the artists involved including conducting interviews, creating checklists, and taking meticulous research notes. The position requires exceptional attention to detail, the ability to manage multiple and diverse tasks simultaneously, strong interpersonal skills and a collegial attitude, excellent writing ability, and a high level of professionalism. Coursework in art history and/or museum studies is helpful, and enthusiasm for the visual arts is required. Telfair Museums is excited to open this opportunity to creative and attentive individuals seeking experience in the curatorial department of an art museum.
Time Requirement:
Applicants are required to commit to sixteen hours per week.
Eligibility:
Candidates applying for internship must:
- Be a rising college junior or senior currently enrolled in a college/university
OR - Be a graduate student
- Coursework in art history and/or museum studies is preferred.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Must be very independent and a self-starter.
- Highly motivated, good problem solver, and detailed-oriented.
- Ability to clearly communicate verbally and in writing.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Word/Excel is necessary.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Ability to stand or sit for 3-4 hours a day
- Sitting, bending, stooping, walking, reaching
- Climbing stairs (occasionally)
APPLICATION PROCEDURES:
Students interested in an internship at the Telfair Museums should send the following materials together in one package within the specified deadline. Incomplete application packets will not be considered. Applications or letters of reference received after the due date will not be considered.
- Internship application (download here)
- 1-2 letters of recommendation
- Resume or curriculum vitae
- Transcript of undergraduate or graduate records with a minimum of 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Official and unofficial transcripts are accepted.
- Statement (1-2 pages) explaining your reasons for applying to Telfair Museums’ internship program. The statement should include:
- What you hope to gain from the experience,
- What you feel you can contribute,
- How this internship experience will impact your education and career plans.
Interested applicants should submit applications to hr@telfair.org.
SUMMARY
Telfair Museums offers compelling expressions of visual culture — embracing three unique buildings and three distinct collections that bridge three centuries of art and architecture. The museum develops awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the arts and serves as a dynamic cultural center connecting people of all ages and backgrounds.
Telfair Museums is the oldest public art museum in the South, founded in 1883 through the bequest of prominent local philanthropist Mary Telfair, who left her home and its furnishings to the Georgia Historical Society to be opened as a museum. Today, Telfair Museums consists of three unique buildings: Telfair Academy and the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, two National Historic Landmark sites built in the early 19th century, and the contemporary Jepson Center for the Arts.
Designed in the Regency style by English architect William Jay, the Telfair Academy houses 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, including paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and decorative arts. Highlights include fine examples of American Impressionism and Ashcan School Realism, with major paintings by Childe Hassam, Frederick Frieseke, Gari Melchers, Robert Henri, George Bellows, and George Luks. The Telfair Academy is also home to Sylvia Shaw Judson’s iconic Bird Girl statue, made famous in the Jack Leigh photograph on the dust jacket of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
The Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters is considered one of the finest examples of English Regency architecture in the country. In addition to the historic house museum and decorative art ranging from the late 18th to the early 19th century, the site includes rare intact urban slave quarters and a lovely parterre garden. The site underwent an award-winning reinterpretation in 2018, providing audiences with a broader understanding of how slavery impacted urban life in and beyond the home.
The Jepson Center, designed by acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie, is devoted to temporary exhibitions and today’s art and home to the Telfair’s Kirk Varnedoe Collection, a cornerstone of the museum’s contemporary holdings. The collection features works on paper by some of the most pivotal artists of the past 50 years, including Jasper Johns, Chuck Close, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Richard Avedon. Other contemporary artists include Carrie Mae Weems, Helen Levitt, Sam Gilliam, James Brooks, and many notable Georgia artists.
Telfair Museums’ permanent collection of paintings, works on paper, photography, sculpture, and decorative arts contains over 4,500 objects from America, Europe, and Asia, dating primarily from the 18th to 20th centuries. Telfair provides a range of educational initiatives, including youth and family programming, school tour programs, preplanned field trips for Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools fourth and eighth graders, youth classes, and summer camps. Telfair offers adults a variety of virtual and onground classes and workshops, ranging from drawing and painting classes with established local artists to workshops related to current exhibitions and exhibition opening lectures. Telfair (www.telfair.org) welcomes approximately 225,000 visitors each year.