Available positions:
Positions for undergraduate students, and individuals who have completed a bachelor’s degree:
COMMITTEE FOR INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, COLLECTIONS PRACTICES, AND PROVENANCE: The Committee for Institutional History, Collections Practices, and Provenance (IHCPP) is composed of three sub-committees: Land Acknowledgement, Education and Transparency, and Provenance. The IHCPP advocates for more meaningful engagement with Museum collections—particularly in collaboration with indigenous source communities—and for more transparent acknowledgment of these engagements. The committee makes recommendations for the Museum to improve upon the existing work of collections care, collecting practices, object histories, repatriation and restitution, and community collaborations; to make that work more impactful; and to share that work with our audiences. The internship will primarily focused on provenance research and writing.
CONSERVATION: The intern will assist conservators on preventive conservation activities that could include working with environmental data, integrated pest management activities, making storage housings and containers for artworks, applying accession numbers, condition photography and performing minor treatments under supervision. This internship will serve as an introduction to the field of art conservation. The ideal candidate has an interest in science, art and loves working with their hands.
CURATORIAL—AMERICAN ART: Working directly with the Senior Curator of American Art, the intern provides departmental support, particularly with research, planning, and organization for upcoming exhibitions and installations. Excellent writing skills, enthusiasm, creativity, and familiarity with digital content creation are essential. An interest in the museum field and coursework in art/American history/culture are desirable but are not required. Serious applicants from any academic background are encouraged to apply and will be thoroughly considered. Facility with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and Powerpoint) is essential.
CURATORIAL—ARTS OF THE AMERICAS: Working directly with the Senior Curator of the Arts of the Americas and the department curatorial assistants, the intern provides departmental support, particularly with research, planning, and organization for a traveling Hopi katsina doll exhibition, collection rotations, and gallery reinstallations. Ideal candidates have prior research experience; excellent communication and organizational skills, including meticulous attention to detail; a working knowledge of Pre-Columbian and/or Native American Art; and an interest in a museum career. A particular focus will be on helping to research and develop new cross-collection installations within the American galleries that emphasize critical narratives around global trade, materiality, colonialism, race, and other urgent themes.
CURATORIAL—DECORATIVE ARTS: Working directly with the Senior and Assistant Curators, the intern will assist with selection, development of checklist of works of art, research, documentation, and building files for a special exhibition on Social Justice & Contemporary Craft or Cultural Appropriation in the Decorative Arts. Ideal candidates have prior research experience; excellent communication and organizational skills, including meticulous attention to detail; an interest in decorative arts, design, craft, or material culture; and an interest in a museum career. Current seniors or recent graduates preferred.
CURATORIAL—EGYPTIAN, CLASSICAL, AND ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ART: The Egyptian, Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Art (ECANEA) curatorial intern primarily assists with collections documentation, archive management, and exhibition planning. Projects include digital imaging, data entry, and research. The ideal candidate is enthusiastic and dependable, with an interest in ancient Egyptian, Classical, or ancient Near Eastern history and art. Previous related coursework or related experiences are a plus.
CURATORIAL—ELIZABETH A. SACKLER CENTER FOR FEMINIST ART: The Curatorial Intern in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art (EASCFA) primarily assists with research, planning, and organization for upcoming exhibitions, and provides general department support. Ideal candidates are current or recent undergraduates in art history, curatorial, or museum studies, with strong organizational, research, and writing skills and an interest in feminist art history and theory. Past experience preparing exhibitions and/or working in arts organizations is a plus.
CURATORIAL—EUROPEAN ART: Working directly with the Senior Curator of European Art and the department curatorial assistants, the intern provides departmental support, particularly with research, planning, and organization for upcoming exhibitions and collection rotations. Ideal candidates have prior research experience; excellent communication and organizational skills, including meticulous attention to detail; a working knowledge of European art (ca. 1500-1945); and an interest in a museum career. A particular focus will be on helping to research and develop new European art installations, either in a focused European gallery or within the American or other galleries, that emphasize critical narratives around global trade, materiality, colonialism, race, and other urgent themes.
CURATORIAL—PHOTOGRAPHY: Working directly with the Phillip Leonian and Edith Rosenbaum Leonian Curator of Photography, the intern assists with research, planning, and organization for upcoming exhibitions and acquisitions. Ideal candidates have prior research experience or coursework in the history of photography and twentieth-century visual culture; excellent communication and organizational skills; and an interest in a museum career.
DIGITAL COLLECTIONS AND SERVICES: The Collections Image Research Intern has the opportunity to experience and learn about the many facets of the Digital Collections and Services department (aka the Digital Lab); this includes image research, rights & reproduction, and data/asset management & organization. Ideal candidates have an interest in art, prior research experience preferably in art history, excellent communication & organizational skills, and working knowledge of file types and imaging procedures on software such as Photoshop. Specific responsibilities include research to support a Digital Lab initiative of increasing image production and digitization of BIPOC artists within the collection, aiding in rights and reproductions licensing, creating metadata, and assisting with loading new images into our digital asset management system (NetX).
EDUCATION—SCHOOL PROGRAMS: The School Program (SP) Intern's main responsibilities will be to assist the Teacher Services Coordinator and Guided Gallery Visit Coordinator with online programming, including the ArtXchange Program and Virtual Gallery Visits, as well as completing other administrative tasks as needed. Responsibilities will include creating slide presentations, organizing image sets, preparing online resources, and helping to collect data about students' and teachers' experiences (e.g. creating and collecting surveys). Candidate must be detail-oriented and have a familiarity with video conferencing platforms (e.g. Zoom and Google Meet) and feel comfortable supporting instructors and facilitators during virtual programming. In addition, the candidate should have an interest in learning more about schools and supporting school-age students. They will be integral to creating a warm and welcoming virtual environment for teachers and students alike. The SP Intern will have an opportunity to teach young people in the virtual realm and develop their own lesson. They will also support the department's anti-oppressive teaching practices and consider ways to share those practices with teachers and students.
EDUCATION—TEEN PROGRAMS: The Teen Programs intern will collaborate with the Teen Programs Manager and Teen Programs Coordinator to support online teen programming led by our teen staff in the Museum Apprentice Program, Teen Night Planning Committee, and InterseXtions. The intern, also an alum of our programs, will learn the ins and outs of youth development and online learning through designing activities or our weekly program meetings, acting as a mentor to teen staff, producing online social media content, and assisting with the administration of these programs through marketing, reflection, and virtual interaction with audiences. Candidates must have completed at least 1 year of a Brooklyn Museum teen internship or two semesters of GSP work/study. The ideal intern has experience in working with multigenerational audiences; basic studio art-making and photography skills; be friendly, outgoing, and detail-oriented; and be available Thursdays and Fridays.
EXHIBITIONS: The Exhibitions department provides direction and support for the Museum’s in-house and touring exhibitions. Working directly with the Director of Exhibitions & Strategic Initiatives, Director of Exhibition Planning, Manager of Touring Exhibitions, Touring Exhibitions Coordinator, Exhibition Project Managers, and the Exhibition Assistant, the intern assists with designing documents and presentations; archival and art historical research and development; administrative duties relating to the planning and execution of in-house and touring exhibitions; and general office management. Interns are also able to attend a number of internal meetings with members of other Museum departments, including curatorial, design, marketing, and more. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented with strong organizational and communication skills, and is familiar with arts management and business.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS: As part of a team of curators and cultural producers, the Public Programs intern assists in bringing art, social justice, and culture to our communities with nearly 200 free and low cost public programs each year. The Public Programs internship is an opportunity to learn about the cultural landscape of Brooklyn and gain networking experience while building skills in cultural production, community organizing, and event planning at a large art institution. In addition to assisting the production and administration of regularly-scheduled summer programs, the intern develops and presents proposals for fall programs, completes assigned readings, composes publication texts (including web calendar, postcards, newsletters, and blog posts), prepares program logistics, and attends public programs at peer institutions. Qualified applicants should have a demonstrated interest in museums, arts management, community organizing, and /or social justice. Familiarity with critical race, queer, or disability theories and reflectiveness regarding race, class, gender, identity, sexuality, and dis/ability is important.
Positions for graduate students, and individuals who have completed a master’s degree:
ARCHIVES - In an effort to provide greater access to and knowledge of our archival holdings, the Archives department seeks a summer graduate student intern to complete the processing of the Community Gallery records and ready the finding aid for publication. Collaborating with and supervised by the museum archivist, the intern will process the remaining 4 linear feet of material using ArchivesSpace, write scope and contents notes and the rest of the DACS required elements, prepare the document boxes based on the resulting arrangement, and work with an ArchivesSpace export to format a PDF finding aid. The ideal candidate for this internship is enrolled in an Information Sciences graduate program with an archives concentration, and has an interest in the management of history as well as a strong desire to work in the archives field.
CONSERVATION - This internship provides conservation experience for individuals currently enrolled in a graduate training program for conservation. Specializing in objects, paper, and paintings, the conservation lab is responsible for the preservation, study, and treatment of our collections. Interns have opportunities to gain skills in both treatment and preventive conservation. Possible summer projects could include media identification on a large set of vernacular photographs or treatment of a Red Grooms installation sculpture from the 1980s.
CURATORIAL—EGYPTIAN, CLASSICAL, AND ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ART: The Egyptian, Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Art (ECANEA) curatorial intern primarily assists with collections documentation, archive management, and exhibition planning. Projects include digital imaging, data entry, and research. The ideal candidate is enthusiastic and dependable, with an interest in ancient Egyptian, Classical, or ancient Near Eastern history and art. Previous related coursework or related experiences are a plus.