Internship Review for Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Goals of this organization or company
One of the premier art museums of the world, the Met contains an encyclopedic collection of over 100,000 works of art from all corners of the globe. The internship is a summer intern program, that includes 22 undergraduate or pre-graduate school students, and around 16 graduate school students. The stipend is usually around $3,000. It is a highly competitive program so polish your resume and practice your interviewing skills.

Were you reimbursed for this internship?
This was a paid internship

How did you find out about this internship?
Through the Art History Department

What tasks or projects did you complete during this internship?
There was a two week orientation period where we got a tour of every gallery and department office by that department's curator. We also were taken to other museums and galleries on weekly field trips. During this period we were also expected to prepare a highlights tour. We had to select a range of eight works out of a group of twenty five options, and then do our own research on the object. We could focus on any aspect of it that we liked, and we practiced our tours with volunteers. Then we were dispatched to our various departments where we spent the rest of the summer. This involved a wide range of duties - I for one was helping to organize a black and white photo collection of architecture in New York at the turn of the century, while another intern in my department (19th Century, modern, and contemporary) was in contact with artists like Cara Walker as she helped to write labels for an African American artists exhibit set for the fall. During this period we also were expected to work at the information desk in the main hall for a few hours a week, and on those days we also had to give one highlights tour to the public, which was really amazing. The groups would range in size from as few as ten to as many as sixty people depending on the time of day. We also began working on a new tour in the middle of the summer called a "special topics" tour in which we would come up with our own theme, research it, and then lead several of them at the end of the summer (these were also open to the public). My own special topic was called Supersized Art and it focused on the provenance and installation of the largest works of art in the collection. Other interns did topics such as "The Elephant in the Room" or "Reliquaries" which included even modern works by Hirst.

What skills did you learn?
I developed my researching and public speaking skills very significantly. I learned alot about how to control a crowd. I also developed organizational and networking skills while working in my department.

Was the atmosphere friendly? Unfriendly?
The atmosphere was super friendly. The program was well thought out, the other interns were amazingly intelligent and open minded. The museum really caters well to its interns because they really hope that we will stay on eventually at the museum as a career, so you are treated like royalty.

Are you still in touch with this organization? Would you consider working there?
I am still in touch. It is hard to get a job there right now because like everywhere else, the recession has put a frieze on hiring, but they are still offering internships.

Would you recommend this internship? Was it challenging & fun? Or boring & not worth your time?
very challenging, but even more fun.

If you have any further questions, please contact the reviewer at: Alex Benepe Abenepe@middlebury.edu