2021 Getty Marrow Undergraduate Summer Internships
Criteria for Intern Candidates: The internship opportunities are intended for members of groups underrepresented in professions related to museums and the visual arts, including but not limited to individuals of African American, Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander descent. Intern candidates can be sought from all areas of undergraduate study and are not required to have demonstrated a previous commitment to the visual arts. In addition, each intern must meet the following eligibility criteria: (1) currently enrolled undergraduate and have completed at least one semester of college by June 2021; and (2) must be a resident or attend college in Los Angeles County; and (3) be eligible to be legally employed in the US.
Please note that students who have previously served as Getty Marrow Multicultural Undergraduate summer interns at the Japanese American National Museum are not eligible for consideration. Students enrolled in a second BA or BS program are not eligible. Finally, staff members and relatives of staff or board members are not eligible.
Intern Stipend: $6,000 gross for Full-Time (40 hours/week),10 consecutive weeks.
Dates of Internship: This year’s internship will offer some flexibility to comply with Public Health Officer Orders and allow students to work both on and off-site as needed to comply with city and county orders. 10 consecutive weeks between 6/14/21 thru 8/20/21, Full-Time (40 hours a week). May require some evening & weekend hours. Please note: given the ongoing changes due to the pandemic, the descriptions and responsibilities are subject to change.
The mission of the Japanese American National Museum it to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. The Japanese American National Museum is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to sharing the experience of Americans of Japanese ancestry.
Collections and Curatorial Intern
The Getty MUI Collections and Curatorial Intern will shepherd the Mine Okubo Collection (JANM 2007.62) through the various processes inherent to collections, conservation, and curatorial work at JANM and ultimately develop a capstone project that will make this collection relatable and accessible to a broad audience. Mine Okubo (1912-2001), was a classically trained artist from Riverside, CA, who was traveling throughout Europe to hone her craft on the eve of World War II. Upon reuniting with her brother in California, her life was soon turned upside down when she was forcibly removed from her home and community and incarcerated by the US government in one of America’s concentration camps, despite being a US citizen. The Okubo Collection is composed of a variety of materials–predominantly loose sketches and illustrations, sketch books, personal correspondence, press clippings, literary magazines, and manuscripts. The pen and ink, charcoal, and pencil sketches, which number in the hundreds, chronicle artist Mine Okubo’s incarceration during World War II and capture the congressional hearings in the 1980s that resulted in redress. The collection includes the original Citizen 13660 manuscript, which was Okubo’s illustrated memoir and the first of its kind to be published on the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
To process this collection and make it accessible to the public, the collections and curatorial intern will catalog the objects in the TMS collections management database, scan or photograph the objects, rehouse the objects in archival materials, research the historical context around the artifacts, create a finding aid, and develop written content around the objects for inclusion on JANM’s various social media platforms.
The artwork in this collection, along with existing materials in the collection will help to inform a research project into the wartime incarceration of Japanese American families from the West Coast. While the Collections Management and Access and Curatorial departments at JANM are prioritizing work to make more of the permanent collection available through eMuseum, an online platform to display catalog information, other creative ways that highlight the intern’s skillset to share these collections with the public is highly encouraged. The intern can determine what might be an effective way to share information gathered with a broad audience as a final capstone project, which could possibly include: an online exhibition through eMuseum, a zine, a series of blog posts, a short documentary, or another creative form.
Collections & Curatorial Intern Requirements: Competency in digitization/digital asset management, including scanning, photography, editing photographs in Adobe Photoshop is desired. Experience handling, cataloging, and rehousing archival and 3D artifacts is preferred, but not required. Familiarity with TMS or a collections management database is ideal, but not essential. Strong research and written communication skills are critical. Attention to detail and strong organizational skills are also essential.
APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 5:00pm, Thursday, May 6, 2021.
To apply submit your cover letter, employment application form, resume, with 2 letters of recommendation. Candidates selected for interview will also need to provide 1 copy of an official undergraduate transcript(s). Transcripts must record at least one semester of college by June 2021.
Employment Application forms are available at http://www.janm.org/jobs
Submit applications to Attn: Human Resources.
Re: Getty Marrow Summer Internship (Specify Intern Opportunity)
Email to: hr@janm.org (a word.doc format or pdf file)
Finalists will be contacted for Zoom video and phone interviews the week after the application deadline.
NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE
