The Center for Arts at the Armory (Arts at the Armory) is a community arts and cultural center supporting the greater Somerville area. Somerville has the second-highest number of artists per capita in the country, after only Manhattan. Arts at the Armory offers a creative space for local artists. We host a broad range of performing arts activities (music, theater, dance, film, spoken word, poetry, etc.) as well as visual art exhibits and a variety of cultural and community events. We also offer educational arts and cultural programs for all ages, with a particular emphasis on programs for local youth.
Internship Program Description:
We accept interns in just about any area related to running a mid-size arts center! Our 11 “standard” internships are listed below, but it’s also possible to create your own internship if you have a specific interest – just let us know.
Event Management
Organize and assist events, from the initial inquiry from a prospective performer or organizer, through all of the preparation steps, to running the event on the day. Events can include arts, cultural, community, or private events, in any of our spaces (Conference Room, Cafe, Mezzanine, and Hall). Your schedule will vary from week to week, based on the run times of the events you’re working on, and will almost certainly include some evening and weekend hours each week.
Graphic Design
Develop flyers, posters, website banners, and images/logos for a variety of great arts and cultural events hosted here at the Armory. There may also be opportunities to work on promotional materials for Arts at the Armory as a whole (factsheets, etc.). Flexible schedule, and option to work from home part of the time.
Finance
Help our finance team with bookeeping and financial accounting, to include accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank reconciliation, profit and loss statements, reporting to managment, etc. There may also be opportunities for more detailed data analysis and trend analysis. This work must be done on-site, but the schedule can be flexible.
Office Administration / HR
Assist with any of the general office duties necessary for running an arts center: answering phones and responding to emails, drafting letters, doing simple data entry and website updates, etc. Assist with HR projects and HR system improvements in particular. This work has to be done on-site in our offices, but your schedule can be flexible.
Marketing & Promotion
Spread the word about our great events and services – working on social media, the website, email newsletters, press releases, and other promotional activities.
Community Outreach
Build awareness and relationships with the community in general and with specific segments in particular (neighbors, schools, senior centers, etc.). This is a mix of office-based and event-based work, both on-site at the Armory and at other events throughout the greater Somerville area.
Education Programs
Organize and run educational activities, with an emphasis on school break and afterschool programs for youth aged 5-19. There are options to develop, teach or assist with classes yourself, or to focus solely on the administrative aspects of the overall educational program (e.g., coordinating with artists, instructors, schools, and families). Most of the work will be done in our offices and can be on a flexible schedule.
Exhibits Intern
Schedule, organize, and oversee monthly visual art exhibits in the Cafe space and special pop-up exhibits in the Hall/Mezzanine spaces. Communicate with artists and make administrative arrangements as needed for hosting exhibits. Assist in the hanging and takedown processes. Be present during scheduled gallery hours to interact with exhibit visitors. Requires a mix of daytime and evening or weekend hours.
Tech Intern (Sound/Lights)
Performances couldn’t happen without tech! Come run sound/lights/video projection for small-scale events in our Cafe, or assist with tech for larger events in our Hall space.
IT/Web Intern
We have a long wishlist of IT-based projects, from improving our desktop environment to networked storage to wifi to website improvements to developping a stakeholder database. Tackle a few projects and make our operations smoother and more efficient!
Cafe Management Intern
Interested in food service as a career? Help manage our Cafe! Assist with scheduling, inventory, ordering, food prep, food safety, and planning food and drink needs for various events. For this position, you should have an academic background and/or previous work experience with food service management.
Note: All internships are unpaid, typically 10-15 hours per week with a mix of fixed and flexible hours. Afternoon and evening schedules preferred. Good customer service skills and the ability to work well on a team are essential! A love of fun and funky arts/cultural/community events is a big plus…
