Museum Studies Blog at Tufts University

The Emily A. Laird Graduate Student Internship in Museum Studies for Summer 2017

Deadline: February 20, 2017

The Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) is accepting applications for its 2017 summer internship for graduate students in museum studies, public history, art history, and related fields. Interns will learn and work in a team-based, collaborative environment and play a crucial role in advancing one or more areas of NRF’s mission. The 2017 interns will be based at Doris Duke’s Rough Point, an NRF property open to the public as a house museum. This year, NRF is seeking one graduate intern to work on curatorial projects and one graduate intern to work on education projects. Interns will work with departmental staff and devote approximately half their time to training, participation in daily operations, and general internship assignments. The remainder of their time will be devoted to independent work on a substantive project, to be developed in consultation with their supervisor. Successful interns will possess exceptional interpersonal skills, an enthusiasm for making art and history accessible to the public, intellectual curiosity, and good humor.

NRF excels in three areas:

• Preserving, researching, and interpreting Doris Duke’s collections of fine and decorative arts
• Presenting over 200 public programs annually, including walking tours, workshops, lawn programs, lectures, and performances
• Preserving, researching, and interpreting Newport’s 18th- and early 19th-century vernacular architecture

The interns will work across departmental lines in support of these efforts and can expect to spend time interacting with the public, as well as contributing to general museum business. Specific to the 2017 internship is the likelihood of working on programming for the 2017 exhibition, Nature Tamed in the Landscapes, Gardens, and Collections at Rough Point.

Compensation and living arrangements:

Interns work a minimum of 35 hours per week at a rate of $14.50/hour. Some weekend and evening hours are required. Holidays and other time off are not paid. The 10 week internship typically begins the first week of June and ends in late August, with exact dates to be determined at time of offer. Housing in Newport is available at a reduced rate of approximately $100-125 per week.

Application:

Applicants must be graduate students, or those completing their program of graduate study in the semester immediately prior to the internship.

A complete application consists of:

1. A short personal statement (700-800 words maximum) that outlines a professional or research interest in one or more of NRF’s areas of operations;
2. A resume of no more than two pages;
3. Contact information for three references.

Please send all materials in a single PDF to Kelsey Mullen, Public Programs Manager, at kelsey@newportrestoration.org.

NRF is an equal opportunity employer.

Closing date is February 20, 2017; applicants will be notified by mid-March.

About the Newport Restoration Foundation

The Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 by Doris Duke to preserve, maintain, and interpret Aquidneck Island’s 18th- and early 19th-century architectural heritage. In addition to a collection of more than 70 early American houses, now rented to tenant-stewards, NRF operates three museum properties: Rough Point, Doris Duke’s Newport mansion and home to a significant collection of European paintings, furniture, and textiles, and other European and Asian decorative arts; Whitehorne House, featuring a collection of 18th- and early 19^th-century Newport furniture (which will be closed to the public in 2017); and Prescott Farm, a public park and historic site with ties to the Revolutionary War. The foundation is actively engaged in historic preservation, public programming, and scholarly research.

For more information: www.newportrestoration.org

Emily A. Laird was an M.A. student in museum studies at the Cooperstown Graduate Program, Cooperstown, N.Y. when she came to Newport as a Newport Restoration Foundation collections intern in 2011. During her time at the NRF, Emily displayed a passion for scholarship, dedication to her work, and a keen interest in her museum colleagues, the local community, and the unique qualities of Newport and environs. She worked closely with staff and had made an excellent start on her individual project before falling critically ill in mid-summer. She died on September 29, 2011.

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