PROJECT SUMMARY

Intern research will contribute to ongoing research on preserved sites associated with the artistic achievements of artist communities currently underrepresented in the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios’ Membership and Affiliate Membership. This includes preserved sites associated with the legacies of African American, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQ+ and women artists. Using various research methods and sources, the intern will expand upon existing files about known sites and artists, as well as identify new sites, not previously documented. Completed files and related compiled materials will serve to publicly celebrate these sites of artistic legacy and may serve as the basis for a future invitation to the sites and their stewards to apply for HAHS membership. The intern’s efforts will culminate in a final project that amplifies this research, these sites, and these artists for dissemination on HAHS, and potentially, National Trust platforms. The final format and scope of the project, which might be a digital exhibition, video, or illustrated article, will be determined through dialogue between the intern and the Director of Historic Artist’s Homes and Studios.

The Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program (HAHS) is a dynamic coalition of public sites that were once the homes and studios of American artists. Together, they tell a unique and site-specific story of our nation’s art history by 1) preserving and interpreting the personal places where art was made and 2) as generators of new ideas, experiences, and artistic legacies today. HAHS is committed to bringing these rich stories to a wider public audience while supporting its members through professional mentoring, public outreach and press, peer learning opportunities, and creative exchange. We connect member sites to one another, to visitors, and to experts throughout the world. HAHS is an international model and benchmark for similar organizations abroad.

Today, membership includes 61 sites in 25 states from Maine to California, representing artists from Hudson River School landscapist Thomas Cole and Modernist icon Georgia O’Keeffe to creatives who transformed decorative arts in this country such as ceramicist Marguerite Wildenhain and furniture designer Sam Maloof. Many of these artists also designed their own homes and landscapes, immersing visitors in holistic expressions of creativity. These places and the artistic legacies that they inspired are shared with over one million visitors annually.

Increasingly HAHS represents the stories of people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, indigenous, self-taught, and women artists. The HAHS intern will work to directly expand upon the program’s commitment and focus to increase membership and celebrate stories of artistic legacy in these areas.

The project provides a unique and imperative opportunity to help rectify the longstanding underrepresentation of certain artistic communities and sites of creativity. Vision for the project comes from recognition of a critical need for the preserved spaces of these visual artists and artistic production to be:

• Identified, Researched and Mapped
• Made more visible through:
  • Increased public and academic discourse
  • Developing strategies to ensure future preservation of these sites
  • National Trust and Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) varied platforms

Its purpose is to seek, document, elevate, and support these crucial sites of artistic heritage; so as to introduce for the first time these artists and their places, that merit attention and respect, to wider scholarly, preservation, and public audience.

The internship position will provide a direct vehicle to further the reach and impact of HAHS through scholarship and coalition building, which will ultimately increase the program’s diversity, a key goal over the next 3-5 years. This internship experience will promote study and awareness of artists’ studios as multi-media sites of creativity. The goal of the internship position is to 1) train someone in the material culture and rich resources unique to historic house museums dedicated to the legacy of visual artists; 2) provide project experience and skills to a student or entry-level colleague on substantial initiatives, with tangible outcomes, which can then be transferred to future professional positions; and 3) foster interest in HAHS as a suitable long-term focus for both scholarly and professional pursuit.

This internship and its related projects are meant to serve as a stimulus for sustained interest in HAHS sites, their artists, and research about artists’ homes as a critical aspect of art historical inquiry.

National Trust internships are temporary experiential learning opportunities with no expectation of employment at the conclusion of the internship.

For this internship, the National Trust is offering a stipend of $4,000 to help offset expenses. The period of the internship would be from approximately June 10 – August 2, for approximately 28 hours per week (some flexibility of schedule available).

A resume and cover letter are required.

DUTIES

The philosophy of this project is one of discovery; what this research will unearth is unknown. The project’s primary goals are to help identify sites for future membership, and to amplify identified sites through storytelling. The intern will help advance these goals through:

• Weekly online meetings with the HAHS Director
• Identification and selection of a research driven project that focuses on one or more sites of artistic legacy.
• Discussion with the HAHS Director of existing research on sites representing BIPOC, self-taught, LGBTQ+ and women artists.
• Become familiar with existing criteria for acceptance into Membership and Affiliate Membership
• Engage in research to identify, locate, and describe new sites; conduct field visits; to aid in this research, the intern will have access to the professional expertise and knowledge of the professionals and scholars on the HAHS Steering Committees.
• Compile data/images into useable and consistent format on both unknown and discovered sites for use in existing research files, and for digital content use through various HAHS platforms.
• In conducting research, intern will be sensitive to the fact that preserved sites to these underrepresented communities may not conform to traditional home and studio models, and may involve researching and identifying collective spaces and workshops, exhibition halls and places of artistic exchange, artist vernacular environments, sites of living artists whose legacy must be ensured or extant buildings associated with artistic legacy that are currently under threat, or are in development.
• If time allows, the intern may expand research to identify sites that have been lost and compile archival and photographic documentation to give agency to these places.
• Complete a final project, in consultation with the HAHS Director.

Final Project

The intern will complete a final project in dialogue with the HAHS Director. Possible formats for this project could include, but are not limited to:

• Short-form video highlighting selected sites for distribution/hosting on HAHS and National Trust digital platforms, other public outreach; and sharing broadly through art, history, and preservation fields.
• Web-based interactive portal featuring site mapping and site profiles. HAHS looks to models such as Mapping the African American Past (Columbia University) and The History Makers (Chicago) for applicable formats/approaches.
• Online digital exhibition featuring images, videos and audios; or some other graphic based material such as a pamphlet or brochure.

EDUCATIONAL VALUE TO THE INTERN

The intern will gain experience under the mentorship of respected art and material culture historians and preservation and museum professionals in an educational setting at one of the nation’s leading arts & cultural and non-profit advocacy organizations, and as part of the national HAHS program which is the thought leader in professional mentoring of and advocacy for preserving visual artists’ sites. The intern will also have the opportunity to participate in educational programming offered via the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s organization-wide internship program. Students may also be eligible for college or graduate school academic credit at the discretion of their institution.

Specifically, the intern will gain knowledge in the following areas:

• A thorough understanding of management of a national museum-network program including administrative, organizational, and research practices.
• Experience in producing applicable research tools and documents for a national museum-network.
• Experience in creating and distributing HAHS-related communications content, both for print and online platforms.
• A knowledge of preserved spaces throughout the United States and abroad associated with the life and work of diverse artists throughout American art history.
• Familiarity of current preservation, interpretation and programmatic best-practices and paradigms for preserved artists’ homes and studio, now operating as public sites.
• An understanding of historic preservation and “saving places” within the context of preserved artists’ homes and studios within the network.

At the end of the project the intern will have assisted in the creation of tools by which to expand and diversify the HAHS membership and produced of a final project that will amplify and gain visible for these artists and these sites. This contributive material can be added to their professional portfolio in support of their future career pursuits.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s level studies (or equivalent years of experience) required; current or rising seniors or graduate students preferred. Students majoring in art history, public history, or museum studies preferred. Post graduate students and art history and/or art museum emerging professionals are also welcome to apply.
• Some prior experience working in the art or museum field, or commensurate knowledge of art history.
• Strong research skills.
• Ability to work independently, set priorities, meet deadlines, and manage a number of concurrent projects in a timely and efficient manner.
• Basic project-organization skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to collaborate and achieve results with supervision, including ability to interact professionally with key internal and external stakeholders as needed.
• Strong organizational skills required, with ability to prioritize, multi-task efficiently, and meet deadlines in a timely fashion.
• Ability to adapt and be flexible in a dynamic work environment. Ability to work effectively with frequent interruptions required. Able to handle frequently changing and/or unscheduled tasks with accuracy.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills. Friendly and professional demeanor on the phone and in writing, with ability to speak and write clearly in English. Bi-lingual language skills a plus.
• Ability to work effectively with culturally diverse colleagues; connections to or experience helping to engage culturally diverse audiences and partners a plus. Bi-lingual language skills (especially English/Spanish) a plus.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office products required, including Outlook, Word and Excel. Familiarity with other software, such as Adobe Acrobat a plus. Familiarity with social media (Facebook, IG, Twitter, etc.) and use of digital media required.
• Ability work effectively in a remote environment, maintaining productivity and communications to meet deadlines and goals, is required.

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