The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) has selected the 10 member art museums that will host interns in 2024 as part of its paid college internship program for students from underrepresented communities—the fifth iteration of its ongoing initiative, and an important part of AAMD’s efforts to enhance diversity and equity within the art museum sector.

This year’s participating institutions are:

• Hudson River Museum
• Missoula Art Museum
• Palm Springs Art Museum
• Phoenix Art Museum
• Reynolda House
• Spencer Museum of Art
• Taft Museum of Art
• The Chrysler Museum of Art
• The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) - Qaumajuq
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

These museums were chosen for their dedication to inclusivity and a commitment to supporting students seeking to learn more about the range of professional opportunities in the museum field. Each institution will host an intern—either full-time for 12 weeks, or part-time for a total of 420 hours—developing a program aimed at supporting career development across various museum departments. Four of these institutions—Chrysler Museum of Art, Missoula Art Museum, Palm Springs Art Museum, and Spencer Museum of Art—have hosted AAMD-supported interns previously and re-applied based on the success of their past participation.

Christine Anagnos, Executive Director of AAMD, said “One of the biggest hurdles faced in a field like ours is reducing barriers to entry. This is particularly true for students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds who may not have either the networking connections needed to find these internship opportunities or the financial resources to participate in them. Our program also puts an emphasis on mentoring for these students, thus ensuring they begin to build the kinds of nurturing professional relationships that can be so crucial for success in any field. By partnering with these member museums, we are offering more than just internships, we are opening doors to future art museum leaders, and I am grateful to my colleagues at these 10 institutions for their interest in and support for that process.”

The program plans at each museum can take different forms—and each host institution is to ensure there is one defined project for an intern to work on, so they can see the culmination of their contributions by the end of their internship. For example, at the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, the team hopes to engage their intern in the development of an Indigenous fashion exhibition, working with the curatorial department, among other activities. “We are thrilled to again be participating in AAMD's paid college internship program,” said Saralyn Reece Hardy, the Marilyn Stokstad Director of the Spencer Museum of Art. “Hosting an intern is an opportunity for us to share our passion for art and culture, while also benefiting from the fresh perspectives and innovative ideas that students so often bring.”

At the Hudson River Museum, the plan is for an intern to work primarily in the museum’s development department, gaining valuable professional skills that can be used widely in an art museum or non-profit context. “This program offers us a unique opportunity to mentor and shape the future of museum professionals in the vital area of museum development and fundraising,” said Masha Turchinsky, Director and CEO of the Hudson River Museum. “Our intern will support our ongoing work to connect with our community and learn about the strategies we use to secure the resources necessary to advance our mission. I want to thank AAMD for making this investment, on behalf of our interns but just as crucially for the future of the whole field.”

About AAMD’s Paid Internship Program
Launched in 2018, AAMD’s paid internships are only available to undergraduate students in their sophomore, junior, or senior years, to provide opportunity for students who have begun to solidify their academic interests and potential career path. Each year, 10 member art museums are paired with interns in their home or university town. The program is designed to engage college students from underrepresented backgrounds, to encourage and nurture their career opportunities in the art museum field—while providing the financial support necessary to make participation in an internship possible.

This year’s program opens the internships to both full- and part-time interns, providing more flexibility to both the host museums and the interns themselves. Interns receive a stipend of $6,720, equivalent to an hourly wage of $16 for the 420 total hours of the internship. Each intern is also paired with a mentor—a member of the host museum’s senior leadership team—who is responsible for directing their activities and providing overall counsel on their professional development. Because mentors can be so crucial to the development of a person’s career, this approach encourages the kind of long-term relationship-building that is often essential to an individual’s success in the field. During the term of their internship, mentors ensure that there are opportunities for conversation, feedback, direction, and questions.

Financial and logistical support for this program is provided by AAMD and by the participating member museums. This is only one of a number of steps AAMD has taken to increase equity and diversity in the field, where research has consistently shown that fewer than 20% of leadership positions are held by people of color. In 2019, the Association issued a resolution calling on museums to offer a stipend with all internships, recognizing that the limited financial resources often available to students from diverse backgrounds also becomes a limitation on access to career development opportunities. Recognizing that it is also difficult to address problems that are not properly evaluated, AAMD has also been an active partner with the Mellon Foundation, Ithaka S+R, and other organizations on a series of research projects exploring elements of museum staff, leadership, and trustee diversity and participation. This includes, most recently, the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey 2022.

About AAMD
The Association of Art Museum Directors advances the profession by cultivating leadership capabilities of directors, advocating for the field, and fostering excellence in art museums. An agile, issues-driven organization, AAMD has three desired outcomes: engagement, leadership, and shared learning. Further information about AAMD’s professional practice guidelines and position papers is available at www.aamd.org.