Teen Engagement Intern - Summer 2021

This internship is part of the University’s Jeff Metcalf Internship Program. Please review the Metcalf Interns’ Responsibility Notice to learn more about program requirements for Metcalf interns.

Please make sure that if selected for an interview, you communicate to your prospective host organization/employer where you will be physically located during the internship as your location may affect your (or your host organization/employer’s) ability to pursue this opportunity.                                                                                

If you are an international student, please make sure to visit the OIA website to familiarize yourself with your work authorization eligibility and requirements as soon as possible. If you’d like to make an appointment with your international adviser, please visit this page.

This student intern will be a vital member of the Public Practice team to support projects across the museum, focusing intensively to support teen engagement. Teen programming at the Smart Museum provides multivalent opportunities for South Side youth to access their lived experience, step into their creative brilliance, and contribute to civic dialogue through artful expression. The intern will support our flagship program, produced in partnership with Chicago Housing Authority, where teen participants pursue ambitious real-world, human-centered design projects that will impact the larger community.

·        Support museum staff and program lead artists in every aspect of running a summer-long intensive program with teen audiences; mentorship and support of teen participants, including coordinating communications, project documentation, data collection, and project management.

·        Liaise with visiting artists and community leaders.

·        Maintain and organize calendar listings and schedules.

·        Order supplies, lunches, and program materials; support other museum public projects that will unfold across the summer and into the academic year.

·        Help program and facilitate the Smart’s multi-site, cross city exhibition (Toward Common Cause: Art, Social Change, and the MacArthur Fellows Program at 40).

·        Help support K-12 student engagement at the museum for academic year ’21-’22.

·        Help support the Smart’s annual summer cookout event.

Applicant must be a University of Chicago undergraduate student (not eligible for students graduating June 2021). Background in Art History, Visual Arts, community engagement, museums or related fields preferred. Must be reliable, attentive to detail, highly organized. Must possess the ability to see projects through to completion. Must be able to work well with others and independently. Must have a passion for supporting community and civic engagement, as well as an ability to communicate with a variety of audiences from K-12 students to teachers and parents to artists and civic leaders.

This opportunity will be full-time for Summer 2021; undergraduate intern should anticipate giving approximately 30-40 hours/week of time to this opportunity for 10 weeks; given the dynamic nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is anticipated that the associate’s work may be done remotely (if in-person/on-site work is required during the intern’s tenure, this will be discussed and worked out with the student based on their location, availability, and comfort with such work).

This internship is made possible by generous funding from the College at the University of Chicago, specifically through the Careers in Journalism and Creative Writing/Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (CIJCW/ACE) Program. As an integral component of this internship, the selected student will be required to work with the Smart Museum’s Academic Engagement Coordinator and the CIJCW/ACE Program Director to plan, present, and moderate a 45 minute Zoom program, open to current and prospective UChicago students, to discuss their work with their supervisor/mentor and how it relates to career options in the Humanities. This will take place at a time discussed with and agreed upon by the student and their supervisor/mentor at the Smart Museum.

Applications will be submitted via Handshake;

Application Deadline: February 28, 2021 by 11:59pm

Anticipated Start Date: June 14, 2021

Funding: Up to $4,000 for Summer 2021 (full-time)