Smart Museum Registration Intern

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.

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 position works with the Head and Assistant Registrar to assist in all aspects of museum registration, with special focus on the return to on-site museum work with our collections and the record systems that catalog, document, and report on both the permanent collection and loans to the Smart Museum. The Registration Intern will learn about the systems the museum uses to archive and provide access to information about the collection and will develop skills in collections management and documentation. In addition, the Registration Intern will assist with routine collections management duties in the Registration office including pulling artwork for class use, monthly inventory checks, and integrated pest management.

·      Review, organize, and file records related to acquisitions and loans that have been generated digitally during remote work (creating and in-filing paper archival files).

·      Provide support for academic class use of collections by pulling objects for viewing and returning to storage locations after class.

·      Assist in monthly collection spot inventories.

·      Complete monthly integrated pest management review in collection spaces.

·      Assist the Registration department with hands-on collection work as needed, including completing condition repots, assisting with object and exhibition photography, and conducting basic object cataloging.

·      Other duties as they arise.

·      Acquire knowledge of museum registration and collection management practices.

·      Develop familiarity with navigating and using museum files and databases to organize collection information.

·      Build skillsets in the areas of art handling, collections management, and registration methods.

·      Grow awareness about career paths in museum registration, and roles that overlap with registration in museums (for example, collection managers, rights and reproduction specialists, database managers).

Applicant must be a University of Chicago undergraduate student. Must be reliable, self-directed, attentive to detail, and highly organized. Must possess the ability to see projects through to completion. Must be able to work well with others and independently, and be able to maintain rigorous standards of security. Knowledge of art and varying artistic media and previous experience with file and/or database management highly desirable. Candidate must be available to work on-site at the museum.

Applicants must be available to work approximately 8-12 hours per week during fall quarter (with the possibility to renew for winter and/or spring quarter).

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; combine the following in *one* pdf. Document:

Application Deadline: September 12, 2021

Anticipated Start Date: October 1, 2021

Funding: Up to $1,000/quarter