PERFORMA ARCHIVES INTERNSHIP
OVERVIEW
Performa is a multidisciplinary non-profit arts organization dedicated to exploring the critical
role of live performance in the history of twentieth century art and to encouraging new
directions in performance for the twenty-first century. Part of Performa’s mission is to present
a Biennial of visual art performance in New York City that illuminates the critical role of
performance in the history of art as well as its enormous significance in the international world.
The Performa Archives contain tens of thousands of hours of original raw and edited video and sound recordings, photographs, physical and digital ephemera, as well as artists’ drawings, writings, correspondence with curators, interviews and research material, the archive is unusually complete in its full-on reveal of the commissioning and production process, tech riders and timelines included, that result in the renowned Performa commissions presented during the Performa Biennials since 2005. It is an invaluable resource for researchers, scholars, and anyone who is curious about performance’s role in defining our perceptions of the world. The Performa Archives has been in the works since its inception. Curated selections of archival materials are continuously made available to the public on the Performa Archives website – visit www.archives.performa-arts.org .
Performa is seeking interns who can contribute to adding by researching, sorting, and
organizing materials to and in the Performa Archives – either from the organization’s internal
archives or by reaching out to other institutions Performa partnered with in the past. The
position is ideal for ones interested in research and archiving practices related to the art history of performance. Candidates must be detail oriented, patient, and meticulous in their research process. Performa will host interns periodically in spring, summer, and fall.
organizing materials to and in the Performa Archives – either from the organization’s internal
archives or by reaching out to other institutions Performa partnered with in the past. The
position is ideal for ones interested in research and archiving practices related to the art history of performance. Candidates must be detail oriented, patient, and meticulous in their research process. Performa will host interns periodically in spring, summer, and fall.
INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS
- Search for archival materials such as production documents, performance
documentation, sketch designs, ephemera, and more in different Performa Archives
records and digital locations. Sort, classify, document, and archive found material into
the proper Archives Library folders following the organizing system already being used
at Performa.
- Reach out to collaborating artists, spaces, and galleries to request archival materials,
should they be unavailable in the Performa records. For example, a research intern
could volunteer to complete archival research for all Performa and Participant Inc. past
collaborations.
TERMS
This position is at least 2 days per week, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm in the office. A stipend of 500$
will be awarded monthly to each research intern.
To apply, please send your CV, and a short motivational statement to nour@performa-
arts.org
