The Brooklyn Museum is seeking interns for its Summer 2025 Internship Program.
The positions for our Summer 2025 Internship program are now officially posted on its website.
Students may only apply for one position (there are 10
available). In the application, candidates will be asked to submit a
cover letter detailing why they are specifically applying for the
Brooklyn Museum and why they are applying for the department
of their choice.
Applications close March 24, with internships running from June 9- August 22nd.
Below you will find a list of
descriptions for our available positions.
These paid internship opportunities
are available to those who have completed their sophomore, junior, or
senior year, as well as recent graduates and graduate students. Interns
receive $17 per hour and work 35 hours per week. Selected
interns will be paired with a supervisor and integrated into one of our
departments, participating fully in day-to-day workplace activities and
projects with the guidance of full-time staff members. In addition to
gaining extensive work experience, they will
also attend seminars that focus on current museum practices, the role
of museums in society, and how they might imagine the future.
Available positions for the summer:
Archives - The Brooklyn
Museum’s Archives documents the various departments and activities of
the Museum from 1823 through the present day. Working with the Archivist
and Records Manager the intern will process the Registrar’s exhibit
files which includes loan information, checklists, and correspondence.
The intern will add to and complete the finding aid for the Registrar’s
department utilizing ArchivesSpace. The Archivist and Records Manager
will provide training in how to use an archive,
basic archival theory, and in ArchivesSpace to help the intern complete
the project. All are welcome to apply.
Arts of the Americas: Reporting
to the Andrew W. Mellon Senior Curator of the Arts of the Americas, the
intern will be exposed to aspects of curatorial work, including
exhibition planning, research, and best practices in collection
stewardship. Under the guidance of the Senior Curator, the intern will
directly work on two projects. The first involves research and content
development for the traveling exhibition
Hopi Kachina Dolls: Treasured Gifts (working title). The first of its kind, this exhibition examines the kachina doll (tihu)
tradition from a Hopi women’s perspective. This exhibition, which opens
at the Brooklyn Museum in Fall 2026 and then travels
through 2027, has already received planning and implementation grants
from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Luce Foundation.
The intern will assist in drafting grant proposals to private
foundations in support of the implementation of the
exhibition, publication, and tour. The second project relates to best
practices in collection stewardship. To support documentation efforts,
the intern will catalog and photograph archaeological and Amazonian
collections. Cataloging involves recording descriptions
and dimensions, taking record photos, and reconciling database
discrepancies. An educational background in Art History, Anthropology,
or related field is required. Candidates must have strong collaborative
and communication abilities; excellent organizational
skills, including meticulous attention to detail; experience
researching primary and secondary sources; a sophisticated mode of
expressing ideas in writing; and a demonstrated interest in the
Indigenous arts of the Americas.
Indigenous Art: Working
directly with the Curator of Indigenous Art and the department
curatorial assistants, the intern conducts research and outreach related
to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
and creates extensive reports summarizing and documenting museum work
related to that legislation. Additionally, the intern may provide
departmental support and conduct collection and provenance research if
time allows. Ideal candidates have knowledge of NAGPRA;
prior research experience; excellent communication and organizational
skills, including meticulous attention to detail; a demonstrated
commitment to Native American communities and/or Native American Art;
and an interest in a museum career.
Conservation: The department of
Conservation works closely with the Museum's curatorial departments to
understand, document and preserve collections. The intern in
Conservation will learn about art handling best practices, photo
documentation, and how to look at and describe materials and processes
used in making art objects to create basic condition reports. The
intern will have the opportunity to perform minor treatments under the
supervision of conservators. The intern will also
assist conservators on preventive conservation activities, such as
working with environmental data, integrated pest management activities,
making storage housings and containers for artworks and applying
accession numbers. This internship will serve as an
introduction to the field of art conservation. The ideal candidate has
an interest in science, art, and loves working with their hands.
Decorative Arts & Design:
Working with the Senior and Assistant curators of the Decorative Arts
and Design Department, the intern will assist with the development of
new exhibition projects and gallery rotations. Additionally, they
will gain experience working with the museum’s collection through
reviews, researching new acquisitions and objects designated for
deaccessioning, building and organizing object and exhibition folders,
assisting with writing gallery labels and provenance research,
and some administrative duties like note taking. Other research and
writing projects will be assigned as needed. Interested candidates
should possess superior research and writing abilities; excellent
communication and organizational skills, and an interest
in history, decorative arts, design, and/or craft.
Digital Content: As part of the
Digital Content team, this intern will assist with digital content
creation for the Museum’s social media channels, email newsletters, and
SMS strategy to support promotion of exhibitions, collection
activations, and programming at the Museum. As part of our team, you
will help develop, write, and produce original content, assist with
community management, and track engagement analytics to identify
impactful ideas and opportunities across our platforms.
We are looking for candidates with an interest in impactful
storytelling through copywriting, photography, video editing, and
occasionally documenting events / life at the Museum. Along the way, you
will have the opportunity to pitch story ideas and bring
approved concepts to life! Knowledge of social media platforms, ongoing
trends in culture, and video editing software is nice-to-have, but can
be a learning opportunity.
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art (EASCFA):
The intern will focus primarily on cataloguing a large collection of
vernacular photography. Ideal candidates are familiar with subjects of
art history, gender and sexuality
studies, photography, and feminist histories or a related field. The
ideal curatorial intern will also have a sharp attention to detail, be
self-motivated and organized, practice critical thinking, possess
excellent writing skills, and be a proactive contributor
to the team. Applying candidates should be excited to commit to the
long term-cataloging project for the summer and comfortable with
independent work, while also being adaptable to various departmental
tasks.
Graphic Design: The Graphic
Design Department at the Brooklyn Museum works with departments across
the museum to unify communication and design strategies across all brand
touch points and exhibitions. The design team functions within
an interdisciplinary studio model; we work collaboratively on projects,
have group critiques and discussions, share and discuss innovative work
in the field, and support each other’s creative process and goals. To
be considered for this position, we would
like to see a portfolio of your design work via a digital link or as a
PDF. When constructing your portfolio, consider including work that
shows your creative process and thinking, as well as projects that are
meaningful to you.
Exhibition Design: The
Exhibition Design department is responsible for the design process from
planning through completion of the display of special exhibitions,
collection galleries, and special projects. This process involves
concept
development and providing shops with construction documents to oversee
art installation. The ideal candidate would be familiar with design
programs such as Vector works and Rhino and have a desire to collaborate
on a range of design projects, have excellent
communication skills and be a creative thinker. This would be a
valuable experience for anyone interested in being part of a creative
team while developing important personal skills related to exhibition
design.
Visitor Experience and Engagement (VEE): The
vision of the VEE department is to provide a warm and welcoming
environment that offers inclusive, inspirational, and transformative
experiences for visitors of all backgrounds and abilities
by anticipating their needs, exceeding their expectations through
world-class customer service. As part of VEE, the intern will provide
support, particularly with organizing departmental materials such as
training documents for the VE front-of-house team,
signage storage, and office archives. The candidate will also provide
input for ongoing projects such as the VEE front-of-house guide, a
document that assists our Admissions staff at the membership and
admission desks. An interest in the museum field is welcome
but not required. Essential qualities for this internship include
attention to detail, organizational skills, excellent communication and
writing skills, and creative problem-solving.
To Learn More & Apply:
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/careers/internships-fellowships/adult-paid-internships
