Paid Art Internships: A Gateway to Creative Careers

For those passionate about art and eager to explore its vast potential, art internships offer a unique opportunity to gain firsthand experience and mentorship from professionals in the field. From film production to graphic design, numerous opportunities exist to launch a career in the arts. As an intern, you'll gain a firsthand look at the creative processes, apply your knowledge, and access a network of industry professionals.

Why Pursue an Art Internship?

An internship provides a valuable stepping stone into the art world, offering benefits that extend beyond the typical classroom setting. These benefits include:

Hands-on Experience: Internships provide practical experience in your chosen field, allowing you to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world situations.
Skill Development: Interns develop and refine essential skills, such as editing, concept development, camera equipment work, and studio maintenance.
Networking Opportunities: Internships provide access to a network of professionals, which can lead to future job opportunities and collaborations.
Portfolio Building: Internships offer the chance to create work samples for your professional portfolio, showcasing your skills and experience to potential employers.
Career Exploration: Internships allow you to explore different areas within the art world, helping you identify your specific interests and career goals.

Diverse Fields within Art Internships

The world of art encompasses a wide array of disciplines, each offering unique internship opportunities.

Graphic Design

While art is often associated with natural artistic ability, design is a skill that can be taught and learned. Graphic design is becoming a universal language and can also be done remotely, which allows interns to easily work with companies across the globe. Graphic design internships offer exposure to concept development, visual communication, and digital design tools. Interns may work on projects such as creating logos, designing websites, and developing marketing materials.

Film Production

The making of film requires several stages: development, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution. In the production stage, the film is developed and shot. Production interns get a hands-on experience of how a movie is made, down to the composition, framing, and lighting of each scene. Activities may include editing, concept development, and camera equipment work. Interns may assist with tasks such as set design, lighting, sound, and camera operation.

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Performing Arts

An internship in performing arts will give you a glimpse of the creative process behind music, dance, or theater and a direct learning experience from industry professionals. Moreover, you’ll have a chance to learn about the world through performing arts of another culture. It is one of the top cultural industries and plays a vital role in developing communities and creativity. Depending on which performing arts component interns are involved in, tasks may vary from composing music and developing acts to arranging props and coordinating rehearsals. Performing arts internships offer opportunities to learn about music composition, stage management, and theatrical production.

Photography

Photography is a universal means of communication where you can learn about the ideas, people, and landscapes of the world. The rise of digital cameras and smartphones has made photography an increasingly competitive field. However, a photography internship is a great opportunity for interns to develop their skills and get that perfect shot to beat the competition! Interns are able to organize shoots, process and edit images, maintain studios, and help with photography production. Additionally, it’s important to keep in mind that most professional photographers have areas of specialization, such as fashion, sports, or editorial photography. Photography internships provide experience in organizing shoots, processing images, and maintaining studios. Interns may also assist with photography production and learn about different areas of specialization.

Building a Professional Creative Portfolio

Before you start looking for an internship, you may want to consider building a professional creative portfolio. Examples of your work will help you catch employers’ eyes! The work included in a portfolio will depend on the type of internship you’re looking for. A strong portfolio is essential for showcasing your skills and attracting potential employers. Your portfolio should include examples of your best work, tailored to the specific type of internship you are seeking.

Geographic Hubs for Art Internships

Certain cities and countries stand out as major centers for creative industries, offering abundant internship opportunities.

United States

The United States has always led in creative industries and it has had a tremendous influence across the world. gross domestic product (GDP) is attributed to art and culture! Opportunities are robust for interns and vary by city. For film production, Los Angeles, California and Austin, Texas, home to Hollywood and SXSW, are thriving communities for moviemakers. New York City is a major center for music, film, theater, dance, and art. Many cultural movements began in NYC and it major performing arts companies, such as the Lincoln Center, are located here. The United States, particularly cities like Los Angeles, New York City, and Austin, offer a wealth of art internship opportunities. Los Angeles and Austin are hubs for film production, while New York City is a major center for music, film, theater, dance, and art.

Read also: Internship Opportunities in Europe

Sweden

According to the Martin Prosperity Institute, Sweden is ranked as the most creative country in the world! The Swedish economy has been shifting towards an economy driven not only by technological products but also increasingly by creative, innovative processes and services. Design in Sweden, focused on functionality sustainability, is a rapidly growing industry. Many Swedish and Scandinavian films, books and personalities are also beginning to appear in international media. Additionally, there are dozens of Swedish film festivals including the Stockholm International Film Festival. Sweden is recognized as a highly creative country, with a strong emphasis on design, functionality, and sustainability. The country's growing creative industries and numerous film festivals make it an attractive destination for art interns.

Japan

As an initiative to strengthen its culture throughout the world, Japan has recently established the “Creative Industries Internationalization Committee.” Creative industries in Japan reflect its various lifestyles, cultures, fashion, and food. The country’s popular culture including anime and music has increasingly gained popularity with the rise of online collaboration. Japan's unique culture and growing creative industries, particularly in anime and music, offer exciting internship opportunities for those interested in exploring Japanese arts and culture.

Smithsonian Institution Internships

The Smithsonian Institution offers a wide range of internships across its various museums and research centers. These internships provide valuable experience in museum practices, research, and education. Here are some examples:

Office of Planning, Design, and Construction (OPDC), Architectural History and Historic Preservation (AHHP) Internship: This internship provides practical learning experience in the stewardship of historic cultural facilities. Applicants should have undergraduate and/or graduate level courses related to architecture, architectural history, materials conservation, historic preservation, and historic building trades.
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) Internship: This internship engages communities in innovative ways, transcending boundaries and barriers.
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Internship: This internship involves over a hundred interns in various activities.
Peter A. Krueger Summer Internship Program: This program offers undergraduate students the unique opportunity to develop professional skills and learn about museum practices at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
National Air and Space Museum Internship: This structured summer internship program provides firsthand experience working in a museum.
National Museum of African American History and Culture Internship: This internship offers undergraduate and graduate students, and recent graduates' opportunities to work closely with professionals and scholars in the museum field.
National Museum of Asian Art Internship: This eight-week, paid Summer Undergraduate Internship Program is open for applications.
Natural History Research Experiences (NHRE): This 10-week summer internship program is hosted at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.
NMNH Summer High School Internship Program: This program at the Smithsonian Institution supports current high school attendees, ages 15 to 18 (grades 9 - 12), who are interested in learning about what it is like to work at a museum.
Science Writing Internship: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History seeks a science writing intern interested in developing science communication skills in an active communications and public affairs office.
Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA): This program at the Smithsonian seeks to promote broader and more effective use of museum collections - artifacts, audio recordings, art works, still and moving images - in anthropological research by providing graduate students with an immersive, four-week training program and research experience at the Smithsonian Institution.
National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Internship: The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) offers internships during the Fall, Winter/Spring, and Summer terms at the museum in Washington, D.C.; at the Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, MD; and at the museum (George Gustav Heye Center) in New York City.
National Portrait Gallery Internship: The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery offers formal internships to qualified applicants.
Office of the Registrar Internship: The internship will provide an excellent opportunity to learn about editing and museum publishing.
Office of Advancement Internship: The Office of Advancement is pleased to offer internship opportunities for candidates interested in fundraising and development-oriented careers.
Office of Educational Technology Internship: An internship at the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology is a unique opportunity to be part of a department working to make digital education resources more accessible and useful to PK12 teachers, students, parents, and anyone looking to discover and explore museum content.
Office of General Counsel (OGC) Internship: Legal interns in the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) work closely with attorneys whose work covers such diverse topics as tax, employment discrimination, ethics, imports/exports, federal appropriations, intellectual property, and environmental law.
Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) Internship: The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) provides the Smithsonian’s central computing and telecommunications services; provides leadership in information technology throughout the Institution in support of systems planning and development, communications, and computer-related training; and provides policy and guidance to ensure the integrity and security of Institutional automated data.
Claudine K. Brown Internship in Education: Awardees of the Brown Internship are appointed based on a demonstrated interest in the field of education and museum leadership.
Women’s History Internship Program: Our Women’s History Internship program offers paid eight-week paid internships that amplify women’s stories to tell a more complete American history, reach a diverse audience, and empower and inspire people from all walks of life.
Smithsonian Associates Internship: Interns with Smithsonian Associates are offered unique opportunities to learn about all aspects of educational programming for both adults and children, while contributing extensively to one of the world's great cultural institutions.
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) Summer Intern Program: The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) Summer Intern Program is a 10-week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) internship where students take on an astrophysics research project with an SAO or Harvard scientist.
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) Internship: The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) provides science-based knowledge to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Smithsonian Gardens Internship: Smithsonian Gardens provides an array of public garden learning experiences through its internship program thanks to the wide diversity of services and programs it offers at the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex.
Smithsonian Science Education Center Internship: Interns will work with Smithsonian Science Education Center curriculum developers to assist in the development of nonfiction stories that will be included in Smithsonian Science for the Classroom units.
STRI General Internship Program: The purpose of the STRI General Internship Program is to provide a place for internship applicants who are generally interested in STRI’s science to pursue a research experience with one of our scientific mentors based on their interests.

Other Art Internship Programs

Numerous other organizations and institutions offer art internship programs for students of various ages and skill levels.

The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art): The Met offers school-year and summer internships to sophomores and juniors in New York, along with expanded eligibility for summer internships to students in New Jersey and Connecticut.
MFA (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston): The MFA offers paid 12-month internships for rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the Boston area.
Art Institute of Chicago: Paid internships are available throughout the year to Chicagoland teens at one of the oldest and most beloved art museums in the country.
The Getty: Los Angeles teens aged 16-18 may apply to be summer gallery guides at the Getty, one of the most visited museums in the world.
Brooklyn Museum: The largest museum in New York City after the Met, the Brooklyn Museum offers three paid internship programs to local teens ages 14-19.
Arts for Learning (Miami): Florida high school students may apply for the paid summer ArtWorks Internship offered by Arts for Learning, a Miami nonprofit organization.
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM): One of the country’s oldest performing arts venues, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), offers a paid, year-long program for rising high school seniors in New York.
Bronx Museum: Established in 1971, the Bronx Museum offers two paid internships to New York high school students.
MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago): One of the largest institutions in the world devoted entirely to contemporary art, the MCA offers a yearlong cultural leadership program to Chicagoland teens ages 14-19.
SAM (Seattle Art Museum): As the major art museum in the Pacific Northwest, SAM offers a Teen Arts Group that runs during the school year for local teens interested in event planning.
New-York Historical Society: New York’s very first museum offers a Student Historian Internship to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the New York City metropolitan area.
The One Club For Creativity: While not a traditional internship, Saturday Workshops are provided by a collaboration between The One Club For Creativity and the New York City Department of Education and offer many of the same benefits.
Work of Art: Work of Art is a college and career exploration program for Los Angeles high school sophomores and juniors.
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance: The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance offers an internship to high school seniors in the area thanks to a significant grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Youth Insights (YI): Youth Insights (YI) is an after-school and summer program that connects New York City high school students to art and artists.
Student Artist Internship Program (SAIP): The Student Artist Internship Program (SAIP) offers an enriching opportunity for high school seniors to immerse themselves in the world of art.

Maximizing the Benefits of an Art Internship

To make the most of your art internship experience, consider the following tips:

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Show Commitment: Demonstrate genuine passion for your chosen field by participating in internships and related activities over a number of years.
Build Connections: Network with professionals in the industry to expand your contacts and learn about potential opportunities.
Seek Recommendations: Request letters of recommendation from supervisors and mentors to strengthen your future job applications.
Showcase Your Work: Use your internship experience to build a strong portfolio that highlights your skills and accomplishments.

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