The York University Curatorial Internship
ARTH 5190 3.0
Fall / Winter / Spring and Summer 2007-2008
Description:
The York Curatorial Internship is an independent study and practicum carried out at a museum, gallery, archive, cultural organization or institution, auction house, commercial gallery, art magazine, or other site. The internship is developed with the Faculty Supervisor and conducted under the guidance of an On-site Supervisor. The on-site experience offers practical insight into professional art historical and critical practices, and will help you establish valuable professional contacts. Your internship requires not only on-site engagement but a scholarly analysis of the activity undertaken and a critical understanding of the work that is done. Each student should thus tailor their apprenticeship to fit their interests in critical writing, curatorial practice, museology, and art history.
For students enrolled in the Diploma in Curatorial Studies in Visual Culture offered in conjunction with the M.A. in Art History, an on-site internship is required and is equal to a 3-credit course. A maximum of one 3-credit internship may be taken.
The Internship is also available for graduate students in Art History not enrolled in the Diploma in Curatorial Studies in Visual Culture.
The average number of working hours for an apprenticeship is 80-90 hours.
Your Internship Team and the Terms of Supervision:
Your internship will be developed with your supervisory team, which includes:
(1) enrollment with the Graduate Director.
(2) a schedule of supervisory meetings with your assigned Faculty Supervisor, an Art History professor with curatorial expertise and contacts, who assists the graduate student with an internship placement and proposal. The Faculty Supervisor tracks the progress of the graduate student throughout all aspects of the internship placement.
The Faculty Supervisors for 2007-2008 York Curatorial Internships are:
Jennifer Fisher
Email: jefish@yorku.ca | Tel: 736-5533
Anna Hudson
Email: ahudson@yorku.ca | Tel: 736-2100 ext 77427
(3) the ongoing guidance of your On-site Supervisor, an art professional working in the field – such as an exhibiting institution, auction house, commercial dealer, art magazine or journal – with whom the graduate student works closely on a project outlined in the approved apprenticeship proposal.
The Faculty Supervisor, in consultation with the On-site Supervisor, assigns the grade for the York Curatorial Internship (ARTH 5190).
Enrolling in the York Curatorial Internship:
Supervisory Assignment Session: Two supervisory assignment sessions for internships are scheduled each year, (Fall and Winter), where information is given about internship protocols and where students sign up with a Faculty Supervisor. In order to enrol in an internship, you must attend one of these sessions.
York Curatorial Internship Questionnaire. Students are required to complete the following Questionnaire in order to articulate the impact of the proposed internship on their scholarly research.
1) List 3 objectives (practical achievements of skills or professional development) you intend to realize through an internship.
2) List 3 goals (relating to scholarly research) you intend to realize through an internship.
3) What are your current and long-term scholarly and professional ambitions?
4) How do you perceive an internship informing your scholarly research?
5) List 3 possible locations for your internship.
6) Do you have professional contacts at these art institutions? If so whom?
7) How would you describe your professional network in the art world?
Please give the names of professional contacts if possible.
8) How would you describe your scholarly network?
9) How do you perceive your internship contributing productively to the host institution?
10) Provide a bibliography of 10 key books and/or articles that will inform your on-site research during your internship.
11) Provide a list of 10 key websites that will serve to contextualize your internship.
Please submit a copy of your completed York Curatorial Internship Questionnaire to both Faculty Supervisors (listed above).
After attending the Supervisory Assignment Session, make an appointment with your assigned Faculty Supervisor to review your ideas for placements and projects. Please note: It is the Faculty Supervisor who contacts the host institution, and arranges your On-site Supervisor.
Your enrolment in the York Curatorial Internship (ARTH 5190) must coincide with the term in which you expect to complete your internship. Late submissions of grades will not be accepted.
Orienting your Internship Placement:
While planning your Internship, keep your Major Research Paper (MRP) in mind and the critical issues you plan to address in your graduate research. Placements that fall outside the focus of the MRP may still provide invaluable learning opportunities and contribute to your wider graduate research experience.
Just as curatorial practice takes many forms and requires multiple skills, your choice of a placement may take shape in unexpected ways, more varied and challenging than a traditional installation of “fine art” in a gallery space. Most important is your careful consideration of personal learning objectives: What will be the subject of your MRP? What is your ideal career? What kind of professional network would you like to develop?
While your York Faculty Supervisor will know of opportunities, and will help generate ideas for placements based on your interests, it is vital that you play an active role in getting the experience you most value. Your planning cannot be rushed. It will take more than a month’s lead time to secure a site, to establish an On-site Supervisor, and to draft an internship proposal. The Graduate Director must ultimately approve your proposal for you to proceed. (Please see the Internship Contract.)
Examples of Apprenticeship Placements since 2004:
- Departments of Canadian Art, Contemporary Art, Photography, European Art, and Education at the Art Gallery of Ontario
- ImagiNative Film and Media Arts Festival
- Departement de l’art moderne, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
- Greater Toronto Airports Authority
- Jessica Bradley Art & Projects
- Canadian Art magazine
- FUSE magazine
- Royal Agricultural Hall of Fame, CNE
- University of Toronto Art Centre
- Toronto Design Exchange
- The Power Plant
- Winnipeg Art Gallery
- Plug In, Winnipeg
- Bank of Montreal, Toronto
- Sotheby’s Auction House
- Waddington’s Auction House
- Ritchies Auctioneers & Appraisers of Fine Art
- Canadian Museum of Civilization
- Museum London
- South Asian Visual Arts Collective (SAVAC)
The York Curatorial Internship Proposal and ContractYour placement can begin only after your Internship Proposal has been approved by your Faculty Supervisor, your On-site Supervisor, and the Graduate Director. The Contract attached here should accompany your internship proposal. A copy of York University’sWorkplace InsuranceForm is also attached – please make sure to complete this form for your On-site Supervisor.
Getting approval for your Internship Proposal involves the following steps:
1) Attendance at an Supervisory Assignment Session in the Fall or Winter
2) Completion of the above Internship Questionnaire.
3) Arrange a meeting with your assigned Faculty Supervisor to begin drafting your internship proposal. Together you will work out the details of your placement and who will be your On-site Supervisor. Your Faculty Supervisor will make the initial contact with the proposed On-site Supervisor. The Internship models professional work and is, therefore, a collaboration based on shared needs and interests. Your Internship should be based on a dynamic and mutually beneficial intellectual and professional relationship.
4) Submit an initial “working draft” of your Internship Proposal to your York Faculty Supervisor for feedback. This proposal should include (1) a clear description of the project, its purpose; (2) a schedule of meetings with your York Faculty Supervisor (after 30 hours, 50-60 hours, and 80-90 hours); (3) a schedule of meetings with your On-site Supervisor (with whom you must work closely). Your proposal must also include a clearly outlined (4) Academic Component, which will ensure your practical experience is matched by intellectual reflection and critique.
5) Once your Faculty Supervisor has reviewed your Internship Proposal, you will send your revised draft to your On-Site Supervisor.
6) After the details of your on-site internship have been finalized, formulate a “final draft” of your Internship Proposal including updated details of your work and meeting schedules, tasks, and the central concepts you will be addressing within the Academic Component. Submit this penultimate draft to your Faculty Supervisor who will then pass it directly to the Graduate Director for final approval.
7) Make sure all members of your Internship Team (Faculty Supervisor, On-site Supervisor, Graduate Director) sign the apprenticeship Contract (as per attached). All signatures must be in place on the Contract in advance of your first day on site. Your internship proposal will be adjudicated by your Internship Team according to its merit as a professional collaboration.
8) Registration in the course: hand in your approved proposal and the signed contract to:
Dawn Burns | Graduate Program Assistant
dburns@yorku.ca | Tel: (416)736-2100 x 55533 (Voicemail)
Components of the Internship:
As the Internship serves as a 3-credit course equivalent, it requires not only on-site engagement in a practicum but an analysis of the activity undertaken and a critical understanding of the work that is done.
1)Meetings with your York Faculty Supervisor: Over the course of your placement your York Faculty Supervisor will continue to track your progress and make sure your Internship Proposal continues to accurately reflect your work. It is mandatory to schedule 2-3 meetings with your York Faculty Supervisor during the course of your internship. These are scheduled in advance (as laid out in your Internship Proposal). Remember, your Faculty Supervisor will track your progress, making sure your Internship Proposal continues to accurately reflect your work. Each time you meet, you will review your work in light of your Internship Proposal. Revisions to your proposal may be necessary. Your York Faculty Supervisor may also suggest related reading or research related to your internship.
Submit any written work produced for your On-site Supervisor to your Faculty Supervisor firstto ensure you maintain a professional standard of research and writing. This is integral to supporting your professional reputation.
2)Working with your On-site Supervisor: Be sure to cultivate your “professional” relationship with your On-site Supervisor and facilitate good communication between your York Faculty Supervisor and the On-site Supervisor.
3)Academic component: Your Internship Proposal must include an academic component to be developed with your York Faculty Supervisor. This component will include:
(i) an Internship Log which chronicles a daily account of the work you do and reflects upon your insights and observations during your internship.
(ii) On-site Writing Projects: Each internship will involve different types and amounts of writing, and some On-site Supervisors may not ask for any writing at all. The types of written work produced for your internship in addition to your Internship Log may include: an exhibition proposal, a catalogue essay, an enhancement strategy with didactic material (text panels, labels), an exhibition review, an assessment of the marketplace/fair market evaluation, a discussion of institutional policy, or an exploration of conservation issues. The options are wide and varied.
(iii) Curatorial Internship Report: The academic component is intended to satisfy your larger learning objectives and goals: critical writing, curatorial practice, museology, or art history. Remember that the internship is equal to a 3-credit course and is, therefore, rigorous. Set aside approximately 10 hours of your placement to “digest” your experience in the form of a written report of 8-10 pages. The report should provide a written synthesis of some aspect of the internship that you deem important. Be sure to integrate sources from your bibliography, your internship log and your experience. In this way the internship comprises an opportunity for primary research.
Grading
You are given a grade for your Curatorial Internship, as for any other graduate course. Your Faculty Supervisor will assign a grade, in consultation with your On-site Supervisor. The course requirements for Curatorial Internship (ARTH 5190) depends on satisfying the objectives and goals you set in your Internship Proposal and demonstrating an ability to synthecize curatorial theory in relation to an actual site of practice.
At the completion of your internship, submit your Curatorial Internship Report and Internship Log to both your Faculty Supervisor. You are also encouraged to append your on-site writing projects to the report if appropriate. Please submit an additional clean copy of your Curatorial Internship Report, which will be archived in the office of the Graduate Director.
Your enrolment in the Internship (ARTH 5190) must coincide with the term in which you expect to complete your internship. Late submissions of grades will not be accepted.
York Curatorial Internship
ARTH 5190 3.0 / 5200 3.0
CONTRACT FORM
(to be submitted to the Graduate Director with your Curatorial Internship Proposal)
Name: ________________________Student No.: ______________
Course: _______________________Term: ____________________
Placement Location:______________________________________
On-Site Supervisor (name and title): _______________________
Contact Info (address/ tel. / email: ________________________
_________________________________________________________
Faculty Supervisor: _____________________Email: ____________
Start Date: ____________________ End Date: ________________
Duration:_______________
Student Signature: _____________________Email: ____________
Signatures, in order:
Faculty Supervisor:___________________________________________
On-Site Supervisor: ___________________________________________
Graduate Director: ____________________________________________
NB. Make 4 copies of the completed Contract Form and The Internship Proposal. Keep one and submit the others to your Faculty Supervisor, your On-Site Supervisor, and Dawn Burns.