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The Art Institute of Chicago shares its singular collections with our city and the world. We collect, care for, and interpret works of art across time, cultures, geographies, and identities. We are a place of gathering and learning, committed to fostering an inclusive understanding of human creativity.

Position Summary

The Art Institute of Chicago’s Ryan Learning Center is excited to offer a McMullan Arts Leadership intern position to work with their team. This internship offers an aspiring museum professional the opportunity to explore and contribute to a range of activities within the area of Creative Spaces, a division of the Ryan Learning Center. The Creative Spaces team designs family artmaking programs and learning installations for visitors to the Ryan Learning Center.

This internship will support daily facilitation in the Art Exchange, our public drop-in space for multigenerational visitors; contribute to preparation of art-making materials; assist with live programs; and support the installation of educational displays.

The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Learning Center is a platform for culturally responsive experiences that bring young people and the adults around them into dynamic and inspiring encounters with art. The department serves children, teens, families, students, and educators through a diverse array of programs, partnerships, and resources. These include field trips, workshops, studios, internships, events, neighborhood-based engagements, and professional development experiences; and, we serve all museum audiences through our free, accessible public learning space, also named the Ryan Learning Center. Through these experiences, learners can engage in critical and imaginative thinking and activate the museum as a place of insight, expression, and community.

The intern will join a museum-wide intern cohort and have access to a range of programs to support their development in addition to their placement in the Ryan Learning Center. Mentorship is provided throughout the experience and connections with an intern alumni network will be established.

McMullan Arts Leadership Internship Program Goals

The McMullan Arts Leadership internship program is part of a museum-wide effort to provide students the opportunity to gain experience, career awareness, networks, and skills that will position them to thrive as future art museum leaders.

This program specifically aims to support students who encounter economic challenges when considering a career in the arts. Aligned with this goal, we aim to help shape a diverse group of leaders whose actions are informed by a wide range of perspectives, varying career paths, and values inspired by their own lived experiences.

Internship Outcomes

In this position, the intern will have the opportunity to:

• Learn about Ryan Learning Center’s guiding pedagogy and teaching strategies for multigenerational audiences
• Become familiar with the tools and processes for designing large-scale art-making programs at a museum
• Practice facilitating creative engagements that center the interests and needs of children and family audiences
• Develop professional skills in a collaborative, creative, and supportive environment

Responsibilities

With guidance from the position’s mentors, the intern will:

• Contribute to the development of art-making programs for multigenerational audiences; attend design and planning meetings
• Support monthly family events, assisting teaching artists and interacting with family visitors
• Work regular shifts in the Art Exchange during public hours; welcome and assist children and their caregivers with art-making and play-based learning
• Prepare art supplies for programs and large-scale events
• Assist with the installation, care, and maintenance of interactive learning displays in the Art Exchange
• Support with administration of evaluation tools to audiences, collect and analyze data
• Participate in department meetings and museum-wide intern programming to expand their understanding of other departments and work across the museum

Qualifications

• Undergraduate or graduate student; recent graduates (within one year of graduation) will also be considered
• Applicants must be based in the Chicagoland area and/or attending school in the Chicagoland area over the course of the internship term
• Major or focus in art education, studio art, museum studies, or a related field
• Experience teaching, assistant teaching, tutoring, or mentoring children in informal or formal education settings (such as a school, camp, college, after-school program, community center, or museum)
• Familiarity with art-making materials and techniques
• Strong communication, creative thinking, and collaborative skills
• Spanish-language fluency is an asset in this position

Compensation & Benefits

Hiring Range: $17.50/hour (Maximum 14 hours per week, for a total of up to 448 hours over the course of the internship.)

This position is not benefits eligible.

• Job Classification: Hourly
• Employment Category: Intern

Schedule: This is a part-time, 32-week position for a currently enrolled or recently graduated undergraduate or graduate student. The intern will work 14 hours per week, for a total of up to 448 hours over the course of the internship. Work days will occur between Monday–Friday; the start date and schedule will be determined upon agreement with the candidate and the host department.

Hourlong virtual and in-person intern professional development programs will be scheduled throughout the internship term that the student is strongly encouraged to attend. These programs will occur during the week; we ask that the intern make this part of their internship schedule.

Format: The internship will be fully onsite. Due to onsite necessity, applicants based or attending school in the Chicagoland area during the internship timeframe will be prioritized. Internet access and appropriate technology will be necessary to complete this internship; technological accommodations will be provided by the Art Institute of Chicago based on necessity.

Application Instructions

You must upload all of the requested materials below (resume and essay responses) into only one pdf document and list your last name and “AY 26-27” in the title of the file (example: [LAST NAME]_AY 26-27.pdf.) Please upload your materials where asked in the online application.

PLEASE NOTE: You will not be considered if any requested application element is missing.

To apply for this internship, tell us your story. We want to understand who you are, what motivates you, how you think, and where you’re coming from. Please submit the following materials:

• Resume
• Short Essays: Instead of a cover letter, please respond to the following questions in short essays (no more than 300 words per essay.) We encourage you to provide specific examples to support your answers or to illustrate your ideas:
• What about this job description interests you the most?
• With the mission of the McMullan Arts Leadership intern program in mind, what perspectives might you bring to this role that you think museums need more of?
• How do you envision this opportunity helping you towards your professional goals?

DEADLINE: The deadline to submit an application to this position is Monday, August 10 at 11:59 pm CDT. We will not accept late applications.

Selected applicants will be asked to interview via video call approximately two weeks after deadline passes.

Accessibility

If you are a job seeker with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply for one of our jobs, you will find the contact information to request the appropriate accommodation by visiting the following page:

Accessibility Accommodation for Applicants

Equal Opportunity Statement

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires and promotes qualified individuals compliant with federal and state laws. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the Department of Human Resources at apply_help@artic.edu.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.