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1 | **Archived. We are no longer accepting new entries to this spreadsheet. Thanks to all who submitted. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | This spreadsheet is no longer live. Submissions ended on Dec 31, 2019. It started on July 13, 2019, with a link embedded in an op-ed penned for The Art Newspaper.https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/unpaid-interhips-art-museums-transparency-oped-12974/. If you have any Qs or concerns, email us at artandmuseumtransparency@gmail.com. And follow us for updates @amtransparency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Timestamp | Place of current or recent internship (Org NAME, or TYPE, or REGION) | Duration of current or recent internship (eg. 3 months) | How much did you get paid for this internship? (eg $3,000 total stipend, $100 per month, metro card + lunch, $0, etc) | Did you get benefits with the internship eg. healthcare, travel funds etc? | What was your monthly rent while an intern? | What are/were the other jobs that you do/did to support yourself during your internship? | If you do/did other work while interning, what percentage of your living costs are/were made up by this outside work? | Approx. how much were you paying in total in monthly non-rent-related bills (gas, heat, food, travel, student loans etc) during your internship? | What's your highest level of education? | What is your age range? | Did you have a direct mentor or supervisor during your internship? | Did you have clearly defined tasks that were educational and helped you learn by doing? | Did you have chances for reflection on your internship performance during or at its end? | Were there enrichment activities during your internship? (eg. seminars, lectures, professional development) | If you could ask for change around museum and arts internships in the future, what would this be? What concrete steps do you suggest you and senior figures in (or outside) of the field could take to make this happen? | If you stay in this field, will you commit to never manage or benefit from the labor of an unpaid intern? | Any other notes, questions, or thoughts? | Did/does the internship program accept international students? If so, does it support temporary visas?" | |||||||
4 | 7/16/2019 11:23:54 | Dia Art Foundation | 1 year | 0 | free art books | n/a | book sales | 100% | $700 | Bachelors | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Don't remember | Yes | Educate new staff/interns about different roles in the museum world. Maybe provide opportunities to intern in several departments so future museum professionals can try their hand at different tasks. | Yes | |||||||||
5 | 7/16/2019 11:30:56 | Whitney Museum of American Art | 4 Months | $0 | No | 800 | I lived off an education loan as I was in school full-time at that point | Full-time student | $200 | Current Masters student | 23-29 | Yes, a supervisor | Yes | Yes, only because I had to ask for the chance to reflect | No | I think all internships should be paid but I worried that paid internships will usher in a new kind of competitiveness that requires either unattainable excellence or relies of metrics like where someone went to school, their experience (which shouldn’t be necessary for an internship), or if they know someone in the org, all things places already do. Organizations need to think about what an internship in this field is for. It needs opportunities open at all levels of experience, education, and time-ability. Transparency needs to go into every step including the selection process. | Yes | Thank you for doing this, I have been waiting a while for my experience to be heard. I know my experience is not super recent but I’m pretty sure Whitney semester internships are still unpaid so might as well show that someone like me who is still starting out in this field had an unpaid internship there. | ||||||||
6 | 7/16/2019 11:47:11 | New-York Historical Society | 3 months | $0 | 1200 | MA | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No unpaid internships | Yes | Academic credit requirements provide a loophole for many internships to withdraw funding on the basis that the credit is a form of payment. Undergrad and grad programs must eliminate internship requirements from their curriculum. | ||||||||||||
7 | 7/16/2019 12:29:54 | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | 11 months | $0 | No | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |||||||||||||||
8 | 7/16/2019 13:08:12 | MFA | 3 | 0 | No | $825 | Tour guide | less than 20% | $60 | Undergraduate | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Informational interviews (a lot!) | Transparency about the hiring process, publish internships and make decisions earlier in the year (I got my internship months after my friends had heard about theirs in other fields) | Yes | |||||||||
9 | 7/16/2019 14:48:14 | [cultural heritage nonprofit in Washington DC] | 2 months | $2000 stipend | No | $1,600 | Earned scholarship to cover additional expensives | Did no other work | $2,000 | BA | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yea | Higher pay | Yes | |||||||||
10 | 7/16/2019 15:46:17 | Whitney Museum of American Art | 3 months | $0 | No | $1,100 | College | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||||||||||
11 | 7/16/2019 15:46:57 | Guggenheim Museum | 3 months | $500 stipend | no | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
12 | 7/16/2019 16:27:06 | Aperture Foundation | 1 year | $300 per month for full time work | Complimentary publications | $930 | Worked part time in a restaurant | 80% | $800 | BA | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, professional development, field trips, opportunities for informational meetings and free lectures | I would ask that interns be paid at least an hourly living wage for their work. I would also ask cultural institutions to reflect on the pipeline to their internships. Have your most qualified candidates completed other unpaid internships? If so, your internship program, whether you pay your interns or not, is highly inaccessible. | Yes | |||||||||
13 | 7/16/2019 17:08:25 | Sotheby's New York | 8 weeks | $15/hour for a 40 hour workweek | no | $1,800 per month | None, support from parents | the majority | $500 | rising senior at undergrad level | 18-22 | yes | not really | to be confirmed | yes, museum visits and lectures | better pay, more substantial work | yes | |||||||||
14 | 7/16/2019 17:36:46 | Non Profit in DC | 3 1/2 months | $200 per month | nothing. stipend was specifically for travel | covered by financial aid | none. I received financial aid | n/a | $800/month | some college | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | pay interns so that we can live without financial insecurity | yes | |||||||||
15 | 7/16/2019 17:37:26 | The Art Institute of Chicago | 12 months | $0 | No | $900 | Yes, I have we a student, so I used federal loans | 100 | 800 | Masters | 30-35 | Yes | No | No | Yes | More people of color in all positions. | Yes | Unpaid internships privilege those who can afford them. If the art world is to ever truly diversify, this practice must end. | ||||||||
16 | 7/16/2019 17:42:14 | Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | 4 Months | $0 | No | $700 | I worked a retail job, a visitor services position at Wrightwood659, and did freelance writing. | 100% | $1,300 | Master's Degree | 18-22 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Paid internships, treating internships as educational opportunities, prioritizing the compensation and fair treatment of interns and entry level staff. | Yes | |||||||||
17 | 7/16/2019 17:46:02 | Rubin Museum of Art | 1 year | $0 | No | $0; had to live at home | Paid internship at an art gallery for minimum wage | 100% | Bachelor's | I was 22-23 at the time | Yes | No | Not sure | I attended some lectures and professional development seminars | Yes | |||||||||||
18 | 7/16/2019 17:56:31 | Philadelphia Museum of Art | 2 months | $0 | No | I lived with a family friend for free | None - my parents paid for groceries and I used savings for everything else | n/a | n/a | Bachelors degree | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes - 1.5 days per week were reserved for lectures and professional development. | Pay a living wage (over $15/hour), and give interns interesting work that will help them grow professionally - not just the filing projects no one else wants to do. | Yes. | |||||||||
19 | 7/16/2019 18:32:30 | MoMA PS1 | 4 months | $0 | No | $500 | Fast food | 100% | $200 | PhD | 30-35 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Thanks! | |||||||||
20 | 7/16/2019 18:36:58 | The Museum of Modern Art | 12 months | $31,000 per year | Yes | $1,147 | N/A | N/A | $1,000 | Master's Degree | 23-29 | Yes | Mostly | Yes | Yes | I would also urge managers and HR employees to question from which universities their selected interns have graduated, and whether they have held unpaid internships in the past. If your most qualified interns have graduated from or attend the same three or four universities, your internship program--paid or not--is still inaccessible. | Yes | The internship program sponsored my visa | ||||||||
21 | 7/16/2019 19:14:04 | Nelson-Atkins Museum | 7 months | 0 | A discount at the restaurant | n/a | Graduate teaching assistant | 100% | $600 | Bachelor's | 30-35 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Outside of making interns work the projects you need completed, think about their future and how this opportunity can truly help them prepare for a job in this field. | yes | |||||||||
22 | 7/16/2019 20:07:13 | Laguna Art Museum | 1 year | 0 | No | 550/month, shared | I worked as an usher at a theatre prior to starting my full time internship. | College | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Creation of more paid internships along with the same professional development opportunities as full time staff (ie attending conferences, lectures). Allow your interns to do more than small things like organize files, condition reports, etc. Do not dismiss your interns because they may be less experienced or they’re younger than you. | Yes | |||||||||||
23 | 7/16/2019 20:07:22 | New York City | 6 months | $1,000 total | No | $850 | Canvasser, e-commerce product packer, studio assistant | 87% | $371 | Two bachelors | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Opportunities for applicants of different socioeconomic backgrounds. I would get rid of internships altogether and offer temporary employment instead, including benefits to healthcare. Designating funds specifically for these types of positions. | Yes | |||||||||
24 | 7/16/2019 20:15:45 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | 3 months | $0 | None | $850 | Part-time job, 3-4 shifts per week. | 100% | $80 | BA | 23-29 | Yes | No | Informal presentations at the end. | Yes | Only departments that have the funds to pay interns should offer internships. Even a daily stipend for lunch, or monthly stipend for transportation, would be a step in the right direction. It is important to have clear goals outlined for the intern, and frequent meetings with the supervisor to go over the intern’s performance as well. In previous internships, I have always met with my supervisor during the first days to discuss these goals, and we would have formal check-ins at the halfway point and toward the end of the internship. Having a form where both the supervisor and intern define these intentions, and provide feedback that they can reference throughout the course of the internship, is helpful for visualizing these points and seeing them through. Beyond gaining experience, internships are about mentorship, and I have found that programs with this formal process have been the most successful. | Yes! | Grateful you are facilitating important initiatives such as this one. Here’s to hoping this is the last summer of unpaid internships. | ||||||||
25 | 7/16/2019 20:17:20 | New York City | 3 months | $3,200 before taxes | No | $1,000 | No other jobs | $450 | Bachelor's (two degrees) | 23-29 | No | Not at all. | No | No | To make them meaningful as opposed to errand-based cheap labor. | Yes | I negotiated for higher pay and was granted it under the condition of not being paid extra for overtime. For gallery events I often worked 12-hour days back to back. After the second month I researched and found out withholding overtime pay is illegal even if I was considered an intern. I did not bring it up as this was my only job and was certain it would not be received well, possibly costing me the job. | |||||||||
26 | 7/16/2019 20:22:51 | Marfa | 6 | $400 monthly | Yes, an apartment and a bike were provided | None | Housesitting, retail | 15% | $250 | Bachelor's degree | 23-29 | Yes, a wonderful one | Yes | Yes | Yes | To value and legitimize interns and entry-level employees. | Yes | |||||||||
27 | 7/16/2019 20:55:42 | Philadelphia Museum of Art | 8 weeks | 0 | No | 500 | Intermittent written work to receive summer stipend from my college | 450 | College Senior | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Museums should fundraise not just for capital funds, but also make part of their development plans to fundraise from wealthy donors to financially compensate interns instead of relying on our unpaid labor to complete important tasks. | Yes | ||||||||||
28 | 7/16/2019 21:21:47 | Mt. Cuba Center | 1 year | $11 an hour | Healthcare, free onsite housing | $0 | None | None | None due to free housing | B.A. | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes - we had performance reviews | Yes - I was able to attend conferences and workshops | Do away with unpaid internships completely. I had two unpaid internships in college that never led to employment. Unpaid museum internships are an unfair and exclusive practice. | Yes | No | ||||||||
29 | 7/16/2019 22:09:29 | Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford | 9 months | $200 total, presented as an "appreciation" | no | $0 (provided to my partner as a condition of his employment) | none n(supported by my partner) | n/a | unsure | PhD | 36 or older | yes | no | no | no | transparency and accountability; the internship was advertised as with a stipend | yes | |||||||||
30 | 7/16/2019 22:32:21 | Philadelphia Museum of Art Summer Internship Program | 10 weeks, extended to 4 months | $0 | No | $745 + approx. $100 in utilities | Retail, visitor service (both part time with no benefits), freelance | 100% | $400 | 2 Bachelors degrees | 23-29 | Yes/No | No | Yes | Yes | Minimum wage for time worked. If the institution cannot afford to pay for the labor it's receiving, it cannot afford to benefit from the work done, and this is compounded if the intern is not interning for university credit. Institutions can ensure funding, accept fewer or no interns, or offer a stipend. | I have already left the field, and I will commit to never manage or benefit from the labor of an unpaid intern. | I participated in an internship that was Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. This effectively meant that I was unable to work another full-time job, or even to approach full-time hours. The part time work I was able to secure was in retail and customer service, so the wage was below $11/hour and I was never able to make enough money to pay for all of my bills, rent, and food. | ||||||||
31 | 7/16/2019 23:39:14 | National Park Service, HACE Center, MA | 3 months | $6,000.00 | No | $825.00 | Part-time as a receptionist | 20% | $525 | Master's degree | 30-35 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Take out the competition with pre-program conservation interns/workers. People with no experience shouldn't be working with priceless cultural objects and they shouldn't have to work for free BEFORE going into a program to prove they want to do this as a career. It literally makes no sense. | Yes | I'm glad this conversation is coming into the light. | ||||||||
32 | 7/17/2019 0:12:22 | Archie Bray Foundation | 2 months | 0 | 0 | 450 | Lived off of savings | 250/mo | Bachelor’s of science | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pay | Yes | |||||||||||
33 | 7/17/2019 1:33:28 | SFMOMA | 3 months | 0 (received grant through college for $3000 but none from institution) | n/a | lived with parents, hour commute each way | n/a | at least $200 | in college at the time | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid internships! It is so degrading to work for free and an unsustainable expectation. | YES! | ||||||||||
34 | 7/17/2019 1:35:09 | Smithsonian American Art Museum | 7 months | $3,000/12 months | no | $1,100 | Membership Associate | 80% | $200 | bachelor's (at the time) | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||||||
35 | 7/17/2019 1:54:11 | El Museo del Barrio | 5 months | $0 | None | $1,350 (University housing) | Part time work-study research position | BA, current MA student | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | None | |||||||||||||
36 | 7/17/2019 3:03:03 | Christie's Dubai | 1 Year | $500 | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1,500$ | BFA | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not to take advantage of unpaid interns - once the goals for said intern are set, it shouldn't be easy to change tasks into something that has nothing to do with their tasks or goals. | Yes | I think unpaid internships are very common throughout any field. However the core of the problem in my opinion is that interns get taken advantage of. I think that's where the line needs to be drawn. Because it is a learning experience at the end of the day. | ||||||||
37 | 7/17/2019 4:23:32 | Tate Modern | 6 months | 0 | No | £625 | Editorial Assistant | 60% | £500 | Master's Degree | 30-35 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Offer only paid internships | Yes | |||||||||
38 | 7/17/2019 4:35:02 | Rijksmuseum | 1 year | €250 per month + 60% commute costs if living outside of Amsterdam | No | €420-€560 | Lab assistant at my university | 90% | €300 | Currently working on my master's thesis | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Proper wages. Does not have to be full minimum wage (although would be best if that were the case) but at least something to cover at least 50-60% of living expenses in the specific city, as long as the museum allows the interns to work part time elsewhere to cover the remaining living costs. | I will do anything in my power to change the system | Great job with the survey! This is an extremely important discussion to have and once many people tend to shy away from. I was lucky enough to have a decent paying part time job at my university and my supervisor at the museum was understanding enough to allow me to work only part time, but I know many are not that fortunate and change is desperately needed. | ||||||||
39 | 7/17/2019 4:40:50 | Small non for profit gallery | 1 year, 1 day a week | 0 | No | 625 | A student so no paid job | None | 100 | Masters | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 1- we need a policy change 2- the problem with large institutions that offer short internships (3months as one that I am currently doing) is that they justify the unpaid nature of the internship by the shortness of the contract, while perfectly knowing that the unpaid internship itself is highly competitive and that once one leaves maybe others will gladly take the job. Maybe if they would offer longer internships it would limit their ability to offer unpaid positions. | |||||||||
40 | 7/17/2019 7:33:01 | Art museum in Maine | 3 months | $5000 total stipend | Cafe and bookstore discount | $600 | Babysitting (5 hours/week), Restaurant serving and bartending (10 hours/week) | 50% | $700 | Bachelors | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pay interns! And, offer paid educational internship opportunities for high school students to learn about and see museum work as a potential aspiration. Mentorship is key. | Yes | |||||||||
41 | 7/17/2019 7:52:58 | Letterpress printing studio | 2 months | $0 | Access to machines for own use | $500 | Bookbinding assistant, office assistant / tour guide | 60% | $400 | BFA | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Take a pay cut and pay your interns | Yes | |||||||||
42 | 7/17/2019 8:57:15 | Library of Congress | 2 months | $0 | no | a bit over $3,000 | didn’t have time | $500 | some college | 18-22 | yes | yes | yes | yes | absolutely | |||||||||||
43 | 7/17/2019 9:14:02 | Virginia | 1 academic year | Academic credit | 600ish | University worker | Bachelor | 23-29 | Yes | No, internship was a mess | No, very uncommunicative supervisor | Yes, as part of internship | Make internship expectations clear from start | As someone in a non-supervisory role, I don't foresee managing an intern for a while, but I would advocate for payment of interns. | ||||||||||||
44 | 7/17/2019 9:25:25 | Museu Arpad-Szenes Vieira da Silva | 3 months | 0 | 0 | 300 | bar manager | 100% | 600 | Master | 30-35 | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | Museums need more financial support, since they are the direct public agents in charge of our culture and knowledge. They also need better management, especially if they are run/funded by the state. The Museum I was interning at, was a result of a donation from 2 artists to the Portuguese State/Government. The level of involvement and bureaucracy involved in order to get anything at all was and still is very poor for the cultural department is also lacking engagement from officials. There is a permanent staff of 5/6 people plus 2 security guards. Almost none of the staff has Museum or Art History background, rendering them poorly qualified for their positions. | |||||||||
45 | 7/17/2019 9:29:52 | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum | 3 months | 500 | No | $700 | Part-time job, nannying | 100% | $700 | BA | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||||
46 | 7/17/2019 9:39:14 | Houston, TX | 3 months | $0 | No | None (lived at home) | Worked at a fast food restaurant | 100% | $400.00 | Bachelor's Degree | 18-22 | Yes | No | No | No | Set aside a budget to fund intern programs. Also take time to design actual internship PROGRAMS that are structured with clear aims and perimeters so that interns do not end up tasked with things outside of their remit. | Yes | |||||||||
47 | 7/17/2019 9:41:02 | Smithsonian American Art Museum | 10 weeks | $0 | No | $1,050 | $350 | Some graduate school | 23-29 | Yes | No | No | Yes | |||||||||||||
48 | 7/17/2019 9:44:10 | Museum, Philadelphia | 6 weeks | $0 | No, travel funds given by my university dept | $0, living at school (paid for) | Resident Assistant | 100% | Some university (working on) | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | No | Two small training sessions | Yes!!! | |||||||||||
49 | 7/17/2019 9:44:57 | Midsize Midwest Art Museum | 9 months | $0 | No | $425 | Worked part time in customer service and went into credit card debt | 75% | $700 | BA | 30-35 | Not consistently | Sometimes | No | No | People need to be paid for their work and interns should be part of a relationship, mentored and educated, not just assigned empty tasks. | Yes. | |||||||||
50 | 7/17/2019 9:47:09 | London | 3 months | £10.40 p/h | No | £675.00 | N/A - this was a full time position that did not allow for other work | N/A | £550.00 | Master's student | 18-22 | Technically yes, but hardly saw them | No | No | Yes, gallery walks that we could join. | Interns are either underutilized or over-utilized and there seems to be no healthy medium. Tasks and expectations should be clearly outlined before hand and interns should be given opportunities to grow, not simply be used for mundane scanning/printing tasks. | Yes | This is the only internship I have ever had that has had an hourly wage and it is not enough to live on, though the 36 hour work week ensures that no other jobs can reasonably be undertaken alongside it. I could not have completed this internship if I had not had savings from previous jobs. | ||||||||
51 | 7/17/2019 10:01:22 | Brooklyn Museum | 3 Months | $0 | no | $700 | separate part-time paid internship | all | MA | 23-29 | yes | no | yes | no | it's simple: pay us for our labor | yes | ||||||||||
52 | 7/17/2019 10:09:19 | Brooklyn Museum | 3 months | $15/hour | No | $400 | I worked at a gallery and did odd jobs for artists through Craigslist | 15% | $450 | Currently an undergraduate | 18-22 | Yes, a supervisor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid transportation, higher wages | Yes | I had a relatively good situation compared to most museum/art world interns. But the inequality between my museum director's salary and all of the other people who make this institution run is egregious. | ||||||||
53 | 7/17/2019 10:24:58 | Kreeger Museum | 4 months | $0 | No | n/a | Barista | 20% | $1,000 | Bachelor of Arts | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||||||
54 | 7/17/2019 10:41:23 | Solomon R Guggenheim Museum | 3.5 months | $500 total stipend | No | n/a | none | Bachelor of Arts | 23-29 | Yes | Sometimes | Yes | Yes | Pay your interns! | Yes | |||||||||||
55 | 7/17/2019 10:51:51 | Cooperstown, NY | 10 weeks | $2,500 total | None | $1,500 for 10 weeks | Asked parents for money, was not allowed to work other jobs | NA | 1000/month | Finishing Masters Degree | 36 or older | Yes | I had tasks of a full time staff member for the price of an intern | Yes | Yes | Fair pay for interns and entry level work. The expectations for education and experience do not line up with what this field of careers are willing to pay. | Yes | |||||||||
56 | 7/17/2019 10:55:46 | Denver, CO | 3 months | 0 | None | $700 | Full time student and worked as a math tutor | 100% | 1,500 | Masters Degree | 36 or older | Yes, but they were cut to part time during the internship so I mostly worked alone | No | No | No | Museums need to reevaluate the levels of education and experience they require for what they will pay. Internships are educational opportunities and should not be treated as a free/cheap way to replace the work being done by paid staff | Yes | |||||||||
57 | 7/17/2019 11:05:11 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | 2 months | $0 | no | $500 (living outside the city center) | none: I relied on savings | n/a | $700 | M.A. | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes, a few | Abolish unpaid internships. This is a crucial step (although by no means the only one needed) to begin to level the playing field so that people from non-wealthy backgrounds can enter arts professions. | Yes | Thank you for your activism, on this and on (the sadly very low) museum salaries. | ||||||||
58 | 7/17/2019 11:10:52 | Los Angeles | 3 months | $0 | Free parking | $1,000 | None | N/A | $1,000 | MA | 23-29 | No | Sometimes | TBD | No | Pay interns! And make more internships available in more departments. | YES. | |||||||||
59 | 7/17/2019 11:17:16 | Whitney Museum of American Art | 9 weeks | $5000 total | No | $1,700 | None. | N/A | $700 | College Degree | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | This was one of the only paid internships I found while looking. It severely limited my options as I couldn't afford to move to NY (or other cities with more arts engagement) if i were paid any less than what I got at eh Whitney. | Yes - if experience and internships are going to be hiring criteria then we need to make the opportunities open to more than just the people who can work for free. | |||||||||
60 | 7/17/2019 11:18:32 | California Academy of Sciences | 3 months | $0 | No | $750 | Working part time at another museum in collections | 100% | $300 | Master's | 23-29 | Yes | Not really | No | No | Fair pay for interns and acknowledge internships at entry level into the field | Yes! | |||||||||
61 | 7/17/2019 11:22:47 | City Parks | 4 months | 0 | No | $600 | Full Time night shift | 100% | 500 | Bachelors | 23-29 | Yes | Somewhat | Indirectly | One on one instruction | Opportunity for incoming professionals. | Two unpaid internships while a full time student and working full time. To fulfill “experience needed” for masters program acceptance | |||||||||
62 | 7/17/2019 11:28:07 | Elizabeth Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum | 5 months | 0 | no | 850 | Various freelance jobs | $400 | Currently pursuing my PhD | 23-29 | yes | yes | yes | not really | Paid labor would be a start, particularly in an institution calling itself "feminist" | Absolutely | ||||||||||
63 | 7/17/2019 11:29:27 | California Non-Profit | 4 months | $0 | No | $1,100 | Working as an administrative assistant at my local college | 75% | $450 | Master's | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | In high cost of living areas, at least pay for transportation! I'm already paying for crazy rent, the least you could do is help me get your the place of work via train or car. (Obviously minimum wage should also be included, but transportation is such a barrier in high cost of living places where not everyone can afford cars to drive places). | Yes! | |||||||||
64 | 7/17/2019 11:31:16 | Archives | 4 months | $9 an Hour for no more that 20 hours a week | None | $375 | Archival Research Assistant | Less than 10% | $200-$300 | High School, ongoing Bachelor degree | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
65 | 7/17/2019 12:03:01 | The Frick Collection | 1 year | 0 | No | $0 - lived with family | Legal Assistant, Waitress, Admin Assistant for a non-profit, all simultaneously | 100% | 700 | College (B.A.) | 30-35 | Yes | Yes | Yes - The supervisors were very communicative about our research progress and our development | Yes - they connected us to professionals in other museums, galleries, artist's estate/foundations, auction houses. We met with them, they gave us tours and answered our questions. | Institutions need to view internships as valuable investments, as opposed to them doing graduates a favor by providing experience and entry into their hallowed halls. Internships provide the opportunity for institutions to develop recent graduates and professionals in their careers, to align them with the institution's vision and provide fertile ground for them to devote their career to that particular institution. It's a great way to bring in fresh talent and have them grow from within. But if interns are unpaid, it communicates they hold no value to the institution. How can they then imagine being valued as staff? | Absolutely | As an undocumented WOC, my immigrant status played a huge role in accepting an unpaid internship. On the one hand it was the only way to secure entry into the professional arts sphere without my work eligibility being an issue. I would otherwise be ineligible for paid internships. On the other hand, being a WOC and working in a field where we are among the least represented and being unpaid only makes the ability to build a career that much harder. | ||||||||
66 | 7/17/2019 12:03:49 | The Museum of Modern Art | 3 months | $3,300 (gross) | free admission to most NYC museums | $900 | no time for other jobs/commitment at all | n/a | $700 - $1,000 | masters | 23-29 | yes | yes | yes | yes | Stealing from your essay: 1. Don’t benefit from unpaid labor by managing or working alongside unpaid interns. 2. Educate yourself and others on the importance of this conversation for our field. I think these 2 are particularly important first steps for anyone that holds managerial positions in our field to take. | yes | I wish my internship was longer and that I got to work on more projects/assignments. 3 months is also too short to bond with team members and get to know colleagues across the organization. | ||||||||
67 | 7/17/2019 12:11:22 | The Met | 1 semester | 0 | no | lived at home | N/A | N/A | 600 | Some graduate school | 23-29 | yes | yes | yes | yes | in NYC, at the very least, interns should be compensated for travel | no | I worked five months, 3-5 days a week with no pay and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Having The Met on my resume, along with all of the insight and experience I gained along the way, has permanently improved my personal and professional life. It was an incredible, humbling opportunity. | ||||||||
68 | 7/17/2019 12:39:39 | The Aldrich | 2 months | $0 | no | lived at home | I am a hostess at a restaurant and also babysit and dogsit. | all of it | $200 | Rising Junior in College pursuing a Bachelor of Arts | 18-22 | yes | yes | yes | yes | In the future, arts careers should be made more accessible to those from all socio-economic backgrounds. This would be made far more possible if a stipend were made available to interns, especially those who can only work one job at a time. | yes | |||||||||
69 | 7/17/2019 12:44:22 | Small Art Fund | 10 weeks | $2500 stipend (about $250/week) | no | 0 lived with friend | $400 | bachelor's degree | 18-22 | yes | yes | yes | no | higher pay; greater instruction/enrichment activities | absolutely | |||||||||||
70 | 7/17/2019 12:44:52 | Philadelphia | 3 months | $4,000 total stipend (payed by home university) | No | $500 | $150 | Undergraduate | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Networking with colleagues and reviewing other museums in the area (paid for by the museum)) | Have more conversations regarding networking strategies | Yes | |||||||||||
71 | 7/17/2019 12:58:13 | Speed Art Museum | 4 months | $0 | free museum membership | $900 | part-time retail paying $9/hr | 100% | $500 | BA | 23-29 | no | no | no | no | Assign dynamic projects that produce measurable results | yes | Change needs to come from the top. Internships are so important and often required for degrees that middle management refusing to offer unpaid internships may do more harm than good. | ||||||||
72 | 7/17/2019 13:05:03 | Frazier History Museum | 3 months | $0 | free museum membership | lived with parents | none, had to quit paying job to make time for internship + school | n/a | $200 | BA | 23-29 | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | ||||||||||
73 | 7/17/2019 13:16:05 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | 3 months | $0 | No benefits | n/a | Awarded stipend from my college | n/a | $600 | some college | 18-22 | yes | yes | n/a | seminars | Provide housing at the very least | hard to say, in the current state it is nearly impossible to get experience without committing to an unpaid internship. | |||||||||
74 | 7/17/2019 13:23:21 | Saint Louis, MO - Art Museum | 2 Months | 0 | No | $700/month | Research Assistant to a professor (worked remotely), administrative help to a family friend | 10% | $200 | Bachelor's Degree | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pay interns to increase diversity | Yes!!! 100% | |||||||||
75 | 7/17/2019 13:24:56 | New York, History Museum | 3 Months | $1500 stipend | No | $0 | Another internship | 25% | $600 | Bachelors Degree | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Minimal | Brown Bags, meeting with departments, museum tours | Yes!!! | |||||||||
76 | 7/17/2019 13:27:22 | Freer Sackler Gallery | 2 months | $0 | No | $1000 per month | None | $500 | Bachelor's Degree | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Pay your interns | Yes | ||||||||||
77 | 7/17/2019 13:58:39 | Midwest history museum | 4 months | $0 | No | $400 | N/A | Some grad school | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Some | Yes | ||||||||||||
78 | 7/17/2019 14:08:45 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | 10 weeks | $0 | Free museum parking | $1,700 | Stipend from college | -- | $600 | High school diploma | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No unpaid positions in any case | I don't think the burden of this decision should be on newcomers to the field to risk their careers over. If someone is managing an unpaid intern, I think the burden of that poor choice should reflect on the most senior position in charge of that decision and not the intern's direct manager. | |||||||||
79 | 7/17/2019 14:27:28 | Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles | 7 months | $15 an hour + overtime | none | $900 | $400 - $600 | B.A. | 23-29 | Sort of | No | No | None included, gallery held public talks | Create a more defined and educational system that includes a living wage | Yes | If an internship is full-time and you aren't being paid a living wage how can an institution expect people of all standings to participate? | ||||||||||
80 | 7/17/2019 15:05:31 | NYC | 4 months | $100/week for travel after bumping up to 3 days a week | do office snacks count? | $0 | part time studio assistant | 95% | approx $750 | B.A. | 23-29 | yes | yes | no | no | pay your interns, have development/fundraising programming create specifically around funding interns, if you can't do the work with out unpaid labor perhaps you should be doing it and are working out side your means. | yes | |||||||||
81 | 7/17/2019 15:09:40 | NYC works on paper org | 3 months | $25 a day | no | $0 | living off savings | $750 | B.A. | 23-29 | no | no | no | no | Give interns clearly defined roles and projects. If they can say they did something concrete or were responsible for a project then the experience is not really worth anything, especially if its unpaid. | yes | ||||||||||
82 | 7/17/2019 15:19:58 | Maryland | 10 weeks | $500 total | No | $80 | None | $200 | Bachelor's Degree, Masters by Dec. 2019 | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | I would like more support for finding jobs within the industry. I have completed three internships and around the mid-point of each one I always asked about the possibility of jobs and asked if they had spots open at there institution or knew of jobs at others. At one I was informed of a temporary (one week doing data collection) position at another institution. Internships are great, but they are only as valuable as their ability to actually get you into the job market. | I would say yes but I just don't know. Even if I agree not to take on an unpaid intern I can't guarantee I won't benefit from the labor of one. | I was lucky that when I did my unpaid internship while I was still living with my parents and they were willing to help me pay my bills. The lack of paid internships has however discouraged me from pursuing an additional internship while I'm finishing up graduate school, as I now do have bills that I need to pay and can't afford to work fewer hours if I'm going to pay for my last semester without taking on more student loans. | |||||||||
83 | 7/17/2019 15:49:34 | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | 2.5 months | $290 a week stipend (pre tax) | No | $500 | None | $400 | Current Master's Student | 23-29 | yes | yes | yes | yes | I believe that interns should be paid at least the state's minimum wage. It should be made a point that funds are raised by intuitions for paid internships. | yes | ||||||||||
84 | 7/17/2019 15:50:28 | Artforum (not a museum, but still feels relevant) New York | 3 months | $300 total | no | $900 | another internship - also unpaid (dipped into savings to pay rent) | $500 | B.A. | 18-22 | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | |||||||||||
85 | 7/17/2019 15:51:26 | National Portrait Gallery | 4 moths | none - course credit instead | no | $1,700 | none | $400 | B.A. | 18-22 | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |||||||||||
86 | 7/17/2019 16:10:35 | Mississippi Civil Rights Museum | 4 months | 0 | No | $500 | None | N/A | $500 | Masters | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | At minimum provide a housing stipend | Yes | |||||||||
87 | 7/17/2019 16:14:29 | Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art | 3 months | $0 | no | $1,000 | Retail, food service | 100% | $2,000 | MA | 23-29 | no | yes | yes | no | pay your interns, actually hire your interns when the internship is over | yes | |||||||||
88 | 7/17/2019 16:26:02 | National Gallery of Art | 9 weeks | $4,500 total stipend | travel funds | $1,620 | none | none | food ($600) | Master's degree | 30-35 | Yes | Yes | yes | department seminars | Having managed Congressional internships, I believe better training is necessary- after two national museum internships, it's often a "sink or swim" situation | I don't know if I will be in a position of hiring interns again, but I would love to be able to pay interns if given the possibility | |||||||||
89 | 7/17/2019 16:32:11 | National Museum of African American History and Culture | 16 weeks | $9,600 total stipend | No | $1,400 | none | n/a | $1,270 (electricity/cable/food/travel) | Master's degree | 30-35 | yes | yes | no | no | Having managed Congressional internships, I believe better training would be beneficial- it's a "sink or swim" situation | I don't know if I'll be in a position to hire interns again, but I would try to make sure an internship was paid | |||||||||
90 | 7/17/2019 16:42:42 | Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego | 1 semester | $0 | No | 750 | Clerical | 100% | In college | 18-22 | Yes | Kind of | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||||||
91 | 7/17/2019 16:43:17 | Small art museum; Florida Panhandle | 3.5 months | $0 | No | $455 | Babysitting | 10% | $150 | Some Masters | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Intern pay, or stipend. Funding organizations could work to provide opportunities for interns to apply for as well. | Yes | |||||||||
92 | 7/17/2019 16:55:49 | Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum | 10 weeks | 1,750 stipend | Free housing | 0 | N/A | N/A | $600 | Midway through an MA | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pay should more accurately reflect work. With my stipend, I make $4.38/hour. As a janitor (my part-time job during school) I make $11.00/hour. In this internship, I produce far more value for the organization and the work I do requires a graduate-level education--and yet financially, it would make far more sense for me to work in maintenance full time over the summer. I appreciate that housing is provided and this is an educational experience (and here at this particular museum, it really is an educational experience), but I believe I should be at least compensated with minimum wage for the work I produce for the institution. | Unpaid internships are ridiculous and reflect poorly on the institutions that offer them. Most museums can find a way to fundraise for educational opportunities if they try. | |||||||||
93 | 7/17/2019 17:42:01 | Art Institute of Chicago | 9 months | 0 | free books | 950 | multiple part-time jobs | 100 | 600 | Masters | 30-35 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pay us. The only way to provide these kinds of opportunities to people who don't all come from the same background is to pay your interns. | Yes | |||||||||
94 | 7/17/2019 19:11:59 | City of Hamilton | 4 months | $1000 honorarium | No | $1,000 | Married to employed person | $1,500 | University | 36 or older | No | Sort of | Yes | No | Paid and not focused on only young graduates | Yes | ||||||||||
95 | 7/17/2019 19:47:04 | Princeton University Art Museum | 3 months full time | $20 an hour | Housing | Free housing | None | $600 | Masters | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | I have held many internships at museums over the last 6 years and this was the ONLY experience where I was paid, respected and appreciated by museum staff for the work I was doing, and gained valuable work experience. All internships should take after this program. Thank you, Princeton University. | YES. | ||||||||||
96 | 7/17/2019 19:57:11 | Virginia Historic House | 8 months | $0 | No | $410 | Retail | 75% | $70 | Bachelor's | 18-22 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Better management and treatment of interns, moving away from unpaid internships that particularly takr advantage of college undergraduates seeking opportunities into the field, avoid the usage of interns as all-purpose workers (ie. sending them to fetch coffees, manning the cash register, etc.) unless absolutely necessary | Yes | |||||||||
97 | 7/17/2019 20:21:30 | Getty Museum | 10 weeks | 5700 | no | 812 | none | none | 400 | 2 years college | 18-22 | yes | yes | yes | yes | more diversity!! more people of color in leadership roles especially | yes | |||||||||
98 | 7/17/2019 21:03:15 | New York Foundation for the Arts | 3 months | metro cards | No | $750 | part-time museum educator | 80% | $500 | BA | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | There was a mid-term check-in but not a final one | No | I would not ask institutions to start paying interns immediately, since I do understand the financial stress that would caused by that. Meanwhile, I do think that by making unpaid internships truly meaningful and educational is not hard to do. Be patient with your interns. Create an encouraging workspace for them. Respect them as your staff. | No | |||||||||
99 | 7/17/2019 21:07:46 | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1. Interns should be paid for their labor. Unpaid internships excludes young students/people who do not have the financial means to work several hours for free. 2. Museums and cultural institutions need to do a better job of having diversity in the workplace. | Yes | |||||||||||||||
100 | 7/17/2019 21:08:59 | Museum of Modern Art | 10 weeks | $5,250 | free admission to museums, staff discounts at MoMA cafe & store | $1,250 | N/A | 70% | $600 | BA, MA in progress | 23-29 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Weekly intern activities, including visits to other departments, talks with curators and museum leaders, etc. | Yes | ||||||||||