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McMullan Arts Leadership Internship — Textiles, Collection Management (Summer 2025)

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, centering the vision of artists and makers. We recognize that all art is made in a particular context, demanding continual, dynamic reconsideration in the present. We are a place of gathering; we foster the exchange of ideas and inspire an expansive, inclusive understanding of human creativity.

Expected Range: $16.73 per hour
Job Classification: Intern
Grade Level: Not Applicable

This role is not eligible for benefits or PTO.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Art Institute of Chicago’s Textiles department is excited to offer a McMullan Arts Leadership intern position to work within collection management. The goal of the internship is to expose the student through a hands-on learning approach to key aspects of how museum collections are documented, cared for, and made available for use. The Textiles department collection manager and the Textiles department technician will mentor the intern.

The Textiles department at the Art Institute of Chicago collects and exhibits works that represent the global, historical, and contemporary range of creativity and artistry in fiber. The department’s holdings represent one of the broadest temporal spans of any department in the museum. Our collection includes works from ancient Egypt to the present day. Particular strengths include weaving and embroidery from the Pre-Columbian Andes, Western European Baroque tapestries, Chinese court textiles and dress, Japanese dress, the work of mid-century American designers and modern and contemporary fiber art, from Sheila Hicks to Bisa Butler. The department is working to expand its holdings in textiles from the African continent, the Indian subcontinent, and Latin America while continuing to build on the existing strengths of the collection.

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 Textiles. Mentorship is provided throughout the experience and connections with an intern alumni network will be established.

Goals of the McMullan Arts Leadership Internship Program

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.

The primary objective of this internship is to support students who will encounter economic challenges if considering a career in the arts. Aligned with this goal, we aim to 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:

Through this opportunity, the intern will:

Learn strategies and methods of collections care;
Experience using collection management systems (CITI) and digital asset management (NetX) software;
Learn artwork handling, mounting, installation, rehousing, and digitization skills
Experience a range of department collection activities including permanent collection rotations, exhibition preparations, acquisitions, and imaging;
Develop strong communication and organizational skills;
Develop mentor relationships with field practitioners;
Build peer-to-peer relationships with fellow interns.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

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

Reviewing information in Textiles collection database records and editing as necessary;
Digitizing physical department records for digital asset management system to assist with collection research projects;
Assisting with cataloging, conducting inventory, collections storage maintenance, and rehousing;
Assisting with mounting and installation of textiles in galleries;
Drafting digital content for museum website, including artwork web descriptions, alt-text captions, digital tagging, artist biography, and/or blog post;
Participating in regular meetings with members of the department and the mentors of this position;
Attending intern cohort professional development programs and museum practice seminars.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Undergraduate or graduate student; recent graduates (within one year of graduation upon applying) will also be considered
Applicants must be based or attending school in the Chicagoland area and eligible to work in the US during the summer internship term
Demonstrated interest or background in museum studies, archival work, art handling, art history, arts administration, library science, or other related field
Ability to meet physical demands such as lifting and carrying moderately heavy objects, standing, and being able to safely handle and transport artworks
Proficiency in Microsoft Suite and Google Suite
Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
Ability to be open-minded and work collaboratively with colleagues across the museum
Detail-oriented mindset and demonstrated organizational skills; ability to multitask and be flexibly prioritize when appropriate
Awareness of and/or curiosity about art museum culture and current events in the field is preferred

APPLICATION:

You must upload all of the requested materials below (résumé and essay responses) into only pdf document and list your last name and “Summer 2025” in the title of the file (example: [LAST NAME]_SUMMER2025.pdf.) Please upload your materials where asked in the online application.

PLEASE NOTE: You will 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:

Résumé
Instead of a traditional cover letter, please respond to the following questions in short essays (no more than 300 words per answer.) We encourage you to provide specific examples to support your answers or to illustrate your ideas:
- What about this opportunity interests you the most?
- With the goals of the McMullan Arts Leadership intern program in mind, what unique values, experiences, or perspectives would you bring to this role?
- How do you envision this opportunity helping you towards your professional goals?

DEADLINE:

This application will close on Friday, March 7th at 11:59 pm CDT. Selected applicants will be asked to interview via video call approximately two weeks after deadline passes.

INTERNSHIP INFORMATION:

Duration of Position: 10 weeks / June 2025 (start date anytime during the week of June 2–6) through August 2025 (end date anytime during the week of August 4–8)

Compensation: Paid – $16.73/hr – 28 hrs/week – Temporary

Schedule: This is a part-time, 10-week position for a currently enrolled or recently graduated undergraduate or graduate student. The intern will work 28 hours per week, for a total of up to 280 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 occur fully onsite. Due to onsite necessity, applicants based or attending school in the Chicagoland area during the internship timeframe will be prioritized. Technological accommodations will be provided by the Art Institute of Chicago.

Number of openings: 1

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires and promotes qualified individuals without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, veteran status or citizenship. The Institute complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. 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.