Experience Gained during the Internship at the University Gallery at Kent - Admission/Application Essay Example

 Curatorial Experience Since time immemorial, I have had a deep-seated passion for art. It is this passion that led me to undertake art studies at the university. But passion alone did not guarantee a smooth ride at the University for the Course itself demanded utmost dedication, hard work and extra interest in the works of art. But theory alone is never enough during art, as it requires experiential learning too. In this vein, therefore, I applied for and received an opportunity for an internship at the University gallery at Kent. Apart from providing me with a plethora of skills concerning my curatorial profession, the internship period also importantly granted me an invaluable opportunity for extra knowledge acquisition chance which translated in considerable work experience. Studio 3 of the university arts gallery in the school of arts which organizes a myriad of exhibitions yearly also doubles as a resource center for students in the art department and additionally boasts a collection of prints. Aside from representing the various methods of printmaking, these prints demonstrate the different periods and styles of European art. This piece is therefore a reflective essay on the experiences I gained from the internship and the skills I acquired during this period. As I worked closely with an experienced curator, Dr. Ben Thomas, during the internship, the opportunity turned out to be really rewarding in terms of the learning experiences. As it dawned on me that responsibilities of a curator were more than what I had simply amassed from my theory lectures, I became properly versed with the realistic functions of the curatorial role – it was indeed more demanding that I had previously envisioned. In addition, as observed by Amineddoleh, I confirmed that functions required the ability to analyze works from various periods of art and a crucial comprehension of the different art movements (Amineddoleh, 2014, pg. 729). I also learned one of the most crucial aspects in the organization of exhibitions and observed the need for a critical mind particularly when a curator is performing the functions of deciding what categories different works of art should fall under. Moreover, the period of internship enabled me grasp that in a bid to ensure that the works appeal to visitors and that they can read the meaning in the works, the curator had to be prudent in his roles and arrange the various works in a pre-determined fashion. In as much as I have attended many intriguing art exhibitions before the internship, it had never dawned on me that the curators devoted themselves to organize the exhibitions in such important ways. It was hugely beneficial working alongside Dr. Ben as it proved very insightful and I additionally came to appreciate that various functions that define a curator. I also had an opportunity to take part in various projects that offered a much needed experiences. Some of these projects included assistant curating, the Underexposed and Curating, the Re-exposure Exhibition, re-hanging pictures in the Jarman building and the Identification Please Exhibition. Invigilating Experience The weekly invigilation system assisted in keeping me highly alert and in learning mode (Amineddoleh 2014, p.729) as I took part in the function of invigilating exhibitions at the gallery. The gallery managers, by monitoring the daily works in the gallery, are tasked with ensuring that the gallery is clean, safe and secure and more in addition, I learned that curators in museums, for instance, evidently have to prepare themselves for more challenging roles in the management of exhibitions (Birchall and Yeates, 2013). Forming part of this invigilating unit provided interactive sessions that helped me improve my critical skills inn appreciating the various art forms. I assisted visitors to understand the contents of the various works that were under display and addressed the queries during the invigilation of the Underexposed Exhibition and the invigilation of Alfred Drurry and the new sculpture exhibition, Winter Journey: Marcus Rees Roberts’s exhibition. Further still, the interactive sessions with the visitors enabled me acquire crucial familiarity with the concerns of the audience during exhibitions. I noted that gallery invigilators are important in the running of the gallery and in ensuring that the works are safe, protected and that the gallery is open and presentable for audiences. And since invigilators are often the first contact audiences have with the gallery, they are advised to not only stand idly in front of the gallery but rather to be receptive and warm, helpful and informed so that the visitors have no problems in the walks. As Kenn Taylor (2012) puts it, invigilators guide visitors to more than just the washrooms. He also notes, “In traditional museums and galleries, the role of the invigilator was very much one based around security, protecting precious works of art from the unknown whims of the public. This and perhaps occasionally suggesting where a particular painting- or the toilets-could be found, but in today’s new institutions though, the invigilator, while still fulfilling the role of keeping an eye on things and giving directions to nearest gents, is also called upon to be interpreter, facilitator, demonstrator, guide and technician.” (2012) My roles included reading each exhibition catalogue and attending the private views or talks to become familiar with the contexts. In the course of my shifts, also, I monitored and recorded the studio’s humidity, temperature and lighting which were important to environmental reports and loan requests. I was eagerly positive in replying visitor questions and additionally requested that they leave their feedbacks before departing from the gallery after their sessions. The weekly 4-hour shifts allowed me attain in-depth knowledge of the exhibitions operating in gallery. Therefore I observed in the end that invigilating also evidently ensures that an art institution has regular monitoring of all the artworks, making them properly and easily accessible. Display Case Exhibition Experience Furthermore, I gained valuable experience in the curating career and grew familiarity with the value of curating policy of the university art gallery and the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge when I took part in curating exercises. I particularly gained experience on the issue of adherence to the collection policy, practicing in the loan process and all the transactions pertaining to the curating process then in a demanding field research. I understood that the objectives and the priorities that decided which specific object was obtained were clearly outlined by the policy. During my internship, the studio 3 gallery offered a teamwork chance to curate a display case via visits and sample the collections from the Beaney House of Arts and Knowledge’s stores. In this case my colleague and I were set to work together in selecting some of the collections from the Beaney House and then install them in the display case the school of art’s reception, the jarman building. According to my assessment, becoming conversant with the procedures that determine the curating process was a great feat as it thoroughly prepared me for the challenging functions of selecting/ limiting within a specific size of display case 20th Century collections for curating. I personally was assigned various duties in the curating process which included blogging, writing and formatting booklets, installing loans, and so on. These roles went a great length in valuably exposing me to fieldwork facts that I previously had no knowledge of. I sampled various guidelines from my interactions in the studio 3 galleries, the curating policy, and from the Beanet House of Arts and Knowledge’s collections. In the exhibition, our priority was to select the suitable exhibits in the Beaney House of Arts and Knowledge. The curating began promptly after our rendezvous and discussions with Dr. Ben Thomas budgets, loans and dates. After selecting all the cameras in the Beaney House collections, we arrived at the decision of the theme exhibition – reviewing the history of photography. We therefore purposed to concentrate on exhibiting the 20th Century and including other photographic books and films in the exhibition. We considered the Jarman building surrounding the Drama Department, inspired by the pre-1965 project in the university’s 50 year celebration with the project exploring the history of the site of the University of Kent. The cameras were selected after a number of visits to the Beaney House of Arts and Knowledge. After the selection, the next step, which was successfully conducted, entailed the loan installation from the Beaney. Loan installation process improved my knowledge of performing loan requests as I appreciated the vital roles of good transportation and environmental report in ensuring loan. During the undertaking of the necessary research to the museum’s collections before the curating procedure, I worked closely with the Museums and Galleries Development Manager in the Beaney House of Arts and Knowledge, Mr. Craig Bowen. The duty was to display cameras in their display cases in preparation for the exhibitions. The extra assigned role of writing various cameras for the exhibition booklet practice after hanging of the display case enhanced my research skills and knowledge in cameras. We called the display “Re-Exposure” with the subtitle “A Study of Camera and Photographic Nostalgia.” In our final presentation, we decided to keep the demonstration simple, natural and pure by employing fewer medium as we applied the file box for hold and stood the cameras in various heights in attempts to have their personalities and harmonies in their entirety. Since the exhibition was a cultural demonstration showing the trace of camera history in the Kent State, the roles assigned to me assisted me in acquiring crucial skills which will always be invaluable in my coming ventures in my curatorial endeavors. Apart from these newly amassed skills, I also acquired critical knowledge pertaining to the exhibition process and particularly the roles of a curator in the said area. A curator is more of a cultural mediator acting as cultural brokers to reveal and explicate how notions of identity are conveyed through artistic practices of traditionally subordinate or peripheral groups/ emerging societies. (Greenberg, Ferguson and Nairne, 1996, pg. 23). The curator is involved in the active overseeing of the entire curating process as s/he takes up a managerial and supervisory role in the course. However, the roles of the curator do not end there as they are equally engaged in other critical processes of curating such as the formulation of exhibition and ensuring that clear records of the entire curating process are maintained. It was critical that we determine the needs before partaking in the curating process (Greenberg, Ferguson and Nairne, 1996). In this area, I hugely depended on the skills of the curator in collections and re-arrangement to acquire knowledge of identifying the exhibits needed for the exhibition. It was important that I know and determine the cultural relevance of the different objects obtained during the group curating process. In the end, I gained more understanding and comprehension of the process involved, particularly with the help of Craig Bowen and Dr. Ben Thomas in Studio 3 galleries. Re-hanging Pictures in the Jarman Building Apart from all the above highlighted tasks and skills, I was additionally assigned another teamwork task involving the re-hanging of all the public areas with film posters and painting prints provided within the Jarman Building. The film posters were all hung in the first floor of the building outside Studio 6 and Studio 7 while other paintings and print posters were arranged in the remaining public spaces. Depending on the surface area and the relevance of the hanging to the specific place, this particular task required that identify the objects best suited to each area that needed a hanging. This required the use of my critical and thinking skills in order to decide the images that were best suited for all the areas in the school of arts that required re-hanging. In efforts to perform the task excellently, in attempts to unearth the thematic context employed by previous curators in the hanging process, I was obliged to perform an analysis and in-depth investigation of the hangings that had been in the designated areas previously. In addition, in efforts to implement new themes and meanings in the hangings, the task equally prompted me to thoroughly engage my creative skills. Also, generally speaking, as a result of the task of arranging and re-hanging exhibits, I grew more appreciative of the co-operative spirit of group work. Participation in Organizing Exhibitions Other exhibitions that I was actively involved in included the “Identification Please!” Exhibition, an exhibition about showing fine arts students’ film and studio 3 gallery’s print collections in studio 3 gallery. Even though I only managed to take part in the planning processes of selecting and hanging print, I still ended up gaining useful knowledge on how to combine various prints and define the exhibition associated with layout and lighting in gallery space. My roles in the planning processes of two different exhibitions have helped me acquire massive knowledge. It is important to underline that the university follows most of the procedures that have been adopted by the national museums in exhibition planning processes (Roth-Katz 2012, p. 130). As is highlighted in the proceeding sections below, the only notable difference between the two is that national museums employ extensive advertising with their exhibitions awarding the most outstanding artists. I partook of the whole process of the planning of the exhibition which provided me with multiple skills in the end. The initial stage entailed determining the different aspects of the exhibition and was a rather extensive and intensive conceptualization process. However, identifying the theme of the exhibition remained the most delicate aspect (John, 1992). The main idea was to basically come up with an exhibition that focused on the 20th Century camera works and this being a very broad topic, there was the consequent need to narrow down into the specific aspects of the 20th Century that would be demonstrated in the exhibitions. There was also the need to identify the right cameras to use during the exhibition, and carefully consider their historical relevance in terms of the selected theme as well as their relevance to the selected time period. The consequent step inevitably involved the determination of any potential source of funding for the exhibitions as any planning of exhibitions requires a clear big picture and a definitive thinking of the potential sources of funds that can make the exhibition a success (John, 1994). This step was followed by deliberations concerning the layout of the exhibition and visualizing how the chosen exhibits would be displayed. Under the curator’s guidance, we also did reservations of the exhibition dates. We equally looked at the potential audiences at the planned exhibition since the function of an exhibition is to foresee the meeting of the exhibition artists and their audiences (Roth-Katz 2012, p. 129). In the endeavors, I learned that focusing on the audience plays a great role in the success of the exhibition. It is essential that the exhibition planning process consider the reasons the audiences would be delighted with a particular selected theme as the exhibition serves as a means for the various audiences to sample and enjoy the artworks of a myriad of artists. Ensuring that an exhibition is planned in such a format that brings meaning to the audience is the role of the curatorial tasks team. In the process of all these determinations, I received important experiences as I endeavored with the curator and the rest of the team in the planning of the exhibitions. Worth noting and deeply essential in most of the reputable and successful exhibitions put out by national museums and other art galleries is that the layout of the exhibitions were in such a way to creatively and critically elicit greater interaction of the audiences with various pieces of artwork. Other invaluable skills that I acquired from my period of internship at the university included an understanding on how to draft a budget for an exhibition and also writing out proposals requesting grants and other sources of exhibition funding (Tam 2012, p. 849). From the tasks too, I observed that it was vital to include the amounts reserved for artists, logistics, the project fees, advertising, catalogue printing and all other perceived expenses. This is perhaps the most difficult function of curators (Ivan and Steven, 2013) and the internship served well in significantly teaching me how to handle this step in the planning and organization of exhibitions. In the end, as much as I was merely acting as an intern, I am of the genuine belief that I can now convincingly handle related tasks. Other learning experiences that I accrued during the internship include the importance of attending the serial talks given by the artists and curating the gallery (Hans, 2011). Following the format set forth by national museums, talks and panel sessions in the demonstration days of the art exhibition are arranged by the curator for the discussions. Lessons Learned from Trips Perhaps the most insightful trip during my internship was the visit to notable exhibitions in world class museums and galleries in London, England. Desirous of more learning experiences, to enjoy and appreciate art and to discover various ways of curating, I also visited galleries and museums in other areas of the globe such as in Amsterdam, Berlin and Rome during my internship. In addition, alongside my tutor and fellow colleagues, I had the opportunity to visit the London Original Print Fair during my final terms of internship which importantly gave me a rare opportunity to sample and enjoy the marvelous prints from various time scales of print making. In addition, I got to observe firsthand how reputable art galleries planned and organized their art fairs (Roth-Katz 2012, p. 133). The London Original Print Fair, compared to other non-commercial profit galleries, is more commercial than artistic. For instance, the value of the Marcus Ree Roberts’ prints in “Winter Journey” exhibition with his prints in the London Original Print Fair differed compared to the previously concluded Marcus Ree Roberts’ “Winter Journey” Exhibition curated by Dr Ben Thomas. From these observations, I gathered that non-commercial fairs are curating and curator-based whereas commercial ones where more of selling and dealer-based. I also learned these various modes of shows intended different stories of their venues as the curators in the non-commercial exhibitions are the main exhibition makers that majorly focus on preserving the artistry and contextualizing artwork while on the other hand, curators in the commercial fairs are not the main exhibition makers serving to tell creative stories but delving more on the capital value of art. I learned that audiences have different expectations for different types of shows as these and curators must therefore consider and correctly predict such things (Marincola, 2006). Another notable and important experience during my internship involved travelling with Dr. Ben Thomas and my colleague to the Mondrian Exhibition at Turner Contemporary, Margate - an exhibition that in my assessment clearly lacked a proper layout with instances such as paintings hanging from the walls of corners and creeping into other rooms or several paintings hung on a wide empty wall (Emma, 1999). Apart from the layout of the paintings, I also had problems with the design of the walls close to the exits which were designed in dark blue and decorated with exhibition cases with additional images and writings about the artist Mondrian, therefore because of the use of this dark blue color, the walls were consequently too obvious to capture the eyes of the audiences with the paintings (Eileen, 1999). The exit area was also left too narrow and hence crowded from the installation of two exhibition cases. In our consequent deliberations with Dr. Ben, we were implored to always consider using our own curating schemes and share our ideas on how to re-arrange the paintings in attempts to properly exhibit them in the spaces. This important group study case experience served to vitally enhance my evaluation and analyzing skills to decide whether or not an exhibition is good. In addition, again with Mr. Ben alongside a few colleagues I had the rare chance to visit the Sculptor Richard Rome’s studio and thereby gain more experiences. This tour, to say the least, helped me familiarize myself with the techniques employed by various artists in the creation of scintillating works. In addition, I obtained great learning experiences from listening to the various motivations that inspired him to work on each the numerous pieces. Dr. Ben’s conversation with Richard Rome was a particularly insightful one that had rich information that I will need in my future endeavors. My experience and knowledge in curating was further enriched by a number of other trips overseas. By travelling to various art exhibitions, I obtained essential learning platforms, got to understand and encounter other curators’ curating schemes and therefore form my own views regarding curating (Chris, 2011). From my investigations and trips, I stumbled upon good instances of the manner of conception behind most of the works at the well-though out Biennial curated by Juan Gaitan. The principle of the biennial exhibition was summed up really by the traditional centre of the Berlin Biennial (the grand hall in the KW Institute of Contemporary Art) which was had similar features of an artistic research centre in which Tonel, like Zaccagnini (an art historian turned artist), employs commerce from a Cuban point of view. However, this focus on research does not deter audiences from aesthetic encounters but rather one can discover a lot more if one only looks closely and keenly (Couchman, Hafford-Letchfield & Leonard, 2014). Considering the installation of the Weltall, for instance, one may be caused to wonder whether the broken wooden balks portend to the garbage flying around in the Weltall or whether they simply demonstrate the fragility of the borders. This definitely provokes great imagination amongst audiences, which is a good effect (Charlotte, 2009). The Biennial exhibition leaves the audience to draw their own narratives as it has little or no underlying theme with the artworks arranged like objects in an exhibition cabinet (Beryl and Sarah, 2010). In as much as there are threads here and there in the exhibition coupled with alternative readings of (post-colonial) history (apt, given that one of the sites is Dahlem’s ethnographic museum), environmental concerns, and exploration of alien spaces, none is enough to declare a unifying position or theme in the end. Conclusion In all honesty, at the end of my internship, I had obtained some good experience in various curatorial roles and I completed the exercise feeling well and adequately equipped with very important knowledge and skills that will assist me in my future career works as a curator. The internship as already stated in the essay helped me gain knowledge of a diverse range of important curatorial roles. In addition, the hands-on experience during the internship transformed my thinking and enabled me appreciate art even the more. According to me the most important aspect of curatorial work entails critical skills which I acquired during the entire course of my internship (Brian, 1999). Also, as already stated in the reflection, the studio 3 gallery where I was posted employs strategies similar to those recognized by experts in national museums and therefore the skills I acquired during the internship can be applied in a myriad of potential employment areas and with great competency too (Ann, 1994). References Amineddoleh, L 2014, 'Protecting Cultural Heritage by Strictly Scrutinizing Museum Acquisitions', Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal, 24, p. 729, LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 August 2014. Ann Fahy (ed.), Collections Management (Leicester Readers in Museum Studies), London: Routledge, 1994. Beryl Graham and Sarah Cook, Rethinking Curating: Art after New Media, MIT Press, 2010. 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Taylor, Kenn, ’In praise of the gallery invigilator’The Guardian, 2012, 2014, 8/24, The Guardian,http://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2012/jul/25/gallery-assistant-invigilator-in-praise Greenberg, R; Ferguson,B& Nairne, S1996. Thinking about exhibitions. Routledge.Marincola, Paula. Marincola, Paula. 2006. What makes a great exhibition?Philadelphia Exhibition Initiative, Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage. Paul O’Neill, The Culture of Curating and the Curating of Culture(s), Cambridge, Mass. and London: MIT Press, 2012 Paula Marincola, What Makes A Great Exhibition?, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, 2006. Roth-Katz, E 2012, 'Access and Availability: A Study of Use Policies on Art Museum Library Websites', Art Documentation: Bulletin Of The Art Libraries Society Of North America, 31, 1, pp. 123-140, Art & Architecture Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 August 2014. 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