Gund Gallery

 
Kenyon College
 
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Gund Gallery Associate Program

What is the Gund Associate Program?

The Gund Gallery Associates Program offers Kenyon students an opportunity to complement their Kenyon liberal arts education with a meaningful paid-internship experience that fosters art-driven inquiries, professional development, and encourages expansive learning practices in relation to the art world. Working with the Gund Gallery team and visiting museum professionals, students hired as Gund Associates are initiated to varying aspects of museum work, including but not limited to behind-the-scenes operations such as curatorial research and planning, collection maintenance, public programs, digital storytelling, and educational outreach. The Gund Associates program integrates theory with practice by fostering visual arts projects that provide students from across disciplines the opportunities to develop adaptable skills such as creating connections through collaborative research, implementing innovative problem-solving strategies, and fostering community bonds between students, artists, museum professionals, and local organizations.

Organized into groups that reflect typical structures in cultural institutions, students are assigned to one of the following groups: Collection Management, Curatorial Practice, Education, Visitor Experience, or Digital Storytelling and Documentation. Associates typically work between 2-10 hours per week. After one year as a Gund Gallery Associate, participants can apply for a leadership role within the different groups. Throughout the academic year, our Associates will be trained to lead tours for members of Kenyon College and the local community, research and provide material for the development of curatorial initiatives, generate original content for social media, and support archival efforts and collections management.

Benefits

Gund Gallery Associates gain practical museum experience, work with museum professionals and have special access to visiting artists and scholars, special field trips, and other activities.

Duties and Expectations

The Gund Gallery Associate Program offers student interns a chance to collaborate with fellow students working on real world projects. Organized into groups that reflect typical structures in cultural institutions, students are assigned to the Collection Management Group, the Curatorial Practice Group, the Education & Public Programming Group, or the Community Engagement Group. Associates typically work 2-10 hours per week. After one year as a Gund Gallery Associate, participants can apply to take on a managerial role as a Gund Gallery Associate Leader.

Associate Projects

Gund Gallery Associate Projects are designed to be meaningful and enriching experiences.  Throughout the academic year, our associates can be found …

  • Leading tours for members of Kenyon College and the local community
  • Curating exhibitions, researching, and writing gallery materials
  • Creating new content for social media and the Gund Gallery website
  • Editing catalogs, gallery publications and programming materials
  • Developing programs for Knox Country school and after-school programs
  • Supporting collections management efforts

Application Process

Applications are accepted at the beginning of the fall term through Handshake. The Gund Gallery staff follows up with selected candidates for interviews and available positions. 

Eligibility

In the spirit of the Gund Gallery’s goal to foster an ethos of belonging that extends across campus, all currently enrolled Kenyon College students interested in building a network of peers and skills can apply to the Gund Gallery Associate Program.

Fall 2022 Application Timeline

  • September 11: Application Deadline
  • September 12-16: Interviews
  • September 19: Acceptance Decisions
  • September 22: New Associates Meeting

To Apply

Please prepare the following documents and apply through Kenyon’s Handshake application portal. Do not send materials directly to Christopher Yates.

  • Cover letter expressing why you would like to work at the Museum and in which program area(s) you would like to gain experience
  • Resume
  • Writing sample.

In recent years, Gund Associates have secured competitive summer internships at the following:

  • Adah Rose Gallery (D.C.)
  • Berger Hirschberg Strategies (D.C.)
  • BravinLee Gallery (NYC)
  • Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution (D.C.)
  • City Arts (NYC)
  • Cleveland Museum of Art (OH)
  • Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution (NYC)
  • Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, AR)
  • Dallas Museum of Art (TX)
  • David Zwirner Gallery (NYC)
  • Diane Arbus Archive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC)
  • Elizabeth Dee Gallery (NYC)
  • Exhibition A, an initiative of Half Gallery (NYC) led by Cynthia Rowley (designer) and Bill Powers (gallery owner)
  • Foundation for Contemporary Arts (NYC)
  • Freer & Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution (D.C.)
  • Girl Scouts summer camp (CA)
  • Laura Rosenthal Casting (NYC)
  • London Vogue (UK)
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MA)
  • Museum of Modern Art (NYC)
  • New Museum (NYC)
  • Phoenix Art Museum (AZ)
  • P.P.O.W. Gallery (NYC)
  • Rubin Museum (NYC)
  • Smithsonian (D.C.)
  • Whitney Museum of American Art (NYC)
  • Yossi Milo Gallery (NYC)

Gund Associate Student Handbook

 

For more information on the program, please contact:

Christopher Yates
Associate Director
Gund Gallery at Kenyon College
(740) 427-5970
yatesc@kenyon.edu