MCP's Summer 2008 Internship Program
MCP's Summer 2008 Internship Program will begin to take applications April 1st, and applications close April 25th. Please check back to see updates on the internships available.
MCP is looking for self-motivated, focused individuals committed to MCP's mission: To support and promote the creation and appreciation of photographic arts. Internships generally last four months and require 8-10 hours per week with some occasional weekend and evening hours. Currently, MCP's internships are unpaid. MCP is researching grants and sponsorships for internships.
Interested? Email Cole Sarar, Center Administrator, your cover letter, resume, and availability at cole@mncp.org.
Internships at MCP take a number of different forms:
MCP Interns
Youth TAs
Digital Lab TAs
Darkroom TAs
Documentary Interns
McKnight Intern
Exhibition Intern
Development Interns
Communications Interns
Education Programming Intern
Arts Administration Intern
Please scroll down to see descriptions of each type of internship.
MCP Interns
MCP interns work 8-10 hours during business hours, working on research projects, compiling information, putting together programs for youth and senior citizen outreach, forming plans for marketing and education, assisting during exhibition installations, and helping with other day to day activities.
These interns will also have interactions with MCP's community. Some of the interns may be Teachers Assistants for MCP's photography classes. Some may help run gallery events such as the 2nd Tuesday Artist Lectures, Camera Workers Group, or Portfolio Reviews.
MCP internships are great for people interested in photography or MCP, but do not necessarily know exactly how that will take form. MCP interns get a good idea how galleries, nonprofits, and art education centers work, and give them a hands on understanding of how MCP communicates with and serves the community. Interns with backgrounds or interest in PR or Marketing will also find that general internships will give them the most experience in how MCP operates.
Youth TAs
Youth TA positions are fantastic for college students studying education, or who have experience with and enjoy children. MCP's youth education programs take a few different forms- from classes that reach families and individuals, to classes that help with outreach through YMCA or FreeArts.
Youth TAs assist the teachers hired by MCP, help with set up and tear down, make the teacher and students feel comfortable, and act as the intermediary between MCP and the community's youth, from pre-school age all the way up through high schoolers.
Digital Lab TAs
MCP incorporated an exciting new digital education lab during the Spring of 2007, integrating digital photographic technologies into our education curriculum. With these new opportunities, there also arises the need to have teacher's assistants in those classes who are experienced in Photoshop and other aspects of photographic technology.
Digital Lab TAs will assist teachers in running the classroom, help with set up and tear down, assist in answering questions and acting as an ambassador for MCP. The TA will help to make students feel comfortable not only in a digital environment, but also to feel comfortable and welcome at MCP.
Documentary Interns
With all the things going on at MCP, it becomes a challenge to document and keep the community informed about the opportunities and ongoing events. Documentary interns have the only internship at MCP that requires photographic skills and employs those skills as a main part of the internship.
Documentary interns must possess both strong photographic and strong writing skills. These interns will attend MCP events, educational programs and ongoing exhibitions, and both photograph and write descriptions of those parts of MCP's personality. Interns' photographs and writing may be used in MCP's materials and will be a very rewarding experience for journalism students. These interns will work closely with Communications interns to keep MCP's archives and promotional images updated. Documentary interns are required to own a digital SLR camera.
Along with the resume and cover letter, potential documentary interns should include a portfolio of their photographic work (preferably on CD) and a short writing sample.
McKnight Intern
The Minnesota Center for Photography acts as host to the McKnight Photography Fellowships. The McKnight Intern will follow the entire process of the McKnight Fellowships, from application through exhibition, and assist in all aspects of making the process run smoothly, and also to reach the photographers who may want to apply for McKnight Fellowship.
This internship will run with fewer weekly hours, except during the heavy parts of the application and exhibition process, and will run from September through May. This internship will prove rewarding to persons interested in the way arts funding processes happen, both from the perspective of the artists and from the perspective of the funders.
*MCP will be taking on a McKnight Intern in late April.
Exhibition Intern
There are so many things that go into the creation of an exhibition. Exhibitions have varying amounts of research, time, tasks, and duties. Exhibition Interns will follow a show from conception through its opening, learning all of the parts of putting a show together. Everything from the philosophy behind a show, researching grants and partnerships, contacting artists, promoting the show, scheduling artist lectures, hanging the show, and understanding how the opening works.
Exhibition Interns must be organized and good at working unsupervised as well as with many people. These interns must also be willing to make a much longer commitment to the internship and to MCP. This internship is an incredible opportunity to understand gallery exhibitions in an in-depth manner, and also to understand the inter-workings of a small non-profit. This is an excellent opportunity for students on curatorial, arts administration, and arts management tracks. Ultimately, this sort of understanding for the different aspects of putting together a show will be educational for someone interested in any aspect of an arts center.
The enormous opportunity that this encompasses also requires that the intern commit to a 9 month long internship. *MCP is currently looking for 1 exhibition intern.
MCP Development Intern
Development interns will work directly with Kaia Hemming and Laura Hoyt to learn the basics of Grantwriting and Development for the Minnesota Center for Photography. They will be assisting in research and execution of foundation and corporate support for MCP's current fiscal year. Interns will gain access to each of the aspects and process of research, writing, and follow-up with grant proposals. Each intern will research two to five foundations/potential funders and work with Kaia and Laura on coordinating all the elements of the proposals. Interns will also learn to use the Foundation Collection database for research.
MCP Communications Intern
Communications interns will undertake a variety of tasks to teach them the basics and gain further experience and exposure in Public Relations and Marketing. Among the duties an intern may be asked to undertake are: updating press lists, researching potential press coverage, writing media advisories, assisting in writing press releases and other communications, researching publications or web sites, maintaining the publicity archive, updating and managing social networking websites and other photo and art related websites, planning distribution and tracking of marketing materials, and attending PR or Marketing meetings. Communications interns will work closely with Documentary interns to keep MCP's archives and promotional images updated. Interested applicants should also submit two writing samples (500 word limit to each sample).
+ Please note that it is preferred that applicants have some experience and a knowledge of local and national photo and art related media outlets.
Education Programming Intern
MCP's education program is a rigorous and growing part of the center, as there are so many ways in which photography can interact with and educate the community. As such, MCP is seeking out a dynamic and intelligent intern to research, design, and begin implementing new parts of MCP's education under the guidance of Education Coordinator Jes Schrom. Specifically, the Education Programming Intern will work on implementing mentorship programs, programs to give opportunities to challenged communities, and programs to give opportunities to college students.
An Education Programming Intern will be creative and able to coordinate with schools, photographers, teachers, and college groups to create an environment where unique opportunities and resources are available to communities that may not otherwise have those options. This is a great opportunity for those looking at going into arts education, or alternative education opportunities.
Arts Administration Intern
Not one of the most glamorous positions in Arts Nonprofits, the arts administrator is key and central to making things happen in most arts nonprofits. Managing calendars, events, members, finances, and databases will be among the skills an arts administrator will learn. Familiarity with managing information is key to a successful nonprofit, and can serve as a stepping stone to ensuring ease of growth in an organization's life.
Arts Administration Interns are not required to have experience in the arts, but need to understand how to navigate software and to be able to learn new software quickly.
Note: Applicants may apply to more than one type of internship, but should include a cover letter which addresses each of the types of internship they are interested in. Applicants will only be awarded one internship per internship period.
