What To Expect

This summer I will be researching, (re)writing and adding to the UNT Art Path brochure. UNT Art Path is a guided walking tour featuring works of art in public spaces all over the the UNT campus and throughout various buildings, celebrating the UNT Art Collections. Before I dive in with my hopes, dreams and expectations for my internship I must share a little background story…

In the 2010-2011 school year, I worked as a research assistant in the UNT Art Gallery where my main focus was to research the Art in Public Places collection. I was three out of four years in to my undergraduate career, working on my BA in Art History, when I found myself presented with this wonderful opportunity. I spent 10-20 hours per week researching the art and artists included in the APP collection and soaking up the experience like a sponge. The research that I gathered was compiled and included in the UNT Art Path brochure that is still being used today.

Fast forward a few years later to the Fall of 2013: After working for two and half years in the education department of a museum in Dallas, I decided it was time to come back to UNT to get my MA in Art Education. Around this same time, I was hired as the Manager of Programming for the UNT Art Galleries.  When discussing my options for internship credits with my supervisor, she mentioned the plans to re-vamp and expand the UNT Art Path, asking if that would be something I was interested in. Call me corny, but it felt like the universe had placed me in the exact right spot at the exact right time—I would get to continue the work I started as a wee-baby research assistant and once again leave my mark on the UNT Art Path.

What do I expect for my internship? I expect to be humbled by the research I presented in the past. I imagine when I open those files that it will feel similar to seeing an artwork that you created for your parents when you were 8 still hanging proudly in the office—not exactly a bad feeling, just something to put you in your place a little. I am excited to pull from my experiences working in the museum world and what I have practiced in my graduate program to enhance the brochure. I feel very fortunate to work for a team that trusts me and encourages me to use my knowledge and expertise to create a brochure/walking tour that will serve not only the UNT campus but the broader community as well.

I am not sure what challenges or experiences lay ahead, but I do know that I can’t wait to get started and continue my work!

-Katy Stewart