Oh the Opportunities: Working with GDAC

After what seemed like a grueling process of trial and error, many applications, and encouragement from outside forces, I finally snagged an intern position at the Greater Denton Arts Council. Originally I had applied for the Education internship, but then things went a little sideways when the Education Coordinator ended up leaving in July, so when I went in for my interview with GDAC's director, Georgina, I didn't really know what to expect. We had a wonderful conversation and I let her know about the various interests I have and the experience that I have gained at UNT and in outside work, relating it all to what might be beneficial to a non-profit arts organization. This interview was a few weeks before the new Education Coordinator, Christine, was hired on, so my position was a little play-it-by-the-ear. 

When I say play-it-by-ear, I mean that I do not have just one particular set of responsibilities, rather I and another intern will be used in various sections of organization, including Education and Social Media. Although I was hoping to be just and Education intern, I think that this opportunity to dip my toes in different avenues will not only help grow my current skillset, but will also put more tools in my toolbox when it comes to working within a non-profit and see the many different hats everyone wears. From my standpoint, I will be able to observe the innerworkings of the organization and help contribute to the conversation with new and fresh ideas as well as provide my assistance where and when needed. 


On the social media aspect, the first big campaign that I have participated in is North Texas Giving Day. This once-a-year special event is a priority in helping to raise funds for not only our facility, but also other non-profits and businesses throughout North Texas. I was able to help create social media ads to help reach out the community to promote GDAC's mission, help with the planning process of the booth and what craft we would be facilitating (make & take fans), creating examples of the craft, as well as participating at the actual event on September 19 on the Square in Denton. We had a good turn out - kids, families, and even some adults were super into creating their own fans. We supplied markers, colored and textured tapes, different types of papers with designs, images, and text, and three examples of different fans everyone could make. Seeing each unique creation come to life was very rewarding; from the determined kindergartners to the enthused adults, each worked hard to create a work of art they were proud of. 

Other social media ventures we are working on are promoting the Arts After School Program, Family Programs, and other events taking place at the Patterson-Appleton Art Center. Along with assisting in planning social media content, we are also assisting Christine and Jenny, the exhibitions coordinator, with researching and fundraising for GDAC. Currently we are working on fundraising for our first Family Program in October. 

I am so excited to stretch my muscles in the realm of social media, photography and design, and marketing, and to couple that with the skills I've learned through the Museum Education program pretty simultaneously. We begin the Arts After School program on October 9, and hopefully we will have a good turn out for the class. We have been planning some fun stuff that we are looking forward to, and are so excited to share it with Denton's students. Along with another intern, I will be assisting Christine in the class, facilitating lessons, and helping kids grow a love and appreciation for crafting (and a little bit of history too :) ). 

Working with the Texas Fashion Collection - the First Weeks

Thinking about finding a museum internship has its pressures, of course, but I realized that my own nervousness wasn't coming from the idea of interviews and practical adjustments, but rather seeking a position that satisfied what I have found to be my niche of interest in Museum Education. I now have 2+ years of experience working with college-age learners, which has been a rewarding experience, but I have realized that my own interest and heart go to the materials that are being given to learners. Ie - The exhibitions themselves, and the inner-workings of collections. This realization is a major part of why I was so excited to work with Annette in the Texas Fashion Collection.

When I met with Annette over the summer to talk about the possibility of working in the space, she asked what I was interested in focusing on during my time with the museum. I mentioned my interest in curation, as well as creating didactic labels for artifacts - which is a difficult art in itself. I had an opportunity to learn about these practices (to a degree) in Dr. Shabout's summer Curatorial course. Annette was quick to offer multiple learning opportunities this semester that correlated with my interest, including learning about their new database, working directly with their collection's manager and potentially assisting with (de)accessioning objects from the collection, and even curating pop-up "shows" of the garments that would go up in the college's study space, which will correlate directly with what students are learning in their own courses. I was incredibly excited to get some practical experience in these fields, and I was determined to make it work simultaneously with my own thesis work in Fall 2019.

I quickly realized as my Fall semester began that I really saddled myself up with an intense array of varying responsibilities. From developing my portfolio for my thesis (show going up in March) to teaching a course, creating studio work for my own classes (and attending Museum Ed), and working with the Texas Fashion Collection to satisfy my internship requirements, I felt some trepidation about my schedule and whether or not I would be able to give my attention to everything at once in a meaningful way. After all, it CAN be done, but unless I'm able to give everything the time it needs, it feels like a waste of my own energy.

Thus far it has been manageable. Each day has been slightly different in regards to my responsibilities. I have had some time to explore and become familiar with the Vault as well as the Study Space that is attached to the CVAD building... I've spent quite a bit of time thus far with Janelle, the Collections Manager, assisting her with condition reports for pieces that are being sent to a separate exhibition - which, by the way, is fatiguing for its specificity, but intriguing for its purpose. I have also been able to assist with handling objects and assisting in the preparation of mannequin-dressing for photographing pieces that will be sent to the database. I have definitely enjoyed the hands-on assignments, and generally just assisting with the function of the museum.

I will be spending Thursday getting more personally familiar with pieces in the study space in anticipation of my first Pop-up assignment. I will be researching the objects and their context using resources that Annette gave me, and we will brainstorm and discuss my findings next week. I'm very excited to have a hand in curating small exhibits, from selecting pieces to developing curatorial themes that will assist the viewer in understanding the presentation. I have a feeling it is more complex than I'm anticipating - particularly when it is not my area of expertise, however, being comfortable enough to thrust myself into different areas of study is necessary if I want to expand further on this practice anyway.

I can sincerely say that I am incredibly excited to see what this internship holds in store for me, and how it might assist me with getting into the field after graduation :)

Grand Reopening and Community Partnerships.

For the duration of the Fall semester, I will continue working at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art alongside the wonderful members of the museum's education department. I am lucky enough that the museum will be reopening in the next week and I will get to see how programs typically operate at the Carter. Since various sections of the museum have been closed for renovations the last six months, the programs the education department have hosted have been mostly held offsite which has limited the amount of people that could attend. I am hoping this semester that I can learn more about program development and become better at writing lesson plans. I will have ample chances to try my hand at it as I will be writing some of the lessons for the spring After-school and girl scout programs. I am really excited about the latter as I have not written or seen any programs that are formed in partnership with organizations like the girl scouts and I am interested to see how the museum is able to connect its collection to what scouts are doing. 

I am also hoping that my major project at the museum is successful. I will be designing and holding workshops at high schools around Fort Worth. The workshops are born out of a recent partnership with the Tarrant County Black Genealogical and Historical Society and the Amon Carter. The genealogical society will be holding a juried art show for local artists and students in the spring. My workshop is suppose to be for students that are interested in entering the show so they have a clear idea about the theme and how they can approach it in their art. I am in the early stages of planning it and have mostly been looking into which artworks I think would be helpful for the students to see before they start creating their own work for the show. The theme is the fight for Africans Americans to have a right to vote during the Civil Rights Movement. The head of the genealogical society would like me to focus of the history of the Civil Rights Movement and struggle for African-Americans to freely exercise their right to vote. I want to see if I can also include some art-making activities as I want to give the students a chance to start working out their ideas on paper and they don't have to just sit still for the entire time after already sitting through their classes. I might contact the schools that are participating to see what students have already covered in their classes so I have an idea about how much I can go into the history. Although, my biggest concerning is trying to make it meaningful for the kids that are participating. Not only is this an event that happened decades ago and they might not have a connection to, but most, if not all of the kids that will be attending the workshop, are not voting age. I have time though to figure this all out. 

I hoping to that I get more responsibilities in the incoming months as the education department is a little understaffed. Especially in community outreach as a few members will be switching to other departments or leaving the coming months.