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 :)