JOB INFORMATION
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States and a thriving cultural center for the Bay Area. We cannot imagine life without art; it inspires and connects us every day. Now more than ever, these connections matter, and are aligned with our values.
Inclusive: We know we make the greatest impact when a full range of voices is represented.
Passionate: We believe art and the creative process can open our minds to help us build a better world.
Brave: We nurture a responsive, action-oriented atmosphere fueled by curiosity and innovation.
Empathic: We aim to act like a person, not an institution, and forge authentic relationships with our community.
SFMOMA is a place for the infinitely curious to explore, support and experience the art of our time. We believe that modern and contemporary art can influence the way we think, view the world, and embrace the many voices and perspectives around us. We aspire to foster an environment that elicits joy, nurtures a sense of belonging and purpose—where difference is seen as a strength, and everyone is appreciated for their whole self.
Schedule: Full Time, 35 hours/week
Duration: Monday, June 5th, 2023 – Friday, August 11th, 2023
Pay Rate: $7,500 stipend (pre-tax, one time payment)
This internship is divided between the museum’s Third Street location and its Collection Center in South San Francisco dependent on assigned projects.
The SFMOMA Archives collects, preserves, and provides reference access to the records that document the curatorial, educational and administrative activities of the museum. The SFMOMA Archives houses the institutional records of the museum dating back to 1935.
Position Description
The Archives internship aims to provide the intern with a well-rounded archival experience and offers them an opportunity to learn more about the archival profession. The Archives intern will work one-on-one with the Archivist/Records Manager to process and describe the material of the SFMOMA Publications collection, a collection of published material generated by the museum from 1935 to the present, that includes invitations, announcements, brochures, gallery guides, calendars, programs, posters, and periodicals.
Project Plan
Week 1: Introduction to the SFMOMA Archives
Learn about the SFMOMA Archives: its history, its role at the museum, and its policies and procedures
Meet the team and learn about each person’s role and path to SFMOMA
Week 2-10: Archival Arrangement, Processing & Description – SFMOMA Publications Collection
Familiarize oneself with SFMOMA Archives’ processing and holdings maintenance standards and procedures
Pre-sort of unprocessed SFMOMA Publications materials, which includes periodicals, calendars, posters, invitations, ephemera, and miscellaneous objects
Arrange, inventory, and process physical materials
Prepare inventories and descriptions for finding aids and research guides in order to provide future access to the materials
Week 2 –10: SFMOMA History Calendar
Populate an SFMOMA History calendar with events, milestones, or stories found in the materials in the SFMOMA Publications collection
By the end of the internship, the Archives intern will have:
Gained experience in archival processing and description.
Enabled access to physical materials in the SFMOMA Archives through their inventories and holdings maintenance.
Contributed to the SFMOMA Publications finding aid.
Led in creating an SFMOMA History calendar, which will serve as a museum resource for SFMOMA historic events.
Educational Objectives
Own an archival processing project with tangible impact to our organizational history and access to information.
Develop research, information management, and problem-solving skills.
Gain experience working with archival materials.
Introduce the intern to some of the core competencies of the archives profession through combination of the assigned project and mentoring.
Requirements & Skills
Education & Training
Must be a current student in or recent graduate of a Masters-level program in library science, museum studies, or related program.
Desired Skills & Abilities
Detail-oriented and extremely organized
Proficiency with MS Office, SharePoint, and database software
Application Requirements
Resume.
Cover letter stating the specific internship of interest. (Please list no more than three departments.) Describe the experience you bring to these areas, why you are interested in museum or nonprofit work, reasons for applying to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and your goals for the internship.
Two letters of recommendation from either a college professor or former employer.
College transcript: Transcripts can be unofficial but need to be legible.
Note: If your two letters of recommendation and transcript will be emailed via a third party, the email subject line must state "Attention: STUDENT FULL NAME" and message must include the student's full name, their email address, and the document(s) attached in the email
Application Deadline: March 20, 2023
A link will be provided in the application for you to submit your college transcript and two (2) letters of recommendation via a third party, if you are not able to upload those directly into the application.
You do not need separate letters of recommendation for each intern application - please just let each of the recommenders know which internships (up to 3) you're applying to and we'll review those two letters across all of your internship applications.
Location: San Francisco, 151 3rd Street.
COVID-19 Environmental Factors: In keeping with city, county, and state regulations regarding large gatherings, and to contain the spread of coronavirus, the museum is following the city of San Francisco guidelines. As a part of our commitment to health and safety, COVID-19 vaccination is required for all current and newly hired employees and contractors.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
SFMOMA is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. No person shall be discriminated against based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, age, genetic information, ancestry/national origin, marital status, disability, medical condition, HIV status, sexual orientation, veteran/military status, and any other category protected by federal of state law. If you are a qualified individual with a disability, you may request reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to access job openings or with providing additional information asked in the job posting. You can request reasonable accommodation by contacting the People Team at talent@sfmoma.org.
