The interns at the Evanston Art Center aren’t just there for the art.
Northwestern students from a range of studies work at the community center, 2603 Sheridan Rd., in the Arts Administration Internship, which includes responsibilities such as public relations, marketing and fundraising work.
The majority of the art center’s interns are studio art students looking to make themselves more marketable, said Paula Danoff, the center’s director of development and communications. They need grant writing and public relations skills in order to successfully apply for exhibitions. Danoff said the internship is ideal for art theory students who want to find work and devote themselves to an art career and find work.
“You might be an excellent artist, but just like in theater, you have to audition for the part,” she said. “The world’s a big place, and a lot of other people are talented.”
Danoff said media relations are key in the art field.
“We stress that you develop a relationship with that person, so when you go to your next job (interview) you can say you know so-and-so at the Chicago Reader,” she said.
However, the art center also attracts students outside the art department, the director said. For students on the verge of entering the job market, the art center makes an effort to turn the internship into a constructive learning experience by tailoring the job to each student’s individual needs.
Students said the internship is a good experience.
Colleen Moore, a current intern at the art center, said the job offers an understanding of the workings of a non-profit organization.
The Weinberg junior is majoring in physics and said she is considering graduate school to study sustainable research and technology. The art center gives her some welcome experience in non-profit organizations, she said.
“I talk with a lot of trustees and people who work in the non-profit business,” she said. “It’s nice to see how communication works between donors and employees.”
Katerina Herder, a Communication junior who interned at the art center last spring, said observing the operations of a non-profit business helps her prepare for a career in arts administration.
“Because of course it’s a non-profit and they never have money to spare, I contacted different listings and publications like Evanston Round Table and Time Out Chicago,” she said. “At any arts non-profit you’re going to get similar, transferable skills.”
In addition, the art center’s small size provides more hands-on opportunities for the interns, said the student, whose recent duties include photographing the pieces for an upcoming exhibition and hanging work in the galleries.
“(The staff) are comfortable enough with the students they are taking in,” she said. “At a larger place there would be stricter policy, or people would be too busy to help students who haven’t had the experience before.”
