Internship Program at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Internship Program at the
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Internships at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Origins
What began in 1980 as an invitation to young people to assist operations
in the early days of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection has developed
into a competitive international internship program, involving the operation of Italy’s foremost modern art museum. It was the first and still is the
only program of its kind in Italy. The work-study program offers an experience as unique and wide-ranging as the museum itself. The Peggy
Guggenheim Collection, endowed with art of the full high Modernist
spectrum, is situated in Venice. For young people interested in the arts,
the Peggy Guggenheim Collection internship is an opportunity to profit
simultaneously from in-depth exposure to modern masterpieces and involvement in Venice’s premier cultural environment.
Growth
The steady expansion of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection from 1980
to today parallels a comparable growth in the internship program. The
number of students has increased from 6 to as many as 32 students per
month. In 2013, of the approximate applicants, 150 were successful from
32 different countries. The program is organized by the Education Department and two former interns who are selected to return for a period
of approximately 6 months to manage the daily and weekly activities of
the group.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Photo Archivio CameraphotoEpoche. Gift, Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia, 2005
Peggy Guggenheim Collection Archives. Gift of Safilens, 2010
Internships at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
The Museum
In addition to Peggy Guggenheim’s collection of the classical avant-garde, the museum also presents masterpieces from the
Gianni Mattioli Collection (Futurism, Modigliani, Morandi), the Hannelore B. and Rudolph B. Schulhof Collection and other long
term loans from collectors, galleries and artists’ estates.
The permanent collection is flanked by temporary exhibitions. In 2013 the Peggy Guggenheim Collection held the following
exhibitions: Capogrossi. A Retrospective, a selection of works by this key figure in Italian postwar art; Postwar. Italian Protagonists,
showing works that characterize the art of Lucio Fontana, Piero Dorazio, Enrico Castellani, Paolo Scheggi and Rodolfo Aricò;
Kids Creative Lab, a rainbow-colored collective installation made by the children of Italy’s Primary Schools focusing on the intersection of Art and Fashion which presented the works developed by Primary Schools in Italy; Robert Motherwell: Early Collages,
devoted exclusively to Motherwell’s papiers collés and related works on paper from the 1940s and early 1950s; The Avant-Gardes
of Fin-de-siècle Paris: Signac, Bonnard, Redon, and their Contemporaries, from a notable private collection this exhibition focused
on the French avant-gardes of the late nineteenth century, with special attention to the Neo-Impressionist, Nabi, and Symbolist
movements. In addition to the monumental sculpture One Foot by the late Jene Highstein, there was also the Stephan Balkenhol
Big Head-Column on display during the Biennale on the Marino Marini terrace.
The exhibitions planned for 2014 are: Themes & Variations. The empire of light, Kids Creative Lab, For your eyes only. A private
collection, from mannerism to surrealism, AZIMUT/H. Continuity and the New.
Internships at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
What do interns do?
Interns assist in the daily operation of the museum four days a week. They
prepare galleries prior to opening, serve as guards in the rooms, answer
questions from the public, sell tickets and catalogues, and close the museum at the end of the day. Interns are assigned to help staff in the offices
(administration, public affairs,
press, library, publications, registrar research, and retail operations). They
also act as docents. They may be involved in presentations to visitors and
in Kids Day (guided visits and workshops on Sundays for junior members
of the visiting public). These tasks involve considerable daily responsibility. In addition, through its ownership of
the US Pavilion, the museum has direct involvement with the US presentations at the Venice Biennale. Consequently, interns may have the
privilege of assisting in the world’s oldest international contemporary art
event. Several times a week interns meet for discussions and seminars
on art historical and museological issues. These seminars are conducted
by the interns themselves as well as by staff members or visiting professionals. Speakers in 2010 – 2013 included: Philip Rylands (Director, Peggy
Guggenheim Collection), Paul Schwartzbaum, Luciano Pensabene, Mara
Guglielmi, Dario Pinton, Stefano Lanuti, Vivien Greene, Susan Davidson,
Jeffrey Warda, Luca Massimo Barbero, Bob Monk, Mike and Doug Starn,
Gail Levin, Christiane Löhr, Bill Frakes, Jeremy Miller, Riccardo de Marchi, Arthur Duff, Erasmus Weddigen and Francesco Jodice.
Thanks to a collaboration between the Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia and the Peggy Guggenheim Internship Program, our interns
in 2013 had the opportunity to discuss with and interview young artists:
Michael van Ofen, Beatrice Pediconi, Andy Cross, Laure Prouvost, Jason
Dodge, Evgeny Antufiev on the occasions of the artists’ exhibition openings.
Museum staff members speak regularly to the interns about their role in
the museum and about upcoming projects. Visits in and outside Venice
are planned twice a month to allow interns to view exhibitions as well as
cultural and historical sites in various Italian cities. Interns have the exclusive use of the museum’s library of modern and contemporary art and enjoy free time to study privately, to attend language courses and lectures,
and to take trips around Venice or elsewhere in Italy.
Internships at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
How to apply
Candidates who wish to apply for the internship should request
information and application forms from the Peggy Guggenheim
Collection, or download the required forms from the website.
The application should be post-marked by the deadlines indicated and must include an application form, an updated CV, a
statement of motivation and two reference letters. Candidates
are selected by a committee of the museum staff in Venice.
Successful applicants tend to be in their early—to mid-twenties,
with fluent English and a knowledge of the Italian
language, who are trained in and/or express a desire to pursue a
career in the arts—whether applied art, art
history, teaching, gallery or auction professions, museum administration or curatorship. Students may apply for one, two or three
months. The shared language is English.
Applications must be submitted in hard copy and addressed
as follows:
Internship Program
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Palazzo Venier dei Leoni
701 Dorsoduro, 30123 Venezia, Italy
For further information, please contact:
Elena Minarelli/ Anita Todesco
Tel. +39.041.240.5444
Fax +39.041.520.6885
[email protected]
Internships at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Funding the program
Sponsoring a student entails funding the position of one or more candidates in order to guarantee a place in the highly
competitive internship program.
The following organizations currently sponsor students in the program: Christie’s Education, London, Duke University,
Guggenheim UK Charitable Trust, Liverpool John Moores University, Sarah Lawrence College, Sotheby’s Institute
of Art, London and New York, The University of Auckland, The University of Melbourne, Universität für angewandte
Kunst Wien, Venice International University, Wellesley College.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is ready to initiate similar institutional collaborations with universities, local
councils, charitable and/or philanthropic organizations.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection has also been generously endowed with two funds: The Liesbeth Bollen Internship
Fund and The Alice Stone Ilchman Fund. For these particular funds, two outstanding candidates are selected each
year from amongst the successful applicants to the internship program, and are awarded an augmented stipend.
The Liesbeth Bollen Fund is a permanent endowment within the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation established
to perpetuate the loving memory of Liesbeth Bollen (1970-2007). Liesbeth, a loyal and dedicated member of the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation staff in Venice and in New York, was also an intern at the Peggy Guggenheim
Collection. She was an exceptional woman and loved by all.
The Alice Stone Ilchman Fund is made possible by the generous contribution from the late Alice Ilchman’s family.
Alice Ilchman, former president of Sarah Lawrence College, former president of the Rockefeller Foundation, former
director of the Jeanette K. Watson Fellowship, was a distinguished educator who over the years supported and helped
countless young people, supervising them in their professional development.
Internships at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Country
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bolivia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cuba
Czech Republic
Egypt
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Guatemala
Hungary
India
Iran
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Korea
Latvia
Lebanon
Lithuania
Macedonia
Malta
Mexico
Moldovia
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
Turkey
UK
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
USA
Venezuela
Total
2006
1 5
1 1
1
1
2 5
2
2007
1
6
1
1
1
1
8
4
1
2008
4
3
1
2009
2
5
1
1
1
7
1
1
5
2
1
2
1
2010
2011
4
1
1
7
1
2
2013
1
4
3
1
1
2
1
4
3
1
1
4
1
1
2
5
3
1
8
2
2
7
3
1
1 1
7
1
1
1
6
1
8
1
2
5
1
3
4
5
1
7
1
6
2
9
1
5
3
3
1
5
3
11
3
4
2
2
2
2
1
1
3
1
1
2
48
1
1
1
2
1
37
1
1
2
1
4
1
2 1
42
37
2
4
1
2
2012
1
3
2
1
1
34
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
3
1
1
2
2
3
39
1
31
39
1
1
1
1
1
4
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
7
4
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
4
1
1
4
1
1
1
1
4
1 2
1
1 1
10
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
2
1
2
2
2
1
1
1
3
2
2
1
2
2
1
10
1
3
1
9
6
1
2
4
3
2
10
1
1
9
1
2
11
11
13
1
12
1
2
13
1
1
11
1
15
1
37
33
30
27
33
45
25
171
161
148
146
147
157
134
2
1
6
3
1
15
1
22
1
150
Internships at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
The experience
The daily life as an intern at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection was talks and
tours, some guarding, some answering questions from the public, even some
cleaning. A little bit of everything. It was a realistic and multifaceted introduction to working in an international museum. The jewel of the internship is that it
does what most can’t or don’t; it brings the history of one of the most important
proponents of modern art off the printed page and into reality. Peggy Guggenheim’s story unfolds before your eyes in the palazzo, where the treasures of
modern art live on her own walls and tell the story of her life’s work. As an intern
and a student of the history of art, it was an honor to be part of the team that
tells that story to the public. Working with those works of art to engage not only
the public but enrich myself was an incredible opportunity.
Beyond that, however, the internship was more. It was finding a new sense of
community. It was meeting people from around the globe and making lifelong
friendships. It was exploring new cultures and speaking different languages. It
was getting absolutely inspired by the city of Venice with every bridge crossed
and calle explored. My only advice as a former intern at the Peggy Guggenheim
Collection is to appreciate every moment, because you will surely miss it when
it is over.
Andrew Kurczak (July – September 2013)
As workplaces go, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is probably the most enjoyable and energizing I have ever known. Being surrounded by the modernist
masterpieces of Peggy’s collection and by an inspiring group of international
colleagues was a unique daily learning experience. For me, the most valuable
part of the internship was the opportunity to research and deliver talks to the
public about Peggy’s colorful life and the artworks in her stellar collection. Other
personal highlights included supporting Education staff in events for schools
and families and assisting in the re-hang of the Palazzo at the changeover between exhibitions. Outside the museum, one extraordinary perk of the internship was of course having the chance to explore Venice as a resident rather than
a tourist, to absorb as much art and history as possible in the city and further
afield in Italy. For all these reasons and more, my three months at the Peggy
Guggenheim Collection were unforgettable.
Hannah McGivern (January – March 2013)
I remember all of the first times. The first time I came out of Santa Lucia and
immediately got stunned by the grandeur of the sinking city. That first morning
stroll down the Zattere desperately searching for Palazzo Venier Dei Leoni, as it
was my first day at work and yet somehow I managed to be late. Or when I was
guarding my first room and for the first time I had a chance to acquaint myself
with the marvels of the 20th-century modern art I had been reading and hearing so much about. And then of course the first spritz, the first night out at the
Paradiso Perduto... And yet it is not about those first times and most definitely
not about the last ones as I don’t even believe that there can be a last thing
for something. Rather it’s about that gap in between, that experience of the
3-month float which went by in a split second and at the same time seamed to
last for the whole eternity. Time floats in Venice as well as in PGC and I enjoyed
my floating here very much. The internship taught me a lot of things: how to
engage with the visitors of the museum in different ways, how to give an informative and at the same time entertaining talk, but above all how to appreciate
art in its entirety. Thus, today I can say with confidence that I know PGC collections very well. I was more than lucky to have an opportunity to go on a field trip
to the Maramotti collection in Reggio Emilia, to participate in a few important
re-hangs which allowed me to work side by side with the museum’s conservationists as well as my fellow interns, or to be entrusted with a task of giving a tour
of the collection to a group of more than 50 visitors. The Guggenheim opened
new doors for me, one of which led to the 55th Venice Biennale where I had a
chance to be a member of the US pavilion staff. All said in the end it is all about
being surrounded by the like-minded people who have that genuine passion for
art and to be a part of this great tradition spanning over more than thirty years.
Thank you for having me Peggy Guggenheim!
Paulius Andriuškevičius (January – March 2013)
As I write, and pool together the golden memories of my time in Venice, feelings of such great happiness and excitement resurface that I hardly know where
to begin. Peggy Guggenheim’s wonderful collection, housed in the Palazzo
Venier dei Leoni, which sits languidly, dipping its toes into the Grand Canal,
inspires me still, from afar. Experiencing it close at hand, day to day, for weeks,
was mesmerizing. Existing as Peggy did, within the great walls of the Palazzo
that drip with twentieth-century masterpieces, was an enormous privilege. Every morning I would weave through the Venetian calle with a privileged sense of
purpose, to work in Peggy’s former home and rub shoulders with Picassos and
Pollocks, as one of an inspired - and inspiring - team of international interns. We
interns worked all over the museum, in a sort of spider’s web of positions, from
the ticket office to the galleries, to departmental offices, sometimes independently but usually in collaboration with each other, or with permanent members
of staff. As the weeks went by and our competence and confidence developed,
our responsibilities increased, and so we constantly faced fresh, motivating challenges. Always motivated and enthused, our morale was hugely buoyant, and
there was a tangible sense of fun to each working day. One month into the internship, many of us were leading tours of the permanent collection, which was
very rewarding. The rewards that we reaped from the internship program were
not limited to the working day – far from it. At the close of the museum, we
would attend seminars from inspiring experts, including the director, Dr Philip
Rylands, give seminars ourselves, go on cultural tours, explore Venice and – very
importantly – socialize over a spritz or two. The Guggenheim funds two trips
a month for its interns, both of which are culturally oriented and art specific,
one taking place within Venice and the other beyond. In my three months as
an intern I travelled to Bologna, Ferrara and Padua, courtesy of the Guggenheim and, in each city, I discovered cultural treasure troves. I really cannot speak
highly enough of the Peggy Guggenheim Internship program. My experience
of it was truly golden. I have left it with great confidence, wonderful friends and
a rasping thirst for more.
Ysmay Gill (January – April 2013)