Release Date: August 7, 2008

Students and Scholars From Fifteen States and Four Countries Awarded Summer Internships at the National Gallery of Art

Washington, DC—The National Gallery of Art welcomed twenty-one graduate students and recent bachelor’s degree recipients to participate in its 2008 summer internship program. Interns from fifteen different states and four countries—Austria, Canada, Mongolia, and the Netherlands—receive paid professional museum training during this full-time program which lasts for nine weeks, from June 16 to August 15, 2008.

Each intern has a diverse range of educational experiences and interests. Some participants have a background in art history, museum studies, or architecture, while others study neuroscience, criminal justice, or English. Interns are chosen for this rigorous program based on a strong interest in museum work, outstanding academic achievement, and letters of recommendation, among other relevant criteria.

Each intern works on specific projects led by a Gallery curator or department head. Department placements include curatorial, education, conservation, library, publishing, archival, music, film, and administration, among others. Interns also attend bi-weekly seminars that familiarize them with museum work and specific Gallery programs and functions.

Support for the internship program comes from individual gifts and endowment funds and is administered by the department of academic programs in the division of education. Information about this summer internship program as well as other Gallery internships and fellowships is available at www.nga.gov/education/interned.htm or by calling (202) 842-6257.

2008 National Gallery of Art Summer Interns

Alejandro Arauz: Alejandro recently graduated with an MFA (studio art) from Louisiana State University, where he also taught for several semesters as a graduate assistant. He earned his BFA (Hons.) from the University of Windsor in Ontario in visual arts. Alejandro’s paintings have been exhibited in more than a dozen juried shows, from Grand Rapids to Santa Barbara. This summer he is working in the design and installation division in the silkscreen shop, assisting with the production of graphics for exhibitions and signage throughout the Gallery.
Hometown: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

Jessica Arista: Jessica graduated from Smith College with a BA (neuroscience; concentration in art history) and is currently pursuing her MS at the Winterthur/University of Delaware program in art conservation. She has previously held internships at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Worcester Art Museum. This summer Jessica is working in the department of object conservation. Her primary projects are assisting with ongoing research on small bronzes and aiding in the maintenance of the Gallery’s outdoor and indoor sculptures.
Hometown: North Andover, Massachusetts.

Janell Blackmon: Janell received her MA (art history) this spring from Howard University. She earned her BFA (fine art) from Morgan State University. Last summer, she participated in the Junior Fellows Summer Intern program at the Library of Congress, working in the department of popular and applied graphic arts. Most recently, Janell worked as an intern for the Millennium Arts Salon here in Washington. This summer she is working in the department of teacher, school, and family programs assisting with the school and docent program.
Hometown: Towson, Maryland.

Lauren Cattey: Last month, Lauren received her BA (major: criminal justice; minor: psychology; certificate: forensic science) from Saint Louis University. She previously worked as an intern for the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department and for the Mildred Kemper Art Museum. Lauren is interning in the office of protection services, assisting in the review of existing policies, procedures, and guidance pertaining to all aspects of Gallery security.
Hometown: Mequon, Wisconsin.

Im Chan: Im received her BA (art history) from Winthrop University and is currently pursuing her MA (art conservation) at Buffalo State College. She previously worked part-time as a conservation technician at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, and as a record technician at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the department of prints, drawings, and photographs. This summer Im is working in the Gallery’s paper conservation lab, cataloging items for the Gallery’s Paper Sample Collection and assisting with conservation treatments.
Hometown: Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Veronika Decker: Veronika is a doctoral student in art history at the Universität Wien, where she also received her master’s degree (art history). She has worked as an intern at the Warburg Institute and at the Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, London. Most recently, Veronika worked as a gallery assistant at the Kunsthistorisches Museum and as a teaching assistant at the Universität Wien. This summer she is assisting with the ongoing research in the department of northern Renaissance paintings.
Hometown: Baden, Austria.

Undraa Enkhjin: Undraa received her BA (English language translation; and journalism) from the University of the Humanities, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and BSCB (business administration) from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, where she is currently pursuing her master’s degree (marketing). She previously worked with the Mongolian Union of Artists. This summer Undraa is an intern in the department of procurement and contracts, assisting with the maintenance of databases and the preparation of contracts, analyses, and reports.
Hometown: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Richard Freeman: Richard completed his BA (cinema and photography) at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, his MA (visual anthropology) at Temple University, and his doctoral degree (cultural anthropology) at the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana. He is now pursuing a second master’s degree (library and information science) at the University of Buffalo, The State University of New York. Richard has taught anthropology courses for many years, most recently at the Rochester Institute of Technology. This summer he is working in the Gallery’s archives department assisting with a digitization project.
Hometown: Rochester, New York.

James Glisson: James completed his BA (art history) at the New College of Florida and his MA (art history) at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He is currently pursuing his doctoral degree (art history) at Northwestern University. He has previously interned at the Ringling Museum of Art, the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, and the Saint Louis Art Museum. This summer James is working in the department of American and British paintings, on the upcoming Bellows exhibition.
Hometown: Ocala, Florida.

Alexandra Gregg: Alexandra received a BA (art history) from McGill University in Montreal and MMST (museum studies) at the University of Toronto, where she will enter the graduate program in art history this fall. She has for many years worked as a program coordinator volunteer at the Royal Ontario Museum and last summer was a volunteer at the Gallery in the departments of academic programs and modern and contemporary art. This year Alexandra is dividing her time between those same departments and serving as “head intern.”
Hometown: Port Hope, Ontario, Canada.

Mazie McKenna Harris: Mazie received her BA (art history) from Trinity University in San Antonio and MA (art history) from Boston University. She is currently working toward her doctoral degree (art history) at Brown University. She previously worked for the Center for Creative Photography, Harvard University Fogg Art Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She was an adjunct lecturer at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Mazie is working in the department of photographs this summer on projects related to the permanent collection.
Hometown: Borger, Texas.

Kimberly Hereford: Kimberly earned a BA (double major: art history and English) from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MA (art history) from the University of Oregon. She is currently a doctoral student (art history) at the University of Washington. Kimberly has previously interned at the Seattle Art Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Kimberly worked for two years as the assistant to the curator of photography and later for the curator of contemporary and Latin art at the Santa Barbara Museum. At the Gallery, Kimberly is assisting with research on pre-Raphaelite photography.
Hometown: Seattle, Washington.

Gretchen Martin: Gretchen earned her BA (English) from Texas A&M University and is currently working toward her MA (art history) at American University. For many years, she worked as an imagery analyst and editor at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency here in Washington, and most recently as an historic interpreter at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens. This summer Gretchen is working in the art information section of the division of education.
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia.

Lieneke Nijkamp: Lieneke earned her BA (language and culture studies) from the Universiteit Utrecht and recently finished her MA (curatorial studies) at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. She has previously interned at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht as well as the Rjksmuseum in Amsterdam. Most recently, she worked as a viewing assistant at Christie’s Amsterdam. Lieneke is working in the department of northern Baroque paintings this summer.
Hometown: Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Jennifer Pendergrass: Jennifer received her BA (European studies) from the University of California, Los Angeles, her MA (Italian literature) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is currently pursuing her doctoral degree (art history) at Arizona State University. Throughout her graduate studies, Jennifer has served as a graduate teaching assistant at ASU as well as an adjunct faculty member at Mesa Community College. This summer she is working in the department of Italian and Spanish paintings.
Hometown: Mesa, Arizona.

Sara Perez: Sara just received her BA (architecture) from the University of California, Berkeley. As a student, she was a docent at the Pheobe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology and was a gallery attendant at the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive. Sara is working in the department of design and installation this summer, assisting designers and architects with upcoming exhibitions and other design projects.
Hometown: Diamond Bar, California.

Julia Quinn: Julia received her BA in classics from the University of Notre Dame and is currently working towards her MA (art history) at the University of Texas at Austin. Julia has worked as a grader in the art history department at UT Austin, a research assistant at the University of Notre Dame, and as a volunteer in the archives of the University of Minnesota library. Julia is working in the department of exhibition programs this summer, assisting with the production of documentary films.
Hometown: Evanston, Illinois.

James Seaver: James earned his BA in history from the University of Kentucky. He received his MA (history) from Indiana University, where he is continuing to work on his PhD, also in history. He was an associate instructor in the history department of IU and is currently working as an editorial assistant for the American Historical Review. For the past two summers, James has conducted WWII-related research in Europe and studied German at the Goethe-Institut, Freiburg im Breisgau. This summer James is working in the department of curatorial records and files.
Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky.

Christopher Secor: Christopher received his BFA in the history of art from Syracuse University, where he is continuing to work on his MA (museum studies). He has worked as an intern for the Cultural Resource Center of the National Museum of the American Indian and at Light Work in Syracuse. Prior to those internships, Christopher was a park ranger stationed at the Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome, New York. This summer Christopher is working in the department of imaging and visual resources assisting with the maintenance of the Gallery’s digital asset management system (DAM) and testing new systems such as OAICatMuseum.
Hometown: Boonville, New York.

Margaret Wade: Margaret earned her BA (English) last month from St. Olaf College. She has previously worked as the campus campaign coordinator for Teach for America at St. Olaf College and in New York City. She also served as the arts editor for the St. Olaf College’s student newspaper, the Manitou Messenger. Margaret is working in the publishing office on a variety of exhibition-related publications this summer, as well as materials for distribution and use at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October.
Hometown: Ames, Iowa.

Arjan Zazueta: Arjan received his BFA (sculpture) from Virginia Commonwealth University and is currently pursuing his MFA (sculpture) at Syracuse University. Last year he received the Creative Opportunity Grant from Syracuse University and served as a Community Arts Graduate Assistant at Syracuse. Arjan has previously worked for Americorps on their school and community-based drug prevention program. This summer Arjan is working in the department of teacher, school, and family programs, assisting with the National Teacher Institute.
Hometown: Syracuse, New York.

National Gallery of Art

Masterworks by the most renowned European and American artists, including the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Western Hemisphere and the largest mobile ever created by Alexander Calder, await visitors to the National Gallery of Art, one of the world's preeminent art museums.

The Gallery's collection of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, medals, and decorative arts trace the development of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present. Open to the public free of charge, the Gallery was created for the people of the United States of America by a joint resolution of Congress accepting the gift of Andrew W. Mellon in 1937.

The Gallery's campus includes the original neoclassical West Building designed by John Russell Pope, which is linked underground to the modern East Building designed by I.M. Pei, and the verdant 6.1-acre Sculpture Garden. Temporary special exhibitions spanning the world and the history of art are presented frequently.