Zimmermann Decorative Arts Internship for College Students from Communities Historically Underrepresented in the Museum Field

Description

The New-York Historical Society holds over 65,000 objects of decorative arts and material culture. Among these treasures is one of the world’s largest collections of Tiffany lamps and outstanding holdings of furniture, silver, ceramics and glass, textiles, toys and games, and trade and household tools and equipment from the 17th through 21st centuries. These artifacts of American material life help New-York Historical educate the public about the dynamism of history and its influence on the world today.

New-York Historical is excited to continue to offer an internship funded by the Marie Zimmermann Foundation, designed for undergraduate students and recent graduates from communities historically underrepresented in the museum field. This internship provides a unique opportunity for students interested in American decorative arts and material culture to gain hands-on experience in a major history museum. The Zimmermann intern will engage in the hands-on examination of collection objects, conducting in-depth research on design, technology, and social history for the Jerni collection of toys and trains, which will be featured in the upcoming exhibition All Aboard!. Additionally, the intern will have the opportunity to compose a blog related to collection objects. Research will be conducted on-site at the museum, through New-York Historical’s renowned Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, and at other libraries across New York City and the nation. The intern will work closely with with the Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts and Material Culture and interact with members of the museum’s curatorial and collections management teams and the Vice President & Director of the DiMenna Children's History Museum. The intern will also receive basic training in the use of the The Museum System (TMS), a museum collection database system.

 

One undergraduate intern will be selected for the Spring 2025 semester. The intern will work for 10-12 hours per week over the course of approximately 10 weeks; this internship will be hybrid with one (1) day per week working remotely and one (1) day per week onsite at The New York Historical, likely either Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

  The Spring 2025 Internship will run from February 10-April 18, 2025. This internship is available for a stipend of $3,000.

Please be advised that the New-York Historical Society has adopted a mandatory vaccine policy. Interns scheduled to work onsite during the course of their internship must provide proof of vaccination ahead of the start of the internship, and will be required to follow health and safety measures put into place by New-York Historical while onsite.

Qualifications

Interns must be enrolled in, or recent graduates of, an undergraduate program. Interns must have internet access.

Application Instructions

To apply, the following must be submitted:

• A cover letter indicating in which position/department you are interested
• A resume
• 2 letters of recommendation (One must be from a professor)
• 5-10 page writing sample

*It is important to read the individual job descriptions as some departments require other materials in lieu of the writing sample.

Please note: Applications that are not complete and submitted by the appropriate deadline (including two letters of recommendation) will not be accepted. Applicants being considered for the internship will be contacted for an interview.

If you plan to complete the internship that you are applying to for credit, you must submit written confirmation from your college stating that you will receive credit for hours completed. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

N-YHS is an equal employment opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on merit and organizational needs, and not on race, color, alienage or citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion or creed, physical or mental disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, reproductive health choices, marital status, military or veteran status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, height, weight, or any other factor protected by law.

These policies apply to all areas of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training and development, promotion, discipline, termination, layoff, compensation, benefits and all other conditions and privileges of employment in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

Management is primarily responsible for seeing that N-YHS’s equal employment