My final week

Although I will be continuing at Manifest this semester (one day a week) my "summer" internship is technically coming to a close. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to learn so much. Just as I set out to do, I was able to gain some real world experiences that will most certainly help me as I pursue a career after college.

I'm also excited about my future at Manifest. Since I have completed the alloted number of hours and gotten approval from my supervisor, I am now a senior intern! I also get to be a jury member which is an exciting new challenge. I'm looking forward to learning more in the coming semester.

A busy week

With only one week in between shows, we were very busy this week at the gallery. Austin and I came in on Tuesday to help with wall prep and hanging the show. I was glad we came in that extra day because not only did I gain more experience with hanging art work, but it also got us a head start as we were able to get pretty much everything installed on that day. I also got to observe some of the curatorial and design process as last minute decisions were made by the gallery directors and curator. As far as installation, you really can't be sheepish when it comes to math. The calculations can be tedious, and even if a piece is off by only 1/16th of an inch, the whole wall can look wrong.

On Thursday, my usual day, I did some cleaning in preparation for the opening. I swept and mopped, and then made sure all the pieces were level, clean, and dust-free. Those little details are really important. I also learned how to use the UPS website to get quotes for artists who don't include return shipping with their original package. When we deinstalled nude and packed up all the work, I sorted them into piles based on carrier--FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc. I also made a pile for packages that didn't have a specified carrier or pre-paid shipping. For these pieces, we must measure and weigh them so that we can calculate the shipping price and give that quote to the artists. I was glad to learn how to do this because now it is one more task that I can do independently at the gallery.

Friday was the opening, and we were surprisingly well prepared despite only having one week to get everything ready. The other interns and I picked up food, arranged the table of refreshments, and replenished them when needed--the same responsibilities we usually have at openings. I think we had almost 200 visitors that night, and I always enjoy talking with them and hearing their reactions to the artwork.

Today (Saturday) has also been an exciting day. On the day after an opening, I usually get here a little early so that I can return the trays and drink containers before my shift begins. Then I do some clean up where it's needed. Also, a lot of people who couldn't make it to the opening usually try and come on Saturday to see the new exhibit. Today we sold a piece of artwork and I got to handle the whole transaction. It was really the first time I had done the procedure for the sale of artwork, and I was excited to be able to handle that responsibility.

Overall, I have learned a lot in this week--and during this internship. With each new thing that I learn, I feel glad that I have been trusted with an additional responsibility and that I am able to be more helpful around the gallery.

Last week for "Nude" and "Seeing Red (Nose)"

This was our last week to show Nude and Seeing Red (Nose) at Manifest. In the past months that I've been working, we have had two weeks to take down the previous show and get ready for the next opening. This time, however, we have only one week, so we actually kind of started early. This week, in addition to having a lot of visitors to the gallery wanting to see the show one last time, we started to look towards the opening of Master Pieces. On Thursday, I got the boxes and shipping materials ready and organized so that packing everything up could be done as soon as the last shows closed. On Saturday, I did most of the packing of Nude. Many artists also began dropping off work for the next exhibit, and several picked up their work from the previous show too.

A lot will be going on this week in preparation for the opening. We will have about four days to patch and paint the walls, hang the new show, and get everything neat and organized. We also have to distribute the post cards and posters as soon as possible to begin promoting and advertising the new exhibition. This new show, Master Pieces 4, which opens on Friday, August 13, gives graduate students an opportunity to exhibit at Manifest. The artists that I spoke with on Saturday were very excited about the opportunity, and the work that I've seen already is superior in quality. It should be a good show, and I'm excited to see it all come together this week.

Structure of Manifest

Today I would like to talk about the structure of Manifest. As I have mentioned in previous posts, Jason Franz is the Executive Director and Chief Curator at Manifest. Ultimately, everyone answers to him, and he is also one of the founders It might surprise you, however, that he is a volunteer. There are, in fact, only two paid employees at Manifest. Tim Parsley is one. He is the Assistant Director and the Drawing Studio Center Program Coordinator. Tim also oversees the interns and coordinates our activities. Joanna Vance is the Administrative Assistant here at Manifest, and she frequently gives small daily projects for the interns here.

The Board of Directors is also an important part of the structure of Manifest. This body of decision makers includes the directors and founders. Jason is the president of the board.

Because part of Manifest's mission is to involve and motivate students in the community, the interns really play an important role in maintaining the gallery day-to-day. A lot of the responsibilities of the interns have already been addressed in previous posts. At the lower echelon of the organization are Gallery Interns and Academic Gallery Interns, who are like gallery interns but receive course credit for their working hours. After obtaining a certain numbers of service to Manifest, you may be promoted to Senior Gallery Intern at the discretion of the board of directors. And after still more time, you may be promoted to Gallery Assistant. With each promotion comes more responsibility and input into the organization. For example, after some time, an intern may become a part of the jury that decides what work to include in an exhibition, and at the Gallery Assistant level, application for junior board membership is also possible.

The ability for an intern to grow within the organization is one of the things I really like about Manifest. If my schedule for the fall semester allows, I would love to continue at Manifest in the hopes of learning more, gaining more experience, and advancing within the organization.

A record at Manifest!

Last week I wasn't in the gallery at all because I was on vacation with my family, but I came back to exciting news. The two current exhibits, Nude and Seeing Red (Nose), are on pace to set a new record for gallery attendance. It is so exciting to be a part of Manifest especially at a time when it is growing rapidly and really drawing attention from the community.

A quiet week

This week was a fairly quiet week at the gallery. I worked my two usual shifts on Thursday and Saturday, today. During the four weeks when the shows are open for viewing, it is the job of the interns to keep the gallery space looking neat, greeting visitors, processing sales, and keeping up with any other special tasks we are assigned.

It is also during this time that I get to talk to visitors, which I really enjoy. I like to hear their take on the exhibits and what their favorite pieces are. Sometimes these conversations are brief, but sometimes we really get talking. After talking to one visitor today, she suggested I check out another blog www.designspongeonline.com that's really quite interesting. It discusses various topics from interior design to crafts to photography to cooking. The website also had information about something called The Sketchbook Project. She brought up this project while we were talking about Chris Sickels' sketchbooks which are featured as a part of his solo show (and are really amazing!). Anyway, The Sketchbook Project is a program anyone can participate in. You choose from a list of themes and are mailed a sketchbook. For six months, you work on filling the sketchbook with sketches, ideas, quotes, etc. When the six months is over, all the sketchbooks are mailed back and then they all travel to exhibitions around the country where they are displayed. I just thought it was a very cool idea, and I'm thinking about becoming a part of the project. And all of this came from talking with a visitor, which truly is one of my favorite parts about this internship.

For more about The Sketchbook Project go to: http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject/?utm_source=designsponge&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=designsponge-ad

Gallery Opening

Last night was the opening of Nude and Seeing Red (Nose). I worked the beginning shift which meant that I arrived about an hour before the opening began to help set up and stayed until about half way through. The job of the interns during an opening is to help Elaine in any way that we can. Elaine was an intern at Manifest for a few years, and although she is no longer in an official intern position, she still does almost everything for our openings here. So Elaine helps Tim and Jason (the directors of Manifest) by freeing them up during the openings, and we help Elaine by setting up the table of refreshments, replenishing the food and drinks, helping to process sales when necessary, and keeping track of the number of people who attend.

One of the things I like about the openings is hearing and observing people's reactions to the work we have. People were really gravitating towards Chris Sickels' work last night. He was there for the opening, which was great because people could talk with him and have him sign their books. It's always nice when some of the exhibiting artists come to the openings because it allows for a discourse between the artist and the public that almost enlivens the work presented. Overall, I think these exhibits will be very successful.