AAMD Internship

Internship Term: August 2026 - December 2026
Total Internship Hours: 420
Schedule: Approximately 25 hours per week over a 17-week term, flexible hybrid schedule (in-person and remote).

The intern will support the development of digital interpretation and accessibility tools for WAM's upcoming exhibition Seeds of Memory, Stones of Survival. Working closely with the Public Engagement and Learning team, the intern will help create a story map, self-guided tour, and digital accessibility resources that support multiple ways of engaging with the exhibition's themes.

In addition, the intern will attend the museum's forthcoming Terra Convening Conference, a two-day summit in October 2026, focused on Indigenous sovereignty that brings together artists, scholars, and cultural leaders. Through this experience, the intern will gain exposure to how museums convene interdisciplinary and community-centered conversations around urgent cultural issues. Following the convening, the intern will produce a short editorial or reflective piece that connects their observations to museum practice, public engagement, and their own professional development.

About Seeds of Memory, Stone of Survival:

Seeds of Memory, Stones of Survival brings Pueblo knowledge systems into direct dialogue with Western artistic traditions that have long shaped how land, labor, and progress are visualized in the United States. Anchored by a contemporary stone sculpture by Jemez Pueblo artist Clifford Fragua, the exhibition examines how knowledge is preserved, transmitted, and claimed through seeds, landscapes, data, and relationships. From a Pueblo perspective, seeds are ancestors, stones are archives, and kinship is the foundation of survival. Knowledge is neither abstract nor extracted; it lives in land, ceremony, and community.

By contrast, many Euro-American artists represented here treat land as something to be recorded, cultivated, or mastered. Pastoral scenes of prairies, rivers, and farms, along with images of mills and expanding cities, reflect settler-colonial narratives that equate progress with extraction, ownership, and the transformation of Indigenous homelands. These works serve as visual data, documents that reinforce the inevitability of settlement while obscuring Indigenous presence and sovereignty.

Organized around three interconnected themes: Seed Sovereignty, Data Sovereignty, and Kinship. The exhibition asks how different cultures decide what to preserve and why. Indigenous artists Julie Buffalohead and Jim Denomie expose the violence and absurdity of colonial systems through humor, satire, and refusal, while Fragua's sculpture offers an alternative epistemology grounded in Pueblo law, memory, and relationality. Rather than presenting Indigenous knowledge as supplementary or symbolic, Seeds of Memory, Stones of Survival centers it as a living system that has sustained communities despite centuries of dispossession.

Learning Outcomes

• Gain hands-on experience in museum interpretation, accessibility, and digital engagement
• Develop research, writing, and project coordination skills within a collaborative museum environment
• Learn how museums center multiple ways of knowing-particularly Indigenous knowledge systems-within interpretive and public engagement practice
• Understand how museums convene interdisciplinary conversations around complex cultural and social issues
• Build professional experience through structured mentorship, reflection, and exposure to museum leadership

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in researching and organizing exhibition content for a digital story map and self-guided tour for Seeds of Memory, Stones of Survival
• Support the development of accessible interpretive materials, including plain-language text, audio prompts, and visual descriptions
• Collaborate with staff across Public Engagement and Learning, Curatorial, and Communications
• Participate in exhibition walkthroughs, planning meetings, and user-testing of interpretive tools
• Attend the museum's Terra Convening Conference focused on Indigenous sovereignty and engage in guided reflection related to museum practice
• Contribute to documentation, evaluation, and reflection on the project's outcomes
  

Professional Development Stipend: In addition to the internship stipend, the Intern is eligible to receive up to $3,000 to support participation in a professional development opportunity of their choice. Eligible opportunities may include, but are not limited to, national and regional conferences such as the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting, the Association of African American Museums Conference, and the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries Conference. Other professional development opportunities may be considered with prior approval.

Required Qualifications

• Applicants must be currently enrolled as undergraduate students (sophomore, junior, or senior standing) at an accredited college or university at the time of the internship. Students from a wide range of academic disciplines are encouraged to apply, including but not limited to art history, museum studies, American studies, Indigenous studies, design, digital humanities, communications, accessibility studies, public history, education, or related fields.
• Applicants should demonstrate an interest in museums, digital interpretation, public engagement, or accessibility in cultural institutions. Prior museum experience is not required; however, applicants should be comfortable working collaboratively in a professional environment and engaging thoughtfully with issues related to public access to cultural resources.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Interest in digital storytelling, interpretation, or public-facing educational content
• Curiosity about museum accessibility and inclusive design
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Basic familiarity with digital tools, research, or content creation (such as writing, image editing, or web platforms) is helpful but not required.

Since its origin in 1934, Weisman Art Museum has been a campus museum for the University of Minnesota. Today, our mission as a university art museum is to create and advance inclusive arts experiences to broaden understanding of ourselves, our communities, and our world. The Weisman is located at 333 East River Road, Minneapolis, on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. Gallery admission is always free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.wam.umn.edu.

Pay Range: $18.00 per hour; depending on education/qualifications/experience.

Retirement plan options are available for Civil Service, Faculty, Labor-Represented, Professional & Administrative, and Temp Casual classifications. Learn more about retirement plans.

Applications must be submitted online. To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions. You will be given the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and resume.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Job Applications" page and uploading documents in the "My Cover Letters and Attachments" section.

Please attach the following required application materials as PDF files:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Letter of Recommendation

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail employ@umn.edu or call (612) 624-8647.

For questions about the position, please contact: Katie Covey Spanier, Director of Public Engagement and Learning at covey013@umn.ed

The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission. The University is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds.

The University of Minnesota provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. To learn more about diversity at the U: http://diversity.umn.edu

Any offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. Our presumption is that prospective employees are eligible to work here. Criminal convictions do not automatically disqualify finalists from employment.

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC)

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC), is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation's most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations.

At the University of Minnesota, we are proud to be recognized by the Star Tribune as a Top Workplace for 2021, as well as by Forbes as Best Employers for Women and one of America's Best Employers (2015, 2018, 2019, 2023), Best Employer for Diversity (2019, 2020), Best Employer for New Grads (2018, 2019), and Best Employer by State (2019, 2022).