Conservation Intern (37901)

Walters Art Museum•Baltimore, MD

4d•$17•Onsite

About The Position

ABOUT THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM The Walters Art Museum is among America's most distinctive museums, forging connections between people and art from cultures around the world and spanning seven millennia. Located in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood, the Walters is free for all. The museum’s campus includes five historic buildings and 36,000 art objects. Today, the Walters serves Baltimore and Maryland by embracing its role as educator and storyteller, using the collection as a vehicle of knowledge and cultural expression to support learning, dialogue, and community engagement. The museum is committed to public education, offering essential programs that help people to connect art to their lives. The Walters Visitor Promise aligns staff and volunteers across the museum to preserve and share the works in our care for future generations, partner with communities, and create welcoming, accessible experiences for visitors. The museum offers challenging and creative work opportunities by promoting collaboration and teamwork. OVERVIEW OF ROLE The Conservation Department is looking for an intern to assist the Conservation Scientist in the day-to-day tasks related to the scientific analysis of the collection. The internship position is addressed to grad students (or undergrad junior and senior students) interested in arts and science to provide them with another perspective and applications of STEAM careers, like conservation and conservation science. Opportunities like this are crucial for raising awareness about the field of conservation science and for inspiring the next generation of Conservation Scientists in the USA. By providing students with hands-on experiences, we can highlight the importance of preserving our cultural heritage and foster a deeper appreciation for conservation. The intern will assist the conservation scientist in day-to-day tasks directly related to the scientific analysis of the collection. The appointed person will be working on the development of a reference database to improve the workflow efficiency using Raman spectroscopy and assist the tasks associated with preventive conservation. At the same time, the intern will have time to work in the Objects and Paintings Conservation Laboratories.

Requirements

Candidates must be 18 years or older and preferably actively registered at either a community college, university, or trade school or, may have recently graduated from a community college or university
Undergraduate and Graduate level applicants welcome, though preference given to Grad students, or undergrad junior and senior students, with an interest in science and art, and with a basic knowledge of laboratory safety protocols.
Willing to do hands-on tasks, working with artistic and conservation materials.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to work accurately with attention to detail.
Passion for customer service.
Ability to work independently or as part of a team.
Familiarity with Google Suite and Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook)
Strong oral and written communication skills
Demonstrated organization, administration, and collaboration skills
Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team and to incorporate feedback into work
Must be able to work on site at the museum 5 days/week
Regular work week is Monday through Friday
Ability to 40 hours per week.

Nice To Haves

Preference given to students with previous lab experience and/or knowledge of basic safety laboratory safety protocols
Preference given to students with a demonstrated interested in STEAM careers (e.g., coursework or extracurricular activities)
Customer service experience a plus
Desire to support diversity, equity, access, and inclusion (DEAI) in museum practice
Priority given to students who are residents of Baltimore City or County or whose colleges or universities are in Baltimore City or County

Responsibilities

Create a database of artist and conservation materials using Raman spectroscopy.
Applications of micro-invasive analytical examination methods.
Experience working with Raman.
Applications of Raman spectroscopy to the analysis of cultural heritage.
Conservation Science – Understand the day-to-day work of a conservation scientist in the museum environment.
Conservation – Work in the different conservation laboratories for an overview of the conservation tasks and their multiple perspectives.
Preventive conservation – Explore and experience the ongoing preventive conservation initiatives at the museum.
Participate in public-facing aspects of conservation work like content for social media and interacting with visitors in the Conservation Window.
Collaborate on a long-term project to create a reference database to improve the identification of pigments and other artistic materials
Develop a protocol for object sample naming, storage, and documentation
Work with painting materials, prepare mock-ups for the reference database, and photograph samples
Train on the Hyperspectral Camera system under the supervision of the Conservation Scientist
Train on the digital imaging of objects and archival storage methods for object samples
Participate in public-facing aspects of conservation work including but not limited to developing content for social media and interacting with visitors to share about conservation work by staffing the Conservation Window at the Walters
Assist Conservation Scientist in the day-to-day work of objects-based research
Attend department and staff meetings as directed, engaging widely with Conservation, Collections and Technical Research Department Staff
Participate in an orientation to the museum and continuing professional development designed with emerging professionals in mind
All other duties as assigned.