McMullan Arts Leadership Internship, Design, Visual Design

Overview

The Art Institute of Chicago shares its singular collections with our city and the world. We collect, care for, and interpret works of art across time, cultures, geographies, and identities. We are a place of gathering and learning, committed to fostering an inclusive understanding of human creativity.

The Art Institute of Chicago’s department of Experience Design is excited to offer a McMullan Arts Leadership internship position to work with their Visual Design team. The Experience Design team is the creative studio at the heart of the museum, hosting a multidisciplinary team of visual designers, video and audio producers, developers, project managers and integration specialists. The Visual Design team is responsible for all things visual in the museum—ranging from exhibits, to print materials, digital products, environmental and service design, and brand.

The McMullan Arts Leadership Internship in Visual Design offers the opportunity for a designer early in their career to explore their interests and refine their skills through a broad range of creative design projects. The intern will join a museum-wide intern cohort and have access to a range of programs to support their development in addition to their placement in Visual Design.

Mentorship is provided throughout the experience, and connections with an intern alumni network will be established.

McMullan Arts Leadership Internship Program Goals

The McMullan Arts Leadership internship program is part of a museum-wide effort to provide students the opportunity to gain experience, career awareness, networks, and skills that will position them to thrive as future art museum leaders. This program specifically aims to support students who encounter economic challenges when considering a career in the arts. Aligned with this goal, we aim to help shape a diverse group of leaders whose actions are informed by a wide range of perspectives, varying career paths, and values inspired by their own lived experiences.

Internship Outcomes

In this position, the intern will have the opportunity to:

• Establish familiarity with stakeholders, projects, and processes within the Visual Design department
• Research and develop longer-term design projects, and present these to key stakeholders across the museum
• Generate a portfolio of design projects documenting work created during the internship
• Develop mentor relationships with field practitioners
• Build peer-to-peer relationships with fellow interns

Responsibilities

Under the mentorship of the Design Operations Manager, Senior Designer, Associate Designer, and Creative Director, the McMullan Arts Leadership Intern will gain experience by contributing to the responsibilities shared by the Visual Design team:

• Support creative concepts: assist with design inspiration research, interpreting creative briefs, and generating design ideas that interpret goals for exhibitions, printed material, campaigns, and brand work.
• Support production design: assist the design team with production across visual design formats including exhibition graphics, way finding and campus signage, marketing campaigns, digital products, moving image, and printed materials.
• Participate in the design process: collaborate with other members of the Visual Design team and participate in group design critiques and feedback sessions; regularly provide and receive constructive feedback.
• Contribute to authentic and original creative work: support the brand and the museum’s dynamic programming and explore a rich visual vocabulary to find the best solution for design challenges.
• Support the museum in its commitment to creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable institution: contribute to an equitable environment for colleagues and visitors.
• Participate in regular meetings with members of the Visual Design team
• Attend intern cohort professional development programs and museum practice seminars

Qualifications

• Undergraduate or graduate student; recent graduates (within one year of graduation) will also be considered
• Applicants must be based in the Chicagoland area and/or attending school in the Chicagoland…