Collections Intern

A Cover Letter is required for this application.

Job Summary:

Collections Intern is one of the intern positions of the Fall 2026 cohort for the Ipu Kāʻeo Internship Program. The goal for this program is to offer opportunities for local talent to obtain valuable work experience within Hawai'i. Under the general direction of the Assistant Registrar, the Collections Intern will assist HoMA's Collections Department in its routine daily tasks as well as long-term projects such as inventorying objects in storage and reorganizing object files.

Training in the fundamentals of object handling and museum record keeping will be the priority of this internship, with opportunities for interns to also assist with exhibitions and collection rotations. This internship will provide hands-on experience and exposure to the broad variety of tasks a museum Collections Department is responsible for, and provides the opportunity to hone administrative skills, manual dexterity, and attention to close visual detail.

This is a 9-week position from September 16th to November 13th, 2026.

The Honolulu Museum of Art:

Opened in 1927, the Honolulu Museum of Art is a home for art and education created for the benefit of the entire community. Founder Anna Rice Cooke envisioned a museum that would bring people together through the power of art and "the deep intuitions that are common to all." The museum was conceived of as a place of meaningful exchange and dialogue, celebrating the diverse artistic and cultural traditions of Hawai'i's multi-ethnic population.

From this founding intention grew the museum of today, with a world-class encyclopedic collection of more than 55,000 works of art, representing a stunning breadth of places and eras, from all corners of the globe and from the ancient past to the present day.

To learn more about HoMA, please visit our website.

Desired Qualifications:

• Current enrollment or recent completion of a degree in Art History, Museum Studies, Library/Information Science or similar undergraduate or graduate program.

• Willingness and desire to learn.

• Must demonstrate advanced knowledge of filing systems.

• Ability to look closely and focus on a single object for extended periods of time.

• Excellent organizational skills and flexibility.

• Possess the integrity to handle sensitive data with confidentiality.

• Must have the ability to communicate effectively and participate with a diverse team.

• Self-starter who is committed to HoMA's mission.

• Must be diplomatic, analytical and tech savvy.

• Must be able to lift up to 40 pounds.

• The traits of honesty, integrity, enthusiasm, and perspective; a very strong work ethic, supported by commitment and follow-through.

Essential Duties:

• Assists with collections projects by assessing object files and object storage.

• Assists with the reproduction and digitization of object files.

• Under the supervision of Collections staff, handles objects in the permanent collection.

• Fall Internship will be working with Ceramics

• Performs data entry and updates the database as necessary.

• Other internship-relevant duties as requested.

Project Overview

The Collections Internship Program aims to provide interns with fundamental awareness and/or competence in the 5 key components of the collection department. To complete the program, an additional component for the intern is the creation and presentation of a 3–5-minute slideshow. Additional learning opportunities will also be provided based on the collections department schedule. Please see the components as follows:

Registrar Component (Main Focus/ 8 weeks):

The intern's main component will primarily focus on deskwork and support additional tasks as needed. The intern will help in removing, updating, and sorting files into object records or exhibition records. With attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and the ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team. Please note that the focus can slightly change due to the intern's personal interest.

Head of Collections Component (1 day):

This component aims to provide interns with an in-person experience of leadership roles within museum collections management…