About West Chelsea Contemporary
West Chelsea Contemporary (WCC) is the premier contemporary art gallery in Austin, TX, offering world-class art in a dynamic, interactive setting. We create museum-scale exhibitions and WOW experiences that make incredible art accessible to both seasoned and aspiring collectors. We are passionate about the life enhancing value of art for our collectors, our artists, our team, and our community.
WCC is seeking highly motivated, proactive interns with a passion to learn about the world of modern and contemporary art. Interns should be prepared to work in a fast-paced team environment and will finish the internship having made impactful contributions to gallery projects.
The benefits to the intern are exciting and important. They include working with a great team of art professionals who care deeply about producing quality work, learning the ins and outs of art gallery and exhibition management, and helping produce an incredible art experience for the Austin contemporary art collector community.
Duties and Responsibilities (All Interns)
- Provide project support to gallery executives, including but not limited to research, documentation, and presentation
- Support for exhibits, opening receptions, educational programs, special events, and private rentals
- Rotates through our divisions of responsibility and provides ideas to grow and improve the business.
- Accepts designated, business-focus projects to research, propose ideas and solutions, and present a final project during the internship.
Internship Hours
- Fall/Spring Internships: 10-15 hours per week
- Summer Internships: ~ 30 hours per week
- Internships are in-person and unpaid (but may be taken for academic credit)
Requirements
- Excellent communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Ability to work independently and see tasks through to completion
- A strong interest in fine art.
To Apply:
Internship candidates must apply through the following application form: https://forms.gle/WDatmbEHYsAiJtSBA
Please contact Carmel Evangelista (Marketing Director) at carmel@wcc.art with any questions about the WCC Internship program.
Internship Divisions:
Marketing
- Social Media:
- Assist in creating and scheduling social media content according to the marketing editorial and social media content calendar, under the direction of the marketing director
- Conduct research with the goal of gathering data to form actionable insights that help improve the gallery’s social media presence
- Engage with followers and potential customers by communicating and answering frequently asked questions through the company’s social pages
- Content Marketing:
- Contribute to writing and editing evergreen marketing content, including but not limited to blog posts, website landing pages, and email newsletters, under the direction of the marketing director
- Conduct research with the goal of providing recommendations to improve the gallery’s website content and search engine performance.
- Keep gallery web properties and pages technically optimized for SEO; Conduct keyword and category research to support efforts.
- Experience with WordPress and MailChimp a huge plus
Curation / Acquisitions
- Curation (reports to Director of Curation & Acquisitions):
- Assist with layout of exhibitions and art fair booths through the artplacer platform
- Research on artists and artworks in our collection that will be added to our artwork database
- Sending out catalogs to artists for each exhibition
- Looking to become a curator? This internship will teach you the varying ways artworks are researched/selected for shows
- Acquisitions (reports to Director of Curation & Acquisitions):
- Secondary market research including auctions and private sales
- Maintaining the auction tracker spreadsheet that covers top 4 auction houses (Sothebys, Christies, Phillips, Bonhams) and others
- Building a glossary of auction terms
- Looking for a career in auctions? This internship will build your vocabulary and prepare you to apply for roles at a top auction house
- Exhibitions & Events (reports to Exhibitions & Events Manager):
- Assist in designing the visual activations for each show
- Work with the EEM to create engaging environments for all programming
- Event coordination with vendors under direction of the EEM
- Conceptualizing wall designs to painted/applied underneath artworks for each show
- Interested in a career in exhibition planning or events management? This internship will give you the opportunity to be instrumental in their creation/execution
Gallery Director Intern
- Gallery Director Support
- Daily check-ins with the Gallery Director for organizational, curatorial, and research support
- 1:1 development about a career in contemporary art
- Special project assignments
- Art Market Research
- Researching current events in the contemporary art market for Austin & Internationally
- Researching current artists in our collection, auction records, exhibitions, and literature.
- Client Relationship Support
- Supporting our client database for upcoming exhibitions, artist talks, and RSVP management
- Data Entry
- Gallery mailing list sign-ups, artist fact sheets, and graphics/copy for email marketing
- Gallery Operations
- Maintaining gallery signage, art labels, and exhibition layout
- Client file management and organization
- Supplies and restocking
- Back of house operations
- Exhibitions & Events
- Attendance management, check ins, and real-time exhibition opening support
- Run of show support
- Templates/copy design for client-facing marketing from the sales team