McMullan Arts Leadership Internship, Interpretation (Academic Year 2025–2026)

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of Interpretation is excited to offer a McMullan Arts Leadership intern position to work with their team.

The department of Interpretation develops, advises on, and evaluates narratives and frameworks across our galleries and digital spaces, generating engagement, prompting discovery and exploration, and presenting new perspectives. Interpretation is artwork- and audience-centered: we aim to illuminate the significance of artworks, ensure that our choices for presentation have a positive impact on visitors’ experiences, and create dialogue with visitors, inviting them to bring their whole selves to conversations in our galleries. We are committed to developing accessible interpretive approaches and strategies that celebrate the uniqueness and importance of the Art Institute’s collection.

The Interpretation intern will contribute to ongoing research about increasing general accessibility of self-guided museum visits and gallery programs. They will participate in the development of gallery programming, and, if they wish, learn to lead tours or programs. Across interpretive work, they will use data from audience research to develop accessible texts and educational tools. The intern will gain knowledge of museum pedagogy and inclusive interpretive writing, and will gain insights into exhibition planning.

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

Goals of the McMullan Arts Leadership Internship Program

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:

• Develop museum research skills;
• Develop independent project management skills;
• Learn how to engage audiences through gallery text and other interpretive frameworks;
• Develop collaborative skills with stakeholders throughout the museum;
• Become familiar with art museum processes, organization, and trends in museum interpretation;
• Develop mentor relationships with field practitioners and peer-to-peer relationships with fellow interns.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Compile research about our visitor needs and peer institutions to support the development of museum-wide accessibility guidelines;
• Conduct research within Art Institute galleries by observing and interviewing visitors;
• Write audio descriptions for blind/low-sighted visitors and help develop permanent collection interpretive material;
• Assist with in-gallery programming and lead periodic public tours.

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 area over the course of the internship term;

• Knowledge related to accessibility, inclusion, or disability justice (preferred, not required);
• Enthusiasm for engaging adult museum audiences through written and verbal interpretation;
• Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills;
• Background in art, art history, education, teaching and/or writing.

APPLICATION:

You must upload all of the requested materials below (résumé and essay responses) into only one pdf document and list your last name and “AY 25-26” in the title of the file (example: [LAST NAME]_AY 25-26.pdf.) Please upload your materials where asked in the online application.

PLEASE NOTE: You will not be considered if any requested application element is missing.

To apply for this internship, tell us your story. We want to understand who you are, what motivates you, how you think, and where you’re coming from. Please submit the following materials:

• Résumé
• Instead of a traditional cover letter, please respond to the following questions in short essays (no more than 300 words per answer.) We encourage you to provide specific examples to support your answers or to illustrate your ideas:
  • What about this job description interests you the most?
  • With the mission of the McMullan Arts Leadership intern program in mind, what perspectives might you bring to this role that you think museums need more of?
  • How do you envision this opportunity helping you towards your professional goals?
• Please choose a work of art from the Art Institute’s collection and write a “label” for it of no more than 100 words. The label should pique a reader’s interest, encourage close looking, and enhance understanding.

DEADLINE: The deadline to submit an application to this position is Friday, July 25 at 11:59 pm CDT. We will not accept late applications. We will contact the candidates we want to interview within three weeks of our deadline.

INTERNSHIP INFORMATION

Duration of Position: 32 weeks / September 2025 (start date anytime during the week of September 22–26) through April 2026 (end date anytime during the week of April 27–May 1)

Compensation: Paid / $16.73/hr / part-time / Temporary

Schedule: This is a part-time, 32-week position for a currently enrolled or recently graduated undergraduate or graduate student. The intern will work 14 hours per week, for a total of up to 448 hours over the course of the internship. Work days will occur between Monday–Friday; the start date and schedule will be determined upon agreement with the candidate and the host department.

Hourlong virtual and in-person intern professional development programs will be scheduled throughout the internship term that the student is strongly encouraged to attend. These programs will occur during the week; we ask that the intern make this part of their internship schedule.

Format: The internship will be fully onsite. Due to onsite necessity, applicants based or attending school in the Chicagoland area during the internship timeframe will be prioritized. Internet access and appropriate technology will be necessary to complete this internship; technological accommodations will be provided by the Art Institute of Chicago based on necessity.

Number of openings: 1