Posts Tagged 'McDermott Interns'



Friday Photos: Adieu to our Interns!

Somehow it’s already time for Memorial Day–where has this year gone?! And sadly, that means today we say farewell to this year’s wonderful bunch of McDermott Interns. They’ve contributed to countless Museum projects during their time with us, while managing to fit in lots of fun along the way.

The Interns on their first day at the DMA

The Interns on their first day at the DMA

In front of the Piano Building at the Kimbell in Fort Worth

In front of the Piano Building at the Kimbell in Fort Worth

Visiting the Meadows Museum at SMU

Visiting the Meadows Museum at SMU

Visiting the Crow Collection

Visiting the Crow Collection

Visiting the Nasher Sculpture Center Garden

Visiting the Nasher Sculpture Center Garden

Visiting the Dallas Contemporary

Visiting the Dallas Contemporary

In front of Nate Lowman's work at the Contemporary

In front of Nate Lowman’s work at the Contemporary

We thank them so much for their contributions and wish them well as they move on to greater horizons!

Sarah Coffey
Education Coordinator

Friday Photos: Let’s Talk About It

This week, the McDermott Interns came one step closer to completing our time here at the Museum. As part of the program, each intern is required to give a Gallery Talk on any topic of their choosing, and this past Wednesday, Eliel’s discussion on radical Italian art marked the last of our talks! Here’s a look back at a few photos and the gamut of topics we discussed:

Samantha Robinson, McDermott Graduate Curatorial Intern for American and Decorative Art: Modern Opulence in Vienna: The Wittgenstein Vitrine

Laura Sevelis, McDermott Curatorial Intern for European Art: Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse

Laura Sevelis - Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse

Laura Sevelis – Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse

Fabian Leyva-Barragan, McDermott Curatorial Intern for Contemporary Art: Latin American Modernism

Fabian Leyva-Barragan - Latin American Modernism

Fabian Leyva-Barragan – Latin American Modernism

Elisabeth Seyerl, McDermott Graduate Curatorial Intern for African and Asian Art: Indonesian Textiles

Jennifer Sheppard, McDermott Education Intern for Family and Access Teaching: All That Glitters: Ancient Greek Gold Jewelry

Jennifer Sheppard - All That Glitters: Ancient Greek Gold Jewelry

Jennifer Sheppard – All That Glitters: Ancient Greek Gold Jewelry

Liz Bola, McDermott Graduate Education Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching: Race & Religion: Henry Ossawa Tanner

Liz Bola - Race & Religion: Henry Ossawa Tanner

Liz Bola – Race & Religion: Henry Ossawa Tanner

Taylor Jeromos, McDermott Education Intern for Adult Programming and Arts & Letters Live: Queering Art: Moving Beyond Identity

Taylor Jeromos - Queering Art: Moving Beyond Identity

Taylor Jeromos – Queering Art: Moving Beyond Identity

Eliel Jones, McDermott Education Intern for Visitor Engagement: Arte Povera: Mario Merz and Michelangelo Pistoletto

Eliel Jones - Arte Povera: Mario Merz and Michelangelo Pistoletto

Eliel Jones – Arte Povera: Mario Merz and Michelangelo Pistoletto

I hope that these few photos help you imagine what it would have been like to attend our talks if you missed them! And don’t forget that Gallery Talks happen every Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. and are always free and open to the public. Keep an eye out for upcoming talks – they might just cover your favorite topic next!

Jennifer Sheppard
McDermott Intern for Family and Access Teaching

Friday Photos: NAEA in NOLA

As part of our McDermott Internship, each intern is able to request funds to use for professional development–this can go towards a language class, visiting other museums to learn more about their practices, or events like conferences. This year, some of us decided to attend the National Art Education Association Conference in New Orleans.

Always on board for some intern bonding, we decided to drive the 8 hours from Dallas to New Orleans. This was a great start to our trip, which has only gotten better since our arrival in the Big Easy! We’ve had a great time attending sessions, visiting local museums (New Orleans Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Contemporary Arts Center) and learning more about the field of museum education. Here are just a few pictures of our trip so far!

We’re looking forward to bringing the knowledge and new ideas we’ve heard at the conference back to the DMA!

Liz Bola
McDermott Graduate Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching

Friday Photos: McDermott Internship

By now I’m sure you know all about our McDermott Internship Program and the wonderful interns we’ve been working with this year. So I am excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2015-2016 McDermott Internship! This year we’ve instituted a fully digital application process, which can be accessed here, but be sure to check out our flyer with full descriptions before you get started.

But of course, we’re not ready to say goodbye to our current interns just yet! Here are some of the fun activities they’ve been up to. Submit your application and this could be you in the fall!

Sarah Coffey
Education Coordinator

Thankful for the DMA

Any other year at this time, I would be heading home to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family in Maine. This year, however, marks my first Thanksgiving away from home – the journey from Texas to New England is a bit too far to make for the holiday! I recently moved to Dallas to take part in the DMA’s McDermott Internship Program, which runs from September to May. Being away from my family is difficult this year, but I am grateful for all of the experiences that have been offered to me as the McDermott Graduate Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching.

While my intern duties cover a wide variety of roles here at the Museum, one of my main focuses is Go van Gogh, our community outreach program that brings a piece of the DMA to local elementary and middle schools. This past week, I spent time at Martha Turner Reilly Elementary School with a class of 4th graders. Our program was called Art of the Lone Star State, and it offered the students (and myself) the chance to learn more about the history of this state through art. We looked at works of art that depict Texas landscapes and cityscapes before making our own landscapes with watercolor pencils.

The opportunity to work with children is one of the reasons I applied for this internship, so I am extremely happy that I get to work with our Go van Gogh program.

All of the amazing Go van Gogh programs would not be possible without our volunteers! Go van Gogh has over 30 volunteers, both in Dallas and the surrounding Metroplex. These individuals volunteer their time with the programs in schools, but also spend time here at the DMA for volunteer training. During training, the volunteers become the students as we simulate the programs that they teach. We also spend time in the galleries, looking at the works of art that the students will see. Being a Go van Gogh volunteer shows a commitment to the DMA and to education, and we are extremely grateful to have such wonderful volunteers!

Go van Gogh is just one of the many programs I have been involved with during my time at the Museum. Three months into my nine month internship, I have worked closely with the docents, given school tours, and been involved in programs with Booker T. Washington High School, just to name a few! While I miss my family, I am thankful that I have this position and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the internship brings! And of course, I’m thankful for the opportunity to drive our amazing van around town!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Liz Bola
McDermott Graduate Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching

Warm Welcome

Each September, we welcome eight new colleagues to the Museum: our wonderful and oh-so-talented McDermott Interns. Three of them will be blogging here with us for the year, so we must do proper introductions. Here’s a little bit about each of these fresh new faces:

LizBola

Liz visiting Venice over the summer

Liz Bola
McDermott Graduate Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching

Liz joins us from Massachusetts, where she recently earned her MA in Art History from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Liz will be working with docents, K-12 tours, and our Go van Gogh program.

Which DMA artwork describes you best and why?

Edward Hopper, Lighthouse Hill, 1927

First of all, I studied American art in graduate school and I especially love Edward Hopper’s paintings. In addition, I grew up in Maine, about 20 minutes away from the lighthouse that Hopper depicts. This painting reminds me of visiting the Two Lights lighthouse and the nearby Lobster Shack with my family in the summer!

JenniferSheppard

Jennifer minigolfing in Massachusetts over the summer

Jennifer Sheppard
McDermott Intern for Family and Access Teaching

Jennifer is a Dallas native who recently earned her BA in Studio Art with a Painting Concentration from the University of Rochester in New York. Jennifer will be assisting with our programs for early learners, families, and access audiences.

Which DMA artwork describes you best and why?

J. T. Grant, Looking North, Fort Worth 1999, 1999

I was born and raised in Dallas, so I have a special fondness for the big, blue Texas sky (and depictions of it) to the extent that the fall semester of my junior year in college I turned in exclusively sky-themed projects for all my drawing and painting assignments. Looking North even calls to mind how I left Texas for four years to attend the University of Rochester in upstate New York. I’m happy to be home again, though!

One extra fun little connection: this painting can be found in the Mayer Library. I volunteered at my neighborhood library throughout high school, so I share the feeling of being at home among books.

Eliel worked at a fishery in Norway over the summer

Eliel worked at a fishery in Norway over the summer

Eliel Jones
McDermott Intern for Visitor Engagement

Eliel joins us from the UK, where he completed his BA in Fine Art at the University of the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey. Eliel will be working in C3 and assisting with our community partnerships.

Which DMA artwork describes you best and why?

Nic Nicosia, Youth, 1986

Nic Nicosia’s photograph titled Youth best encapsulates how I have been feeling for the past year. The scene depicts three youngsters having the time of their lives. Youth speaks of the beauty of being free, young and somehow unafraid, not necessarily because those things are tangible realities but more because they are concepts that go beyond truth and exist within the parameters of utopian experience and imagination.

I like to think that the characters are riding up a gallery of an art museum. I somehow always end up referencing the scene in Jules et Jim (François Truffaut, 1962) where Jules, Jim and Catherine daringly run down a bridge, a scene that was later re-interpreted in The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertulocci, 2003) where the three main characters run up a gallery of the Louvre in Paris. Both the films and Nicosia’s photograph attempt to portray what it might mean to be young: a mixture of love, faith, passion and sometimes reckless attitude. If you add art to the picture you probably end up with me!

We’re so excited to work with our new colleagues this year. The next time you catch them on the blog or in person, be sure to say hello!

Sarah Coffey
Education Coordinator

 

Friday Photos: Fond Farewells

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As another school year comes to a close, not only do we say goodbye to all the school buses filled with children, but we also say farewell to the amazing McDermott Interns who have been working with us in the Education department for the past nine months.

Amy Elms, McDermott Intern for Visitor Engagement, and Hayley Prihoda, McDermott Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching, are leaving us today and we want to wish them the very best in their future careers. They both have brought friendly smiles, grace under pressure, a love of teaching, enthusiasm and energy, and new ideas to the DMA. It’s bittersweet to know that we won’t be seeing them in the office every day, but exciting to imagine all the good they are going to do in the museum world. Fondest farewells!

Leah Hanson
Manager of Early Learning Programs

McDermott Interns: Beyond DMA Walls

You may have heard about our McDermott Internship Program, a nine-month paid internship for those interested in gaining experience within our Education or Curatorial Departments. As this year’s application deadline of March 7 is fast approaching–only 4 days left to submit your materials!–I thought it would be nice to share some other aspects of the Internship that aren’t listed on our flyer. Of course our McDermott Interns get to experience the full operations of the Museum–exhibitions and programming, research and writing, and interacting with our staff and the public. But thanks to the generosity of the McDermott Foundation, we are also able to provide them with additional experiences beyond the walls of the DMA.

Each of our eight interns is eligible to apply for special funding that can be used toward their professional development, like attending a conference or pursuing classes in continuing education. After being approved for these funds, the interns take part in the experience and then have the opportunity to reflect and summarize it into a report for us. Several interns from year’s class have already taken advantage of this excellent opportunity by attending the annual CAA Conference in Chicago. Not only were they able to attend informative sessions in their areas of art historical interest, they were also given the chance to network with colleagues and gain further advice on transitioning into their future careers.

A conference session at CAA

A conference session at CAA

In addition to a focus on professional development, we also place an emphasis on the myriad cultural opportunities available here in DFW. Not only do we visit our museum neighbors in both Dallas and Fort Worth, we also provide tickets to performances here in the Dallas Arts District. So far, our interns have enjoyed attending the ballet and seeing Philip Glass at the Winspear Opera House.

So if you know any interested individuals who would like to experience all this and more, encourage them to finish their applications! We look forward to what next year’s class will bring!

Sarah Coffey
Assistant to the Chair of Learning Initiatives

Friday Photos: Adventures in Chicago

Thanks to the support of the DMA and the Eugene McDermott Foundation, this past week two of my fellow McDermott Interns and I had the opportunity to attend the College Art Association Conference in Chicago. Having never before attended a conference of this magnitude, I was not sure what to expect when we arrived at the Hilton Chicago early Wednesday morning. The pictures below capture a few of my favorite moments from the conference, including the architecture of the Hilton, my favorite lecture series, and the Chicago skyline covered in a soft, white snow. Enjoy!

The hotel was packed with art historians, museum educators, professors, and curators rushing to attend their first session of the conference. I was immediately impressed with the variety of attendees, diversity of the sessions offered, and the grandeur of our location. The Hilton Chicago was breathtaking and I was happy to wander the halls of this beautiful building, originally opened in 1927. The lobby featured Roman columns, a vaulted ceiling, and a grand staircase.

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I took this photograph during the question and answer session that followed one of my favorite presentations, called “Finding Common Ground: Academics, Artists, and Museums.” It included presentations by colleagues from various academic and cultural institutions across the country.

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Just outside the Art Institute of Chicago, someone had decided to help a few statues stay warm with winter vests and scarves. It was a great example of the Chicago community interacting with the city’s public art installations.

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Millennium Park in downtown Chicago features fantastic public art like Cloud Gate, aka the Bean. No matter how many times I visit this sculpture, I always enjoy the experience. Fun fact: when you stand in the center, your image is reversed on the ceiling and your reflection can be found all around the interior. Next time you visit, try to count how many times you can find your reflection!

As a native Chicagoan, it was wonderful to go home and explore the city through the eyes of a tourist! At the end of the week, however, I was ready to return to the sunny, 70 degree weather here in Dallas. 🙂

Hayley Prihoda
McDermott Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching

Work Pals with Wendell

When we were assigned work pals, Amy and I were both intrigued and excited about being matched up with Wendell Sneed. Although we had seen him around the Museum, we didn’t know a lot about him or the work he did at the DMA. Following the meeting, several coworkers also shared their excitement about our partnership with Wendell- sending links that revealed his role in the Dallas jazz and funk scene in the 1960’s and 70s. Although black musicians in Dallas at that time struggled with segregation, Wendell, a drummer, and Roger Boykin, a guitarist, organized the first and only South Dallas Pop Festival and founded Soultex Records.

Wendell with Soul Seven, who performed at the South Dallas Pop Festival.

Wendell with Soul Seven, who performed at the South Dallas Pop Festival.

Today, Wendell, who has worked at the DMA for over twenty years, is the Program Coordinator for Jazz in the Atrium, a free event every Thursday night during which visitors enjoy food, drinks, and live jazz performances. Before we became work pals, we were unfamiliar with the process of how Jazz in the Atrium is organized, but after getting to know Wendell a bit more and enjoying our own night of jazz, we were able to better understand all the hard work that goes into organizing such a lively Museum event.

Jazz in the Atrium brings in large crowds to the Museum every Thursday and as Wendell explained to us, many families and couples have been attending for years. He also revealed that prospective artists often approach him at the event about their interest in performing. Wendell welcomes this interest and invites artists to send him a press pack and a demo. He then does research to find out if the artist is performing in the Dallas area. If they are, he makes an effort to listen to them live. He sometimes he doesn’t let the artists know that he is planning on attending and stands somewhere in the venue where they can’t see him. This helps Wendell to get a good feel for the artists’ ‘true sound.’

Wendell’s favorite part of organizing Jazz in the Atrium is when his chosen artists finally perform. The night that we attended, we had the privilege of listening to jazz artist Breggett Rideau. A 2009 Grammy Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album, Breggett is a New Orleans native who now resides in the Dallas area and performs at the DMA multiple times a year.

Wendell welcomes jazz lovers and introduces Breggett Rideau.

Wendell welcomes jazz lovers and introduces Breggett Rideau.

Breggett Rideau impresses the crowd last Thursday night.

Breggett Rideau impresses the crowd last Thursday night.

Throughout the past two months, we have truly enjoyed the time we’ve spent with Wendell. His passion for music is contagious and he enjoys sharing it with everyone he meets. We look forward to learning more from him during the rest of our internship at the DMA and encourage everyone to check out a night of Jazz in the Atrium this holiday season!

Amy and Amelia

Amelia Wood
McDermott Intern for Family and Access Teaching

Amy Elms
McDermott Intern for Visitor Engagement


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