By Bridget Garnai, Arts Management Intern
Hi there! My name is Bridget and I’m a senior at Miami University studying Art & Architecture History. I have minors in Arts Management and Museums & Society. (Museums & Society is a great new minor at Miami developed by the museum and the College of Creative Arts!) This year I am doing a year-long Arts Management Internship at the Miami University Art Museum and as part of that internship I will be managing this blog! Stay tuned for lots of behind-the-scenes looks at what goes on at the MUAM and to hear about the awesome things that all of our interns are up to.
My involvement with the Miami University Art Museum began before I even stepped foot on campus. I always loved museums growing up (much to my little sister’s chagrin, our family spent lots of time visiting museums and historical sites) and when I started to think about possible careers I knew that I would love to work in a museum. When looking at colleges, I looked for good art history programs with nearby museums for internship and learning opportunities. Miami fit the bill perfectly! I attended the MUAM Lawn Party my first weekend on campus my freshman year and became involved with the Art Museum Student Organization (AMSO) almost immediately. As an AMSO member I love going on museum trips with the group, volunteering at MUAM events, and especially attending guest lectures related to the current exhibitions. I served as Marketing Director for AMSO my sophomore year and have been President of the group since my junior year.
In addition to my involvement with AMSO, I was also a Collections Intern last spring. I interned with Laura Stewart, the Collections Manager/Registrar at the museum and learned about the role that registration and collection care in the success of the museum. Read more about my Collections Intern experience in my post about it from last spring. This past summer I did an internship at the Cincinnati Art Museum in the Registration Department. During this internship I had a lot of the same responsibilities that I had during my Collections Internship at the MUAM, just in a much larger museum. I learned how bigger museums operate and got to explore the ways that registration and collections management are similar and different at the two institutions. It was an amazing experience to intern at the Cincinnati Art Museum, but I’m so excited to be back “home” for the year at the Miami University Art Museum.
