This summer, Yalies interested in art and philanthropy can work toward their future careers in New Haven.
A new summer internship for Yale students in the field of contemporary art research has been created by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, a New Haven-based family foundation, in conjunction with Associate Dean for the Arts Susan Cahan, Cahan announced in an e-mail to students Tuesday. The 11-week summer position, which is available to rising juniors and seniors, will allow the intern to work at the organization’s building on Orange St. to create an online archive of the foundation’s 20th-century art collection and catalogue past exhibition award winners, Cahan said.
The internship is a pilot program that may expand in future years, Cahan said. Since coming to Yale, she said she had hoped to set up a series of internships with arts-minded philanthropic organizations. Should this internship program go well, she added, she would consider reaching out to other organizations as well.
“This is an opportunity to see how a really great foundation works from the inside out,” Cahan said. “Many students go on to become artists, and they would benefit from seeing how the grant-making process works.”
Jennifer Mosby ’11 said she did not see experience at an organization that grants funds in the arts as an indispensable part of the History of Art major.
“I don’t know if it’s essential,” she said. “But more knowledge is never bad.”
The internship will also benefit the many Yalies who will one day become donors to the arts, Cahan said.
Nicole Chevalier, the foundation’s program director, said the organization, which offers environmental and learning disability programs in addition to their involvement in the arts, has worked with students at Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in the past.
But with the foundation’s recent move from Meriden, Conn. to New Haven, Chevalier said it made sense to establish further ties with the University. Last year, the foundation approached Cahan about working with Yale students interested in the arts.
Though the internship is organized through Yale, students should expect their work to be largely self-directed, Chevalier said.
“We’re asking the intern to be able to hit the ground running,” she said. She added that this would be the first intern position that the foundation would offer in the arts.
The Tremaine family annually grants over $3.5 million to organizations that support work in the fields of contemporary art, environmental affairs, and learning disabilities.