Vitória S S da Nobrega
S3625680
Table of content
Introduction ...2
Description of the organisation that provided the placement ...2
Position/description of tasks and learning outcomes ...3
Main assignments ...3
Meeting and other assignments ...4
An evaluation of the internship ...6
New knowledge and skills ...7
Reaching learning outcomes ...7
Supervision ...7
How the placement helped me to sharpen my career goals ...8
Conclusion ...8
Introduction
From 1st of June 2020 until 31 August 2020 I did an internship at the Groninger Museum as research assistant. This period was very important to my professional development. I was able to gain knowledge on pop music and art, curatorial practices and museums daily routine. My supervisor has assisted me with proper guidance and given me various tasks.
I was able to meet different artists, curators, professionals of different museum departments. Besides, the tasks I have performed broadened my knowledge and horizons concerning different areas of art and museological practices. My learning outcomes were successfully accomplished and I received positive feedback from my supervisor.
Description of the organisation that provided the placement
The company where I did my internship is the Groninger Museum. In 1874 this museum was established. Its main missions were to preserve and display historical artefacts that were connected to the city of Groningen. With the passage of time, the Groninger Museum not only received several donations of different artefacts but also purchased many artworks. As a consequence, it was not solely a historical museum but also an art one. Since then, the Groninger Museum has grown significantly and nowadays is internationally recognised for its blockbuster exhibitions and also for supporting local artists and providing art experiences to all types of public. Annual events such as MuseumNacht takes place in the museum and attracts visitors from all over the Netherlands and also Europe.
In 2019, the numbers of people who visited the museum exceeded 340.000. This number is remarkable and expresses the impact this museum has over the Dutch and European cultural field. Recently, some problems have affected the Groninger Museum. Two examples are the global pandemic Covid-19 and also the unfortunate event when one of the museum’s painting Vicent van Gogh's The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring (1884) was stolen. The 1
last event gained space in the news of several means of communication all over the world. However, it was the first one (global pandemic Covid-19) which has caused an even greater impact on the Groninger Museum activities. Since June 2020, when the museum opened its doors after the national lockdown, it had to adapt its exhibition rooms, events and more into the safety measurements against the Coronavirus. Because of that, the museum employees were even busier than normal, including the museum director who is also a professor in the University of Groningen, prof. Dr. Andreas Blühm. Prof. Blühm was looking for someone who could assist him in his tasks for the University of Groningen and also in doing research on topics that are connected to future exhibitions of the Groninger Museum. Luckily, I was contacted by prof. Joost Keizer who suggested I talked to prof. Blühm and discussed the possibility of assisting him as his intern. After one week, I started my internship at the Groninger Museum
Schuetze. Christopher F. “ Early van Gogh Painting Stolen From Dutch Museum” New York Times (Mar
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30/2020) Section C, pp.2
Position/description of tasks and learning outcomes
The main focus of my internship was connected to research purposes. My position was described as: Scientific assistant of the general museum director. My main tasks were researching connecting between Pop Music and Art.
Main assignments
● Since the beginning of the internship, I started developing concepts together with prof. Andreas Blühm for his Master’s course of the University of Groningen, namely Museums: The Making of. Prof. Blühm asked me to think about topics which were connected to Music and Arts. He also suggested a few topics and I was to find literature, movies and other sources which provided information on this subject. I read several books, articles about different connections between music and arts. I also went to museums such as the Stedelijk Amsterdam and Kunsthal Rotterdam. In the Stedelijk, I was able to consult books from its library which covered this subject. In the Kunsthal Rotterdam, I visited the exhibition
Black Albums/White Cubes which explores several artists that combine arts and
music. Such visits were enriching because I was able to have access to very interesting content which is not easily found on the internet and also on books from the RUG library. The outcomes of these visits were positive, in the view that I felt more familiar with the topic and this has helped me in assisting prof. Blühm in developing the course content.
● Apart from that, I could also bring to the course my own contribution. Since I had earlier taken this course myself and discussed its content with classmates, I thought it would be interesting if we proposed to the students that they did a curatorial studies project. My idea was that the students would create a complete exhibition plan based on what they learned during the lectures and also with the literature. Prof. Blühm approved the idea. In my research on curatorial literature. I found and read several books, articles and interviews by and with curators from different parts of the world. It was very intense research, because everytime I would find more and more sources and figures that seemed important for the curatorial field. This task has enabled me to understand the emergence of the curator as a renowned profession. Besides, it has ignited my curiosity and I could also talk to a few museum professionals such as the Groninger Museum curator Suean van der Zijpp and the independent curator Tara Fay Coleman. The last one was so friendly that I felt comfortable with asking her if she could give the students a guest lecture. For my surprise, she accepted. Coleman is an independent curator from Pittsburgh who encourages black and female artists who have not had many chances in showing their work in big galleries. Together with important art galleries, Coleman organises exhibitions wherein she invites those artists to present their work.
● Another task given to me was connected to museum education. Prof. Blühm is aware of my interest in this topic. He asked me to come up with 10 educational activities which are to be applied to school groups during guided-tours that will attend the exhibition Hipgnosis (Winter 2021). This exhibition will present the cover album art by the British graphic designers Storm Thoergerson and Aubrey Powell. The idea was that the educational activities were targeted at students whose ages are between 07 and14. Hipgnosis created the album cover of legendary bands such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and AC/DC between the 60's and early 80's. The challenge was making this topic appealing to young visitors. I have created 10 activities which still need to be finalised. When they are complete, prof. Blühm will send them to Aubrey Powell, who will give his opinion on my ideas.
The Hipgnosis task was amazing for me. I had to read a lot about the bands and also the graphic designers in order to create activities that combined their work with the interest of young visitors. I am happy with what I have created, although I do acknowledgement some adjustments must be done. Due to the other tasks connected to the MA course, this assignment had to be put aside for a while. I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to hearing what Aubrey Powell thinks about it.
Meeting and other assignments
● Prof. Blühm invited me to join a few meetings which he thought would be enriching for my learning. The first one I attended was at the Wall House. There 2
I had the chance to meet local artists such as Nick Landman and Gea Schenk. Schenk gave me a tour around the rooms of the building and explained the main activities which take place there. Afterwards, she showed me the artwork she was working on. She took pictures of dwellers who live in the surroundings of the neighbourhood where the Wall House is located. At the moment, Schenk was organising the display of the pictures in the gallery room. She explained her concept behind the artwork and her process of creation. Nick Lanman arrived after and joined our conversation, he talked about his contribution to the exhibition The Art of Waste.
I was very glad I could join this meeting. I learned new aspects of artistic creative processes and also observed the organisation of an exhibition. Besides, the artists were very friendly and explained to me how they had the idea for their artworks. Prof. Blühm also told me how the concept of the exhibition emerged and I could understand a bit more about such subjects.
● The second assignment proposed to me was connected to the exhibition Mondo
Mendini. Originally, this exhibition which introduced the viewers to the world of
the designer and architect Alessandro Mendini would end in May 2020. Because
Martin, Marijke. Smals, Judith. Wall House #2: John Hejduk in Groningen (Platform GRAS, Groningen,
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of Covid-19, it was extended until the end of August. Different museums all over the world loaned artworks to be part of this exhibition. Due to the extension of the exhibition, the insurance of the loaned artworks had to extended as well. However, some of the works were so expensive that a lot of money had to be spent in order to maintain the artefact in the exhibition until the end of August. Unfortunately, it was not possible to keep all the loaned works in the exhibition because of financial reasons. Because of that, the painting by Kazimir Malevich,
White Suprematist Cross (1927) had to return to its original location, the Stedelijk
Museum from Amsterdam. Prof. Blühm suggested that I observed the process of withdrawal of the painting from the Mondo Mendini exhibition and accompanied the process of packing and leaving. One curator from the Stedelijk museum arrived accompanied by the transportation company employees. She brought a report with her and analysed if the painting had suffered any scratches and other damages. Luckily, everything was fine with the painting and the process of withdrawing went smoothly. Three employees of the transportation company delicately took the painting out the wall and placed it in a box. Afterwards, the curator and the Groninger Museum employee responsible for the collection department, signed papers. I assume that these papers were the insurance documents or the end of the contract of the painting loan.
This observation was very interesting because for the first time I was able to see how a highly-valued painting is transported and the procedures before the transportation. I found it important to understand how such transactions occur. And despite the fact that the communication between the employees was in Dutch, I was able to understand the general context and the steps of this common procedure that occurs often in museums.
● Another assignment that prof. Blühm gave to me was connected to the movement Black Lives Matter. In June 2020, several protests all over the world took place in defence of black lives. The Groninger artist Cissy Gressman came to the museum and I could join the meeting with her. The main topic of the conversation was the role of museums in the Black Lives Matter movement. Gressman and prof. Blühm brought to light their ideas about this issue and also asked my opinion. In total there were two meetings with Gressman and on the last one, another Groninger artist also joined. Besides attending the conversations, I was asked to do research on this theme. The focus of the research was finding sources which touch upon the fight against racism in an Art Historical context.
I really appreciated all aspects of this assignment. Mainly because I have always been interested in post-colonial art and this was a perfect opportunity to learn more about it. I read several books, articles and more which were written by scholars from different fields of knowledge. Apart from that, listening to the opinions of black artists like Gressman, who suffer the consequences of racism broadened my horizons and strengthened my interest in the theme.
● Later this year, more specifically in November, the Groninger Museum will inaugurate the winter exhibition The Rolling Stones- Unzipped. Because of that, several details concerning the exhibition needed to be adjusted. I was lucky
enough to join meetings with Muriel Ramuz, Andreas Blühm, artists and also managers who work for the British Band and are organising together with the Groninger Museum this exhibition. Due to Corona measurements, details of the exhibition had to be rearranged and I was able to attend meetings wherein these topics were discussed. In total I observed three meetings. Although most of the meetings were in Dutch, I could still learn a lot about the processing of creating and assembling an exhibition of such scale.
An evaluation of the internship
When it comes to connecting the content I have acquired during the MA Art History and the tasks I developed during my internship, I can undoubtedly affirm that various lectures, texts that I had had contact with during the program were useful during my internship. From all of the courses I followed during the last 12 months, Art History Now was the one which has provided me with a great basis for developing my function at the Groninger Museum. During this course, I developed my researching skills at a significant level and for the internship, I was to do research in various topics which were not familiar to me. The lectures and assignments of Art History Now has provided me the chance of selecting the correct key words for academic research, which was a major function I played during the internship. Besides, my writing assignments were to follow a certain standard which was closely connected to the ones I had to follow for this same course.
The second MA course I can easily connect to the content of my internship is the one taught by the prof. Andreas Blühm, Museums: The Making of. It goes without saying that apart from being my professor, Blühm was also my internship supervisor and we talked about subjects during the last three months which I was already familiar with, due to his course that I took during the first semester of the MA Art History in 2019/20. Apart from learning more about the Groninger Museum, this course also covered aspects concerning curatorial studies and its assignments proposed a critical analysis and critical presentations about artists and artworks connected to the museum building which had its 25th anniversary in 2019. For the internship, my critical voice was required several times and I also had to present my ideas and proposals which were closely connected to the interests of the Groninger Museum. I was learning more about the museum policy, mission and accomplishments. Such topics were mentioned and briefly explored during the course and during the internship I could deepen my knowledge on them.
Two remaining courses which I followed during the MA Art History that are also intimately linked to the tasks I developed during the internship are respectively: Tutorial MA Art History and MA Thesis Art History. Since last year, I have had a big interest in observing educational activities which took place within the museum context. Because of that, I asked prof. Blühm if it would be possible to observe guided-tours focussed on school groups which were to take place at the Groninger Museum. Through prof. Blühm, I got in touch with the museum educators who kindly allowed me to join and observe a few school visits to the museum. Based on that and on the educational alternatives developed by the Groninger Museum during the quarantine times, I had accomplished my assignment for the MA course Tutorial.
When it comes to the MA thesis, the interest in museum education is also present. And the help of the Groninger Museum was fundamental for the completion of the most important writing assignment I have done so far. The theme of my MA thesis is museum education in
Dutch and Brazilian context. I have analysed educational practices which were described by educators from the Groninger Museum and a Brazilian museum, namely the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo. One of my assignments during the internship was developing educational activities. The information I have gathered on educational initiatives in different museums while I was writing my thesis was of great importance for this assignment. Thanks to that, I was able to learn pedagogical techniques which result in positive outcomes in art activities within the museum context that are applied to students whose ages vary between 6 and 17 years old.
New knowledge and skills
During the last three months, I have acquired different types of knowledge. I believe that the subjects connected to Pop Music & Art and curatorial studies were the ones I was able to gain deeper knowledge to a higher degree.
The practicalities of museum work is definitely another subject I was able to be in contact regularly. In this case, I feel I observed a lot which enables me to have moments of : “Ah HA, that is how it works and now I understand why”. In my view, this happened mainly because I still do not feel comfortable with asking many things in Dutch. And during important meetings that covered, I did not want to interrupt the conversation to pose questions. I quietly observed and afterwards, I asked prof. Blühm what was not clear during the meeting and he would always assist me.
Flexibility is a skill which I had to enhance during this period. As mentioned, I developed different tasks and I had to work independently on them and present their outcomes. Due to the variety of subjects and people I was in contact with, I was able to broaden my horizons and become a more flexible professional.
Another skill/knowledge which I was able to work on was specialised museum communication. Before the internship I was not familiar with technical terms connected to museum work, especially not in English or Dutch. By and writing emails to other museum professionals I was able to learn proper museum terminology.
Reaching learning outcomes
In my internship contract my learning outcomes focus on research which I feel I was able to reach in a successful manner.
Supervision
Although I could work from home and also independently I felt I was always well supervised by prof. Andreas Blühm who was in contact with me in all the days I worked for the museum, even when he was on vacation he would provide me feedback on my internship tasks. Besides, he would put me in contact with other museum professionals, such as the collection and education department and tell them I was interested in learning a little bit of what they do. During our meetings he was open to listen to my ideas and I felt comfortable with sharing my opinions. In general, I think prof. Blühm was a very good supervisor and I am very glad I could learn a lot from our conversations and also with the tasks he proposed to me.
In an informal conversation with prof. Blühm provided me feedback concerning my performance during the internship. According to him, I demonstrated a positive attitude and helped him a lot. He mentioned that sometimes my enthusiasm takes my focus a bit away but then afterwards I organise myself and my tasks. Additionally, he also said that I was flexible and came up with brilliant ideas for the educational proposals.
How the placement helped me to sharpen my career goals
Since my 2014 when I first did an internship in an art exhibition in a cultural centre in Brazil, I have developed a great interest in museum studies. I have a flair for educational practices.I am also curious about learning with practical experiences and observations. I could do a lot of that during my internship. I must confess that I really appreciated doing research on pop music and pop art, especially because everything was new for me. It was a new discovery each time I found a new book or article that covered this topic. I also enjoyed learning the theory of curatorial practices.
During this period, I found out I like many types of art, so I think it would be hard to choose one period or style to focus on if I were to become a curator.
Having said that, I think for the following years I would like to develop what I have done in the museum but also take a bit more action. I have observed many different situations in which I would like to take an active part. I would love to work in a department of early-modern collection, because the courses I followed during the MA about early-modern art were great, and I still do not have experience in museums with this type of art.
But at the same time, my passion for education is still present and I believe that education is a great tool to transform the relation between people and art (and of course the world). I will just try what comes in my professional way and keep on giving my best.
Conclusion
In summary, the internship I did in the Groninger Museum was extremely enriching for my academic and professional career. I am wholeheartedly thankful for this opportunity and I am very happy to keep on working for the museums for the coming months. Of course there were some moments which I was a bit confused because I did not understand the whole content of meetings due to the language, but in general I felt I could successfully reach the learning outcomes and develop professional skills which will facilitate future assignments in my life.
The diverse meetings were not only full of knowledge but also fun because most of the time the atmosphere was very relaxed which allowed me and the participants to exchange information in a comfortable environment. The tasks I developed were also diverse and I could explore areas of knowledge which were new for me and learn a lot from them. The supervision I received was of great help, it made me feel comfortable with posing questions and sharing concerns.
Bibliography
● Schuetze, Christopher F. “ Early van Gogh Painting Stolen From Dutch Museum” New
York Times. Mar 30/2020. Section C, pp. 2
● Martin, Marijke and Smals, Judith. Wall House #2: John Hejduk in Groningen.Platform GRAS, Groningen, 2001
