Interns Enjoy a Summer of Experiences for Themselves and Others
As visitors from around the world flock to Santa Fe this summer, a group of 12 interns have also made their way to the City Different. In recent years, the paid internship program at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum has become more robust, with abundant learning opportunities for each position, field trips, and networking.
“We want the experience at the Museum to be as beneficial to the interns as possible. They come here to gain experience at the Museum but we also like them to learn about the museum field as a whole, about Northern New Mexico culture, and, of course, about Georgia O’Keeffe,” the Museum’s Manager of Exhibitions and Installations Ariel Russell said.
Six of the interns lead the Arts & Leadership Program at the Museum, a summer program for local 6th through 8th graders focusing on the exploration of creativity through art-making, theater, music, creative writing, and self-expression. Others work in various departments throughout the Museum, including the Library & Archives and Curatorial, focusing on audience research and special projects.
A highlight of the summer is Field Trip Week, where the interns are accompanied by Museum staff on visits to other institutions in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Taos. This year the group visited the Museum of International Folk Art, the University of New Mexico Art Museum, and the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, among others. Here’s a look at the dozen interns joining the Museum this summer:
Dynette Chavez
Art & Social Practice Intern, supported by the BF Foundation
Jicarilla Apache Nation and Santa Domingo Pueblo
Recent graduate, Institute of the American Indian Arts (IAIA)
Dynette Chavez is the Museum’s first intern for Art & Social Practice. Chavez hopes to one day create a tribal museum on the Jicarilla Apache Nation reservation in Dulce, New Mexico, and is hoping to learn about community engagement and social practice strategies and approaches. Her hobbies include exercising, traveling with friends, and attending concerts.
Bonnie Steward
Library and Archives Intern, supported by the BF Foundation
Duluth, Minnesota
Recent graduate, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Having grown up in Minnesota and recently living in Wisconsin, Bonnie Steward is very much enjoying spending her summer in Santa Fe. She recently earned her Master’s of Library and Information Science and aspires to do work that preserves culturally significant collections at risk due to conflict or natural disaster.
Jose Sanches
Interpretation and Audience Research Intern
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Current student, St. Edward’s University
Jose Sanchez returns to his hometown of Santa Fe as an intern assisting in research into the visitors’ experiences at the Museum. Sanchez is a recipient of a Davis New Mexico Scholarship, which is awarded to qualified first-generation college-going students in the state. Sanchez hopes to pursue a career in public relations or communications after graduation.
Lydia Davis
Interpretation and Audience Research Intern, supported by the Association of Art Museum Directors
American Canyon, California
Recent graduate, Dartmouth College
Besides art, Lydia Davis is passionate about music. Davis will pursue a career as a museum curator and hopes her internship will help her to organize exhibitions that are impactful to a wide audience in the future. She collects vinyl records and is learning to play guitar.
Emma Claire Horvath
Museum Administration Intern
Washington, DC
Current student, Georgetown University
Emma Claire Horvath is majoring is International Culture and Politics at Georgetown. She is most excited to gain exposure to the many different departments of the Museum and learning about the other artists who were in Georgia O’Keeffe’s social circle. Horvath is embracing spending the summer in New Mexico, where her grandparents live.
Morgan Moseley
Wikipedian-in-Residence Intern, supported by the BF Foundation
Johnson City, New York
Recent graduate, Binghamton University
Morgan Moseley is no stranger to internships. In fact, an internship at the Binghamton University Art Museum led her to pursue a career in the museum field. Her mother introduced her to Georgia O’Keeffe’s art at a young age and Moseley is thrilled for the opportunity to work alongside such an influential collection.
Abigail Nasari
Art & Leadership Program Intern
Boma Nigombe, Tanzania
Recent graduate, Hope College
Abigail Nasari is currently working as an art teacher’s assistant in Michigan and is hoping her internship will enable her to learn more about educating young artists and equip them with tools necessary to discover their own artistic voices. Nasari is also a practicing artist who often uses Kanga fabric, charcoals, and oil paints to create large-scale collages.
Amina Federspiel-Otelea
Art & Leadership Program Intern, supported by the BF Foundation
Grass Valley, California
Current student, St. John’s College
Born in Germany to a Romanian family, Amina Federspiel-Otelea is excited to spend a summer in Santa Fe where she attends St. John’s College. Being a part of the Art & Leadership Program allows Federspiel-Otelea to explore art education and the impact of access to museums as a way to inspire and support communities, which are both passions of hers.
Anna Samson
Art & Leadership Program Intern, supported by the Kappa Delta Foundation
Fayetteville, Georgia
Current Student, Georgia College & State University
Anna Samson currently serves as the President of the Eta Mu chapter of Georgia College & State University. She is studying Philosophy, Liberal Studies with a Culture, Religion, and Society concentration, and Ceramics. She hopes this internship is one of many as she finishes school and plans to pursue a master’s degree.
Elizabeth Levie
Art & Leadership Program Intern
San Francisco, California
Current student, Yale University
As a senior at Yale, Elizabeth Levie is also a gallery guide at the Yale University Art Gallery. There, she has experienced the first-hand joy of facilitating meaningful connections between museum visitors and art. She plans to complete her final semester at Yale this fall before applying for master’s programs in Art History.
Natalie Michaels
Art & Leadership Program Intern
Sacramento, California
Current student, St. John’s College
Natalie Michaels’ favorite part of her internship thus far is chatting with Museum staff milling about the Education Annex because there’s a feeling that the museum is verging on something new and exciting, and it’s thrilling. When she is not completing her series of plaster nose casts (seriously, to be a nose plaster model email nataliermichaels@gmail.com), Michaels enjoys long road trips, cooking, hiking, and dancing.
Rachel Keeler
Art & Leadership Program Intern, supported by the Kappa Delta Foundation
South Bend, Indiana
Current student, Ball State University
Rachel (Rae) Keeler brings experience to the Art & Leadership Program, as she has years of working with youth at camps and classes already on her resume. She is passionate about using the arts as a means of expression and connection with others. Sharing the joy art brings with Art & Leadership students has been exciting and fulfilling for Keeler.
Internship positions at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum vary each year and are posted on the Museum website in early Spring.
