African American and Afro-Caribbean Curatorial Research Assistant Internship Fall 2023

The African American and Afro-Caribbean Curatorial Research Assistant Internship is within the Office of Curatorial Affairs (OCA) at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). OCA including the Centers, facilitates the intellectual work of the Museum by collecting artifacts, ensuring collection preservation and stewardship, conducting research and scholarship, and sharing the rich history and culture of African Americans and all people of African descent with a diverse public in accessible, multifaceted ways including exhibition, digitization, and publication. OCA is comprised of many different divisions and teams including: Administration, Collections/Acquisitions, History, Culture, Visual Art, Collections Management, Conservation, DigiTeam, Registrar's Office, Oral History, Archives, The Centers and the Scholarly Advisor Committee.

The African American and Afro-Caribbean Curatorial Research Assistant Intern will assist with the acquisition, research, and writing of reports related to African American and Afro-Caribbean cultural objects intended for the museum’s collection and the Cultural Expressions permanent exhibition. The selected intern can expect to practice and develop scholarly research skills as applied to curatorial work as well as to gain exposure to the operational side of collections acquisition and interpretation. They will engage with various team members in OCA. The intern will also assist with content coordination of future diaspora-related program. This coordination will involve research, writing and organization of program topics as well as logistical and administrative support. Strong research, writing and critical thinking skills are required. It is preferred that the candidate is majoring in either museum or cultural heritage studies, anthropology or fields related to African American, Caribbean or African diaspora studies. The intern can expect to be introduced to museum operations within a curatorial department, have the opportunity to practice curatorial and collections research, and learn to develop museum related programs.

Duties Include (but are not limited to):

·      Conduct and organize topical research

·      Assist with collections objects identification and research

·      Draft acquisition proposals and reports

·      Communicate with conference participants and potential object donors

·      Provide logistical support and assistance for the planning of conference schedule