Internships

Emerging Arts Leader (EAL) internships aim to open career pathways for individuals who bring dynamic backgrounds and perspectives to their work in art, museums, or community engagement. These interdisciplinary experiences provide professionals from diverse backgrounds with an in-depth understanding of SAM’s operations, programming, and audiences. While diversity can embody many characteristics, this internship program is intended to engage with historically under-represented groups in the museum field including, but not limited to, individuals of African American, Asian, Latin/Hispanic, Native American, or Pacific Islander descent.

We offer three models for EAL internships, each lasting 10–12 weeks.

EAL Exploratory

Focusing on projects that connect with departments, this model exposes interns to the structure and management of interdepartmental work at SAM. It is designed for interns who learn best through an interdisciplinary approach, or who are interested in exploring multiple career paths.

EAL Departmental

Focusing on projects in one department, this model provides interns with an in-depth understanding of the work being completed by a particular team at SAM. It is designed for interns who are already aware of the area of museum work they would like to pursue as a career.

Emerging Museum Professional (EMP)

Focusing on one or more long-term projects, this model provides specialized training in a specific area of museum work. EMP internships are generally six months or more in duration and are designed for individuals interested in pursuing leadership opportunities in museums or who are pursuing graduate-level education in art curation, conservation, or a similar field of study.

As part of our EAL program, a minimum of two internships per year are reserved for current SAM staff working in frontline roles. This internship provides existing staff with multidisciplinary on-the-job training while helping them build new skills, develop professional relationships, and become more competitive applicants for the next step in their careers.

Staff interns work with SAM’s Intern Coordinator to balance responsibilities as an intern with their current schedule at SAM. All SAM Staff interns are kept at their regular pay rate, employment status, and benefits eligibility.

SAM Staff internships are generally 15 weeks long and occur from October to March and April to September. Candidates must be non-exempt, hourly employees with at least one year of experience at SAM (as either a paid employee, intern, or volunteer).

Departmental internship opportunities vary each quarter depending on current projects and staff capacity. Host departments include Communications and Marketing, Conservation, Curatorial, Development, Education and Public Programs, Facilities and Operations, and Museum Services.

Working alongside staff mentors to set learning objectives, complete hands-on projects, and advance the strategic goals of their specific department, these internships often require specific skill sets and may vary in duration, project scope, and education requirements.

The Blakemore Foundation supports our goal of furthering scholarship in Asian art and culture by generously sponsoring the Frances Blakemore & Griffith Way Internship Program. These internships offer meaningful career development opportunities to currently enrolled graduate and advanced undergraduate students at the University of Washington. These interns can expect to gain professional research experience in East Asian art history, work directly with SAM’s Asian art collection, and participate in major exhibition and publication projects.

Applications for Frances Blakemore & Griffith Way internships generally open in May of each year.

Under the direction of SAM’s Associate Curator for Modern and Contemporary Art, the Betty Bowen Award Intern supports the planning, organization, and implementation of the annual Betty Bowen Award, which recognizes outstanding visual artists currently living and working in the Pacific Northwest.

Responsibilities include assisting with all aspects of award administration, coordinating and attending committee meetings, promoting the call for entries, organizing artist applications, corresponding with artists about the award, and writing press releases and mailings.

Applications for Betty Bowen Award interns generally open in April of each year.