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Museum Staff
March 5, 2020
Former intern Kat Sarris
Development Internship leads to New Adventure for Kat Sarris
It was the spring of 2018, and like many juniors approaching their senior year, I began to develop a sense of dread. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do after graduating from college. Since I had nearly finished the courses for my international affairs degree, I decided to look for an internship in the nonprofit sector. After some digging around, I noticed the Georgia Museum of Art was 1. a nonprofit, and 2. had a variety of internships available. Check and check. I applied and began interning in the development department. As an intern, I helped prepare for board meetings and track museum membership. I also helped coordinate museum events like the quarterly 90 Carlton gallery receptions and the Black History Month Dinner. One of the most exciting events I worked on was planning for Elegant Salute, which is a total beast of an event that the museum puts on every other year. I learned the ins and outs of working in development and while I enjoyed the people I worked with and had a lot of fun at my internship, I wasn’t quite sure if a career in nonprofit development was for me. Luckily, my desk was right outside the chief preparator’s office. Before interning at the museum I had no idea what a preparator was. As it turned out, there is a whole department of people who design the layout of the gallery spaces, install and care for the art. When you go to a museum and you see a frustrating “Gallery Closed for Installation” sign up, it's the preparators who are bustling behind the closed doors. Until then I had never stopped to think about it, but of course that job existed. After some initial eavesdropping on the prep team, I decided I wanted to be one of them. I introduced myself to the chief preparator and I began interning with them as well. My internship with the preparators was never boring. I was able to participate in the exhibition process at every stage. Some days I patched holes in the walls and repainted the galleries. Other days I learned how to handle art, frame works on paper or light the galleries. I also worked with power tools and went up in the hydraulic lift. I experienced the excitement of cracking open a new crate of art on loan, and felt the satisfaction of walking through a newly installed gallery space before anyone else was able to see it. I made a custom box for a small statue of a duck, and I learned to tell the difference between “candlelight beige” and “adobe white” (because I definitely didn’t want to repaint a wall the wrong shade of white). I was hooked almost instantly. This was a job I could see myself doing for years. I liked how every day was different, and I loved handling and interacting with the art. The prep team and my bosses from the development department were encouraging, and they gave me some pointers to find a museum job. While it took me quite a lot of job hunting (I think I applied to close to 70 jobs after graduation), I eventually landed my dream job. This month I will start working at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, as the art framer and conservation department assistant. I am beyond excited for this opportunity, and I am incredibly thankful to everyone at the Georgia Museum of Art for helping me achieve this. It is quite funny to think that I wouldn’t have considered applying for this position if I had not interned for the development department.