By Natalie Bahl (Whitman College)
Being in Florence this semester has been a whirlwind. I am two months into my stay here and it has flown by, what with school, travel, and my internship at the Recovery Plan and Black History Month Florence (BHMF), a local research center and arts organization. My majors include Art History and Rhetoric, Writing, and Public Discourse. I hope to become an art curator in some capacity, so this experience has been an educational and rewarding first look into the art world for me.
I am so grateful for the opportunity Syracuse and Justin Randolph Thompson (Director of BHMF) have given me to further pursue my academic and career goals. Every day I am offered a chance to learn and grow in my prospective field, and I have had a lot of creative liberty and flexibility to work on projects I am interested in.
I have been able to help put up and take down multiple shows this semester, including the tenth edition exhibit of BHMF, which revisits BHMF programs from past years, as well as a project looking into the life and art of William Demby, a local artist. Currently I am working on a project proposal to submit to a gallery highlighting an exhibit that I helped curate at a different location for BHMF.
Here’s what an average week looks like working for BHMF:
Tuesday
11:00am – Begin work on project proposal assigned by On-Site Supervisor, Justin Randolph Thompson.
2:00pm – Meet with Syracuse Supervisor, Professor Jonathan Nelson to discuss current projects, receive advice, and check in.
6:00pm – Continue work on project proposal after receiving feedback from my Syracuse Supervisor.
Tuesday to Monday
Continue work on project proposal in contact with On-Site Supervisor to discuss specific details of exhibit space.
Monday
10:00am – Prepare for project proposal meeting with On-Site Supervisor.
11:30am – Meet with Justin Randolph Thompson, the head of the Recovery Plan/BHMF. Present and discuss my proposal, edit and collaborate proposal together.
2:20pm – Edit proposal independently and prepare to re-send it to On-Site Supervisor.
At the time of writing, my project proposal is in its final stages. If all looks good, it will be fully ready for review by the end of the week. This proposal has been one of my favorite aspects of this internship so far, as I have learned a lot of valuable skills such as project organization, material gathering, and communicating professionally. I feel like I am able to have a lot of hands-on learning experiences with a lot of freedom to work independently which has been really rewarding.
Besides project proposals, I am often working within the exhibits themselves. Typically, I meet with Justin and Professor Nelson once a week for official meetings, communicate via email or Whatsapp throughout the week, and am called to help with exhibit set up and take down. When putting up exhibits, I am often given the space to add creative input on what material is used, the configuration of the space, and communication with art lenders.
Taking down exhibits is quicker and focuses more on hands-on work with repackaging the art and cleaning the exhibition space. I have already made what I think to be lasting connections and am grateful to be a part of something so widespread throughout Italy, Florence, and the world.