Summer Internships

2024 Anderson Ranch Internship & Award Program

Accepting applications now through March 1st, 2024. Acceptance notifications will be communicated on a rolling basis but no later than March 31, 2024. Click here to apply.

Internship Dates

The start date of the program is May 19th, 2024 and ends in September at an agreed-upon date. Specific arrival and departure dates are arranged by department and the academic calendar needs of the intern.

Practical Experience & Professional Development Award

Anderson Ranch Internship & Award Program is an intensive learning experience, with rigorous full day workshop and studio observing, teaching, supporting, and studio management in a world class art-making environment. Educational seminars, lectures and roundtables deepen the intern experience. This educational internship opportunity meets National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) internship guidelines. Academic credit is offered through various participating colleges/universities as well through the college/university of the applicant.

At the satisfactory conclusion of the summer term each intern receives a professional development award of $5,000. The award is not a replacement for wages but rather intended to support future education or artistic endeavors after as participants pursue their artistic and professional ambitions. This is a cash award to a student reported on IRS Form 1099 box X. Students are required to report back to Anderson Ranch on the impact of their award within six months.

Expense Support

Intern expenses for room and board are arranged and paid for by Anderson Ranch during their internship period in Aspen/Snowmass, CO. Transportation expenses will also be covered and arranged by Anderson Ranch.

About Anderson Ranch Arts Center

Anderson Ranch Arts Center is a year-round visual-arts not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization with a 55-year history of providing transformative experiences that celebrate artists, art-making and creative dialog, at the intersection of craft and the global contemporary art world. Anderson Ranch brings together both aspiring and internationally renowned artists who come from across the country and around the world to test new ideas, explore new disciplines and techniques, hone their art-making skills, engage in meaningful dialog and connect with thought leaders in the artistic community.
Anderson Ranch’s campus is an artistic community nestled among the pristine peaks of the Rocky Mountains. The Ranch campus consists of 14 buildings providing 55,000 square feet of facilities including eight studio buildings, a gallery, a lecture hall, café, store, administrative offices, a student dormitory, as well as residential apartments and cabins. State-of-the-art equipment allows cross-disciplinary experimentation within the mediums of ceramics, woodworking, photography, digital fabrication, painting, sculpture and printmaking. The campus is an oasis of renovated 19th-century cabins and barns that sit alongside contemporary designed buildings, all within the renowned cultural and recreation communities of Aspen/Snowmass, CO, and the Roaring Fork Valley. Anderson Ranch cultivates a culture of experimentation and collaboration, offering world-class art-making facilities and equipment across diverse mediums, experienced visiting faculty and access to the highest quality staff.

Mission

Anderson Ranch’s mission is to enrich lives with art, inspiration and community. We achieve this by offering:

  • Workshops: Providing intensive 1-3-week workshops for artists of all levels and all ages that both improve technical art-making skills and provide transformative experiences for art makers.
  • Advanced Mentoring Programs: Offering three-year mentoring programs that advance artistic practice and careers in the arts.
  • Artist Residencies: Providing 5 and 10-week long juried Artists-in-Residence programs, which give emerging and mid-career professional artists the time, space and resources to develop new work using our world-class facilities.
  • Visiting Artist Experiences: Providing flexible and unique curated experiences to support established national and international artists seeking a retreat to experiment in new mediums or with new techniques and ideas, supported by our staff.
  • Anderson Ranch Editions: An artist’s workshop and print publisher program for hand-printed limited-edition lithographs, screen-prints and etchings by established artists.
  • Community Engagement: Hosting lectures, discussions, seminars and special events which build a community that appreciates, understands and supports art-making within the global contemporary art world and the human experience for both Anderson Ranch guests and the local community.

Artistic Internship Program Overview

The Artistic Internship Program engages career-focused artists with Anderson Ranch’s flagship Summer Workshop Program, providing a hands-on educational experience. It is designed to give undergraduate visual arts students meaningful career experience in artistic studio management and teaching as well as providing access to professional networks and facilitating career exploration. In 2024, 16 individuals will be accepted into this competitive program.

Applicants can apply in the following areas:

  • Ceramics
  • The Children’s Program
  • Digital Fabrication
  • Painting, Drawing & Printmaking
  • Photography & New Media
  • Sculpture / Woodworking & Furniture Design

Key learning outcomes include:

  • Hands-on opportunity to gain professional experience in artistic studio management and teaching. Successful participants complete the program having learned from and observing more than a dozen top art faculty in their focus area and ready to pursue professional teaching or studio manager positions.
  • Improved knowledge and experience with visual arts through participation in lectures, auctions, seminars, exhibitions and artist talks hosted on the Anderson Ranch campus.
  • Professional development opportunities available through networking with stakeholders including professional artists, nationally recognized teaching faculty, students, art collectors, curators, gallerists and art dealers as well as professional development seminars led by Anderson Ranch staff.

Please note that interns should not expect to be entitled to employment at the conclusion of the internship.

Position Description

Studio Management and Teaching: Interns work hand-in-hand with full-time professional staff, learning about studio facilities, equipment and supply management. Participants will both deepen and broaden their own artistic practice as they observe a rotation of highly experienced and focused faculty from top colleges and universities around the country leading a rapid succession of intensive one- or two-week workshops. Interns actively assist faculty in workshops, learning diverse approaches to curriculum structure, group teaching, individual mentoring and student development. Successful participants complete the program having learned and observed more than a dozen top art faculty in their focus area and ready to pursue professional teaching or studio manager positions.

Professional Development Seminars & Networking: In addition to gaining extensive studio management and teaching experience, our internship program seeks to inspire, educate and build lasting connections through monthly professional development seminars. These seminars are taught by senior artistic directors and help interns focus on the next step including applying to jobs in the art world, graduate programs, artist residencies, photographing and presenting work, exhibitions and writing an artist statement. Interns will also have the opportunity to participate in networking and extracurricular opportunities designed to foster peer and professional connections. Each intern will be assigned a staff mentor.

Artistic Studio Practice: Interns are provided a shared rotating studio space. The summer culminates with a group exhibition of the interns’ work hosted by Anderson Ranch.

Time Commitment

Interns spend a minimum of 45-50 hours per week in studios in addition to participating in Anderson Ranch public programs and events that take place outside of normal business hours. Some programs require evening responsibilities, such as studio monitoring, while others have weekend responsibilities. All interns help with studio maintenance, set-up and faculty transportation. A schedule will be developed between each intern and their department mentor.

Selection Process

Applicants will be judged on a competitive basis using the following criteria:

  • Connection to field of study or career goals. Priority will be given to undergraduate visual arts students
  • Some experience or qualifications or preparation to be successful in the internship
  • Carefulness, quality and thoughtfulness of application
  • Articulation of learning outcomes of the internship, and how the internship host will support learning

Through these internships, we especially seek to increase access for students from historically underrepresented and/or marginalized groups including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color) students, students on financial aid, non-traditional and first-generation college students to enhance their educational experience and expand their future career possibilities.

Skills/Qualifications & Learning Objectives by Department

Ceramics

Staff Mentors: Betsy Alwin, Joanne Seongweon Lee

Ceramics interns learn how to run a ceramics studio from organizing class schedules, loading and firing kilns, mixing glazes, assisting the faculty, working with the students and cleaning the shop. Ceramic interns are encouraged to stay through September 20, 2024.

Children’s Program

Staff Mentor: Olivia Martinez

  • The Children’s Program interns must be flexible, patient, energetic and able to accommodate the changing needs of students ages 4-15.
  • Interns learn to assist faculty, support students, organize and prepare materials and maintain studio space and supplies during summer workshops. The supervision and safety of young children is a primary expectation that includes the use of materials, snack breaks, lunchtimes and time before and after workshops.
  • Having a broad knowledge of art materials and techniques is valuable. Having experience or a strong interest in working with children is essential.
  • New this year, the Children’s Program is seeking an intern to assist with the TechShops; this person must be familiar with a variety of digital media. This intern should have basic knowledge of digital photography, video, animation, 3-D printing, and robotics. Basic proficiency with coding, Arduino, Tinkercad and Rhino is valuable but not necessary. In addition, Children’s interns will provide support in turnover of adult studios.

Digital Fabrication

Staff Mentor: Emil Gorman

  • The Digital Fabrication intern provides technical support for students from all disciplines during summer workshops.
  • They learn to assist students, faculty, and Visiting Artists with output and troubleshoot their projects as well as how to maintain, service and run all equipment in Anderson Ranch’s Digital Fabrication Lab.
  • Proficiency with CAD software such as Rhinoceros or Fusion 360, as well as Adobe Suite is highly desirable.
  • The Digital Fabrication Lab includes FDM and SLA 3-D printers, 3-D scanners, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, and 4-axis CNC routers. Experience with these types of machines is preferable but not required.

Painting and Printmaking

 Staff Mentors: Liz Ferrill, Brian Shure, Lindsey Yeager

  • Painting and Printmaking Interns assist faculty and students and are expected to be self-motivated and anticipatory of the needs of the studio. Lindsey Yeager
  • They learn how to assist instructors, support students and maintain the studios. During a typical Painting or Printmaking workshop, interns help set up studio equipment, meet with faculty and students for studio orientation and safety rules, show students and faculty where supplies and tools are located and assist faculty in demos and students with new techniques particular to that workshop.
  • Candidates should have knowledge of painting techniques and/or as a significant background in printmaking and workflow of an active community print shop and be detail-oriented. Painting and Printmaking Interns should feel comfortable floating between the painting studios and the print shop.

Photography & New Media

Staff Mentor: Andrea Jenkins Wallace, Esther Nooner

  • Photography & New Media interns actively assist in summer workshops, providing support for faculty and students.
  • They learn how to assist instructors, support students, troubleshoot computer and printer problems, organize and assist with field trips, weekly evening lab monitoring, performing general lab/building maintenance (including weekends) and gathering materials for demonstrations.
  • Interns should have a strong technical understanding of camera gear, digital and film capture, digital workflow using Photoshop, Lightroom and Epson printers. Attention to detail and desire to learn is a must. Experience teaching or assisting in photography or a digital media course is highly desirable. Additional knowledge of Processing or other coding languages, general computer maintenance, the Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium, Final Cut Pro and slide and flatbed scanners is also helpful.

Sculpture / Woodworking and Furniture

Staff Mentor: Betsy Alwin

  • The Sculpture/ Wood and Furniture Intern is an integral part of workshops and contributes to the functionality of the sculpture space.
  • Interns learn to organize the class schedule, assist faculty, maintain and upkeep the shop and work one-on-one with students to help them realize their artistic dreams.
  • This internship requires a background in or true willingness to learn a variety of sculpture techniques and a readiness to use equipment for welding, wood fabrication, bronze casting, plaster and mixed media construction.
  • Experience with computer technology, software, video projection, sensors and kinetics is suggested. Interns should be prepared to handle safety incidents, be able to prevent hazardous or problematic scenarios and above all help the students and faculty flow safely through the workshops.
  • The intern should also have significant background in woodworking, including knowledge of basic joinery and the safe operation of woodworking machines. Familiarity with other materials (metal, paint, mixed media construction) and computer technology is also helpful.

 

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