Simin Amini and Amelia Casebolt were the second group of interns who got the chance to intern at the amazing Louvre Museum in Paris! They worked with the Ancient Near East Department and got to help out with a variety of projects involving artifacts, collections storage, photograph documentation, databases, and more. One project involved them traveling to the Louvre's new off site storage center and working with recently conserved glazed bricks. Another project had them work on documenting and storing artifacts from a particular archaeological site. They were mentored by the main curator in the department and got to learn all about how a large museum is run and what kind of work is done behind the scenes. During the internship, they stayed in the heart of Paris and outside of internship hours, they were able to explore the surrounding area including the Eiffel Tour, Notre Dame, and Sainte Chapelle.
Interning with the A+D museum, I was able to shadow the board of lead architects and designers in operating this hybrid museum which includes event organizing, social media strategy and fundraising outreach. My work focused primarily on social media curation and management, including one of my favorite projects of designing promotional materials for A+D’s annual fundraiser, Celebrate Vitality 2025. I'm incredibly grateful for my internship experience which allowed me hands-on opportunities to support operational tasks and strengthen A+D’s online presence.
At Muzeo, Katie assisted in preparing an exhibition and providing guest services for the exhibit “Marvelocity: Marvel Comics Art of Alex Ross.” This internship allowed her to contribute significantly to museum operations and gain firsthand experience in the responsibilities of a curatorial team.
This internship provides me with an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with professional curators, researchers, and art-related associates at IMCA. My work involves researching UCI-affiliated artists and writing artist briefs to highlight their works for a wider audience. We also hold weekly conferences and presentations to discuss which artists should be featured in the upcoming exhibitions. Part of my role also includes outreach to the Claire Trevor School of the Arts to gather a comprehensive list of MFA graduates, contributing to the development of a more complete database for the UCI art community.
Emma worked on the exhibition Asian Comics: Evolution of an Art Form, finding influencers to come to the exhibit, updating calendars and digital and physical press kits, and planning special events related to the exhibition. She also assisted at museum events, including taking photos, and facilitating audience participation at museum lectures.
As a gallery intern, I assisted with exhibition design, installation, promotion, greeting guests in the gallery, and more. My larger project is cataloging the history of artists and exhibitions of OCCCA for a future publication and exhibition. One of my favorite parts of the internship is getting to know the local artists who have a long history in the art world.
The first participants in the joint UCI-Louvre internship in Summer 2023, Bermet and Da-xia's internships included helping to preserve documentary photographs in the Louvre’s Islamic Art department, cataloging new acquisitions to the museum’s library, and visiting different museum departments, including the departments responsible for collection management, international consultation, and the Louvre’s offsite object storage in Lens, France.
I have already recommended this internship to my anthropology/archaeology friends, but for any others that are considering taking up this internship, come prepared to get your hands dirty, in a good way! This opportunity has made me love the field even more. The amount of knowledge and experience is something that I will remember and value. I plan to stay with OC Parks for the remainder of my undergrad studies.