Summer 2023 Fellow: Amira Dehmani ’24
Office Description
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become members. The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution.
Description of the Work
The Office of Curatorial Affairs (OCA), including the Centers, facilitates the intellectual work of the Museum by collecting artifacts, ensuring collection preservation and stewardship, conducting research and scholarship, and sharing the rich history and culture of African Americans and all people of African descent with a diverse public in accessible, multifaceted ways including exhibition, digitization, and publication.
The intern will research assorted topics, objects, and online archives for exhibit materials. The intern will be invited to take part in meetings with curators researchers and collection staff. The intern will be provided with hands-on opportunities in developing exhibitions and/or programs for the NMAAHC and its mission to centrality of African American history and culture. This internship is in partnership with Stanford in Government and designed for students to work closely with museum professionals to gain a broader knowledge of curatorial work at a National Museum. The intern will engage with scholarly and archival materials and gain experience in exhibit building.
Duties include (but are not limited to):
- Online and archival research, Research using The Museum System (TMS) software
- Image research and draft writing
Desired Skills
Desired Majors and Areas of Study: History, African American Studies, American Studies, Museum Studies, Anthropology, and Sociology
