Explore Unique Internship Opportunities
Bring Art to Life. Build your experience.
Explore current internship opportunities and discover how you can help preserve the stories of accomplished contemporary artists.
Preserving Today's Stories for Tomorrow.
Every interview, photograph, and artwork you help preserve becomes part of the historical record for future generations.
What You'll Do
Catalog collection objects using a Collection Management System.
Photograph artwork and archival materials using professional methods.
Create original content including articles, podcasts and multimedia stories.
Contribute to projects such as:
Stories from the Archive: Immigrant Creativity
Stories from the Archive: Artists' Lives
Interested? Let's Start the Conversation.
Every internship begins with a conversation. Tell us a little about yourself using the form below, and we’ll contact you to discuss current opportunities. If you’d rather speak with someone first, call Scott Miles, Archive Manager at (805) 653-2501 or email volunteer[at]focusonthemasters[dot]com
Areas of Career & Academic Development
Whether you’re exploring a future career or gaining experience for college credit, Focus on the Masters offers hands-on opportunities that build practical skills in a variety of disciplines.
✓ Museum Studies
✓ Art History
✓ Studio Art
✓ Journalism
✓ Photography & Digital Imaging
✓ Audio & Video Production
✓ Cultural Heritage Preservation
✓ Library & Information Science
FAQ's
Who can volunteer or participate in an internship?
Anyone age 16 or older is welcome to volunteer with Focus on the Masters. You do not need to be a student to volunteer.
Academic internships require enrollment in a school-sponsored internship program.
Are academic internships available?
Yes! College students may inquire about academic internships.
For-credit internships are a partnership between your college or university and Focus on the Masters. We have internship documents that can be adapted to your specific academic program. Contact us for more information.
Can I work remotely?
Generally, no.
Most volunteer and internship activities involve working directly with artwork, archival materials, and historical documents, so they must be completed on-site.
Some limited remote work may become available in the future, but academic internships for credit require on-site participation.
Where is the Focus on the Masters archive?
The Focus on the Masters archive is located at:
505 Poli Street, Suite 310
Ventura, CA 93001
We are located in the annex building behind Ventura City Hall. Free parking is available behind City Hall.
What kind of photography experience is available?
Our Cultural Heritage Imaging Studio provides hands-on experience photographing artwork and archival materials using professional museum-quality imaging practices.
Working alongside cultural heritage photographer Scott Miles, interns and volunteers may photograph:
- Paintings
- Works on paper
- Fiber arts
- Sculpture
- Ceramics
- Wood carvings
- Other archival objects
Are internships paid?
Most internships and volunteer opportunities are unpaid.
Occasionally, a limited number of paid internships may be available. Focus on the Masters has also qualified through some colleges for Federal Work Study funding.
Can I participate through Federal Work Study?
Yes.
If you qualify for Federal Work Study through your college or university, we are happy to work with your school to determine whether your internship at Focus on the Masters qualifies for funding.
What kinds of projects can I work on?
Volunteers and interns may contribute to a variety of projects based on their interests and academic goals. Academic internships include specific learning outcomes and a more structured experience.
Projects may include:
- Photographing artwork and archival collections using professional cultural heritage imaging techniques
- Scanning archival documents
- Digitizing photographic slides and other historical materials
- Cataloging artwork and archival collections
- Building and maintaining the public online collections database
- Assisting with video production for Artist Spotlight interviews
- Creating and managing digital asset collections
- Supporting ongoing archive preservation projects
What is the “Stories from the Archive: Immigrant Creativity” project?
Participants learn the archival cataloging process by working with artwork created by immigrant artists represented in the Focus on the Masters archive.
After cataloging the collection, interns create original stories based on archival research that may be published as:
- Podcasts
- Blog articles
- Multimedia stories
- Other educational content