Internship at the contemporary art gallery in Milan

Gita Steponavičiutė

A lot of experiences taken in the last few years, yet the last internship I have recently completed was the most challenging one so far. Also, the only one that gave me the steady opportunity to enter profoundly into the world of art and to work with it.
The place that offered me an intern position was a contemporary art gallery in Milan. During my research I found this place as highly potential to test my knowledge and abilities that I was intensely working on during the last two years at the university completing my master’s degree. During my first days at the gallery I got an insight into previous exhibitions held there, artists of the gallery, the system of the archive and documentation, which I considered extremely educational. I was excited to gain practical knowledge about the structure and methods of carrying out exhibitions and other events concerning program of the gallery. In particularly, I was assisting the preparation of the exhibition Day to Night of famous American photographer Stephen Wilkes. The diversity of activities for the arrangement of the show was remarkable which undoubtedly gave me the overall view of the operating character of a contemporary art gallery, its methods and strategies. I was very keen on developing the skills in establishing an exhibition and those that regard various organizational aspects. The most engaging and provocative aspect that I found was the intricate and subtle patterns between gallery staff, artists and art collectors, which require tremendous responsibility.
I am thankful for having had this internship possibility, which brought the beginning of my professional career.