Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College has been awarded a $12,000 grant from the Getty Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the J. Paul Getty Trust, to support three paid, full-time, ten-week summer internships. Scripps student Simrat Dugal ’10 and Pomona students Rody Lopez ’09 and Patricia Yu ’09 are the 2008 Getty summer interns.
This selection marks the 16th consecutive year the Williamson Gallery has hosted three Getty Multicultural Undergraduate Summer Interns. The three internships are the maximum number granted to an organization. In addition, the gallery sponsors a fourth paid internship funded by Jane Hurley Wilson ’64 and Michael G. Wilson.
Over the course of the summer, the students will be introduced to many aspects of exhibition organization and installation, publications, art education, and conservation. Getty interns receive a $3,500 stipend and additional funds are awarded to the hosting organization to offset administrative expenses associated with the internships.
According to the Getty guidelines, these internships are “intended for members of groups underrepresented in the professions related to museums and the visual arts, particularly individuals of African American, Asian, Latino-Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander descent.” Williamson Gallery Director Mary MacNaughton calls the internships “one of the most successful diversity programs at The Claremont Colleges.”
The Williamson Gallery presents both historical and contemporary exhibitions. The 2008 summer interns will work on a variety of projects, including two exhibitions: “Performing the Book” and the “Scripps College 65th Ceramic Annual,” the longest-running exhibition of contemporary ceramics in the United States.
For the summer of 2008, the Getty’s Multicultural Undergraduate Internship program has awarded 126 grants to Los Angeles museum and visual arts organizations. Other participating organizations include the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Scripps is among a small group of institutions that received three internships, the highest number granted a single institution.
In addition, the Williamson Gallery offers the Wilson Internship, made possible by the generous support of Jane Hurley Wilson ’64 and Michael Wilson. The ten-week summer internship is an opportunity specifically for Scripps students interested in pursuing careers in museum or arts administration. Zoe Larkins ’09, an art history major, will be working alongside the Getty interns as the recipient of the 2008 Wilson internship.
The Getty and Wilson internships have helped many Scripps alumnae launch successful careers in the visual arts. Former Williamson Gallery interns have pursued graduate studies in art history and conservation at renowned institutions worldwide including Royal College of Art, London; Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London; Columbia University; New York University; and the University of Chicago.
Sanchita Balachandran ’93, Jennifer Brown ’00, and Val