Sylvia Blaser (BFA ’27) shared the following about her artist assistant role this past summer. Sylvia is also an SMFA career fellow who advises students at SMFA career labs.
How did you find this internship?
About two years ago I went to a networking event at Northeastern University within a community of Hungarian artists and scientists in Boston to see an artist’s showing that sounded interesting. There, I met the organizer of the event, a physicist researcher and data scientist, and we had a conversation in which he mentioned that he was looking for an assistant who had a knowledge of art and painting techniques to help him make a switch from pure science to artistic data visualization in the form of paintings. I talked about my painting background and offered my help, and he asked me to send my resume. He offered me the job soon after and after working with him one-on-one for over a year in his Boston studio, he offered for me to accompany him and his team to his studio in Budapest, Hungary to intern full-time for the summer, where I worked with a team of artists on creating paintings for a large-scale gallery exhibition.
What did you do as an intern at this organization?
I oversaw the preparation of an international art exhibition in Budapest, working as part of a team on large-scale painted artworks, as well as hosting gallery walkthroughs for museum curators and potential buyers. In my day-to-day work, I was painting, prepping canvases, and cataloging artworks as they were finished, for 7-9 hours a day.
What did you enjoy most about your internship?
Traveling abroad to work on art, and especially to a place I have family and am familiar with, was an amazing experience. I got to meet so many working artists all creating amazing art, as well as be in a work environment that was exciting and dynamic! I got to lead my own parts of the project and learn more about the labor and effort that goes into being a working artist. Since I got to work in a location I love and felt at home at, it ended up easing a lot of my worries about the responsibility and the challenges of the work itself.
What did you find challenging?
Being an art student working your first internship among established working artists, it can be really challenging to overcome the feeling of “imposter syndrome”. I had to remind myself that I was invited to work on this job along with my coworkers, and that I would bring my own perspective to the team. Luckily everyone I worked with was incredibly supportive and welcoming and made my integration into the team easy.
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to make the most of an internship like yours?
Cultivate relationships with the people you meet during your internship. Networking is a huge part of a career in the arts, and the connections you make will take you far. One random connection can be the one that spurs your entire creative future. Take the initiative to stay in contact with the artists you meet and keep up to date on their shows to be active in the art community. You’ve taken the hardest step by breaking into the art world, every person you meet and event you attend after that expands your network exponentially!
