Stephen Paré Awarded The Minnette and Jerome Robinson Scholarship

Stephen Paré Awarded The Minnette and Jerome Robinson Scholarship

The Blaffer Art Museum congratulates Stephen Paré, who is pursuing his MFA in Photography and Digital Arts, as the Robinson Scholarship winner. The scholarships have been awarded annually since 2005 in support of University of Houston students who also serve as exceptional docents at Blaffer.

Paré, who concentrates his studies in Photography/Digital Media,

http://www.art.uh.edu/grad/gradProg.htm, has served as a docent since the fall 2010 semester.

Paré says he enjoys the opportunity to meet artists who exhibit at the museum and participating in the subsequent docent discussions. Paré describes the role of a museum guide as “a communicator who enlightens a wide range of visitors about current exhibitions.” He tailors his tours to a variety of audiences, engaging them in conversation through inquiry-based discussion strategies. Paré is avid advocate for continuing education and feels that he learns from his encounters with guests at the Blaffer.

The Scholarship has been awarded since 2005 and Stephen Paré joins past awardees Lindsey Slavin, Julia Wallace, Tine McPherson, David Damico, Danilo Bojic, Gina DeLeon.

The Minnette and Jerome Robinson Scholarship, 2011

One scholarship will be awarded each year to UH students who are docents. Applications are accepted until December 30. Applicants must have served as a Blaffer docent for at least one semester and plan to continue work as a Blaffer docent for at least one semester.

Applications must include: a cover letter describing how the docent experience is meaningful to the student and stating their intention of continuing their work for the next semester; a transcript of past coursework at UH; a copy of the student’s academic schedule for the next semester. Please send completed applications to: Robinson Scholarship Committee c/o Katherine Veneman, Curator of Education, Blaffer Art Museum, 120 Fine Arts Building, Houston, TX 77204-4018. Tel: 713.743.9526; kveneman@uh.edu.

Guidelines:

• Scholarship applicant must serve as a docent at Blaffer Art Museum.
• Scholarship applicant must be a certified full-time undergraduate or graduate certificate or degree-seeking students in good standing at the University of Houston.
• Scholarship recipient must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better.
• Scholarship recipient may accept other scholarships and grants in conjunction with the Minnette and Jerome Robinson Scholarship.
• Scholarship funds can be used to cover expenses for tuition, book, fees, and/or supplies for the coming academic semester. Any expenses incurred by the recipient in excess of the amount deposited must be borne by the student.

Applicants will be notified by February 1, 2011

Summer Internship Resources

It's never too early to start thinking about expanding your experience in the art world! Even though summer is months away, these websites can help open up doors to new opportunities for internships in museums. Good luck!

• National Park Service Cultural Resources Diversity Internship
  http://www.nps.gov/history/crdi/internships/intrnCRDIP.htm

• Smithsonian Institution

http://www.si.edu/ohr/Smithsonian Institution Career Center. Job listings at all the Smithsonian facilities. These jobs also appear on USAJobs, but this site is worth monitoring.

http://museumstudies.si.edu Smithsonian Center for Museum Studies. Resources, training classes and fellowships in museum studies.

• American Association for State and Local History

http://www.aaslh.org/jobsonline.htm Lists jobs and internships nationally and allows you to search by job type. These advertisements from the newsletter of the American Association for State and Local History change on a monthly basis.

• National Council for Public History

http://ncph.org/ The National Council for Public History lists jobs and internships nationally. Click on either “Employment” or “Awards, Grants, and Fellowships.”

• The Museum Employment Resource

http://www.museum-employment.com/The Museum Employment Resource Center lists jobs and internships nationally and allows you to search by job type and field. You can also post your resume.

• The Society for History in the Federal Government

http://www.shfg.org/ The Society for History in the Federal Government occasionally posts federal historical jobs and fellowships.

• American Cultural Resources Association

http://acra-crm.org/ American Cultural Resources Association lists jobs for archaeologists.

• The National Center for Preservation Training

http://www.ncptt.nps.gov/pttinfo_about_fs.stmThe National Center for Preservation Training and Technology lists jobs and internships nationally. Click on “Job Openings” and specify your search terms, or leave all the search fields blank to see all listings.

• The American Association of Museums

http://www.aam-us.org The American Association of Museums offers advice on working in the museum field and on how to find jobs and internships at museums. The “How to Find Jobs and Internships” link leads you to the searchable job and internship ads in the AAM’s publication AVISO, also at http://www.aam-us.org/aviso/index.cfm.

• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

http://www.ushmm.org/museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum lists jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities. The Museum offers a regular internship program in a number of fields.

• National Park Service

http://www.cr.nps.gov/crdi/publications/pubs.htm Historians who work for the NPS are in the Department of Cultural Resources. NPS jobs are advertised on USAJobs and internships are offered through individual parks. However, the NPS publishes CRM: Journal of Cultural Resource Management online and it is a very useful source for what's going on in this growing field. This link lists a variety NPS publications.

http://www.sep.nps.gov/ The Temporary Employment program at the National Park Service lists part-time, temporary, and seasonal jobs available nationwide at National Parks. Click on “Apply Now” then “Just Browsing” to view current postings. You can also apply and submit your résumé online

• International Council of Museums

http://icom.museumThis site covers all the current conversations, publications, and jobs related to international cultural resources including museums.

• International Council on Monuments and Sites

http://www.icomos.org An NGO that works for the preservation of international heritage sites.

• Society of American Archivists

http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/index.asp Guide to programs in archival management and description of degree requirements for archivists.

• Other

http://internjobs.com/do/where/jobtree/US Lists internships nationally and allows you to search by state. If the position announcement does not list a deadline, check the posting date to make sure it is current.

http://www.summerjobs.com/ Lists seasonal/temporary positions nationally and allows you to search by state.

Intern Alumni Updates

Trinh Nguyen, progressing in her studies, writes, “I am on my second semester of senior painting block and interviewing for medical school.”

Yes, technically our current BSA president, Ryan Maria Hernandez, is a Blaffer alum, having undertaken three semesters of her Blaffer internship in ’09-’10.She reports that “The BSA was very successful in the presenting this fall's Red Block Bash. We had record attendance and participation from the fine arts school, the Mitchell Center, and Moores School of Music. The BSA is planning many activities this fall such as artist talks, field trips, and museum tours. My goal for the BSA is to create relationships with other student organizations so that we may all collaborate for more arts programming for students at the University of Houston. Our members come from many backgrounds and different departments across campus, and I’d like to continue introducing the many forms of art on our campus and in our community. Our organization is gaining members daily and we look forward to exploring the arts through Blaffer and the UH community.”

Intern Alumni Updates - '10

Writing to us from Prague in the Czech Republic, Joe Gracely, Summer '10, reports “I am loving Prague so much! I'm super busy with classes and projects but luckily I've still had lots of time to travel and see other parts of Europe. Berlin and London were two of my favorites, and Amsterdam looked like a giant, real-life postcard. I'm taking a Czech Art and Architecture class here, which has meant I spend a lot of my time up and around Prague Castle--breathtaking. And I'm also getting to write stories for my international reporting class--interviewing Czech locals and writing about local issues for a world audience. It's all a lot of work, but well worth the time.

Keeping us posted from chilly New England, where she’s at Boston University, Jennifer Wang, Summer '10 reports, “I'm currently preparing for several midterms this coming week and my art history (AH393 Contemporary Art:1980 - Now) midterm is this thursday. In the last lecture, Felix Gonzales-Torres was the main artist discussed in class and we talked about how his work was a reflection of his experience with AIDS and the gay culture. On the exact same day of this lecture, I received the BlafferBlast on the special membership event, what a coincidence! Not only is Gonzales-Torres taught in my class, my professor will be giving a lecture on "Art and Architecture" next week which includes Tomas Saraceno. I'm thoroughly excited about the upcoming lecture and I'm also planning on speaking with my professor about the internship I had at Blaffer Art Museum. I'm thrilled to share about my internship experience and the exhibition he had at the art museum.”

Intern Alumni Updates - '08, '09

Suzanne Richards ’08 keeps in touch by visiting Blaffer while in town from New Orleans. She reports, “After leaving the Blaffer and Houston in January, 2009, I moved from Houma, LA. I have since moved to New Orleans, in January 2010, just in time for the Superbowl. Currently, I am on the board of directors as the development chair for the New Orleans Photo Alliance. Essentially, I develop the membership database and design its collateral, write grants and seek corporate funding. We are very excited to celebrate the 5th anniversary of PhotoNOLA (which was modeled after Houston's FotoFest) in December. A few weeks ago, I was very honored to introduce Joyce Tenneson, an iconic fine arts photographer, at her lecture, based on a retrospective of her work as part of NOPA's programming.”

Jeremy Williams, ’09, a Blaffer alum who has graduated with a degree in sociology and a minor in Art History writes “Since graduation I've started my own inner loop dog walking service. I have a few steady clients and am very excited to be putting all of my promotional material together. It's great to wake up everyday and spend my day driving around the innerloop, playing with pups, and being outside. I hope to save up enough money to go to graduate school in a year or two. I'm still thinking about architecture.” He also adds, “My experience with the Blaffer internship program helped me gain a lot of self-confidence while learning skills that I've been able to apply in developing my own business.”

Intern Alumni Updates - '07

The former intern Laura Lee McGrath, ’07, is a busy bee, writing that “Earlier this year, I was hired to play bass for international act, Yppah, and I went on a West Coast tour earlier this year. Upon return, I split my focuses between creating art/music and starting my own business. I've started a couple of music projects, and am working on a series of 40 portraits on people involved in the Bread of Life, a homelessness organization I was volunteering for. I also have two blogs: an art blog with my artist friend Erin, "www.meow-houston.com", and a food blog, "www.delicious-lee.com". In terms of work, started a Graphic/Web Design business for myself, and I'm loving it. I also privately tutor in the evenings (which is why I can't make the show tonight), and it gives me the opportunity to continue working in education and also keep up on various subjects! I plan on applying to graduate schools at the end of next year.”

Jackee D.K. Hintz , ’07, writes, “I'm currently the Development Manager at The Health Museum. I work managing annual giving, the museums' young professionals group, membership in general and special events.