Spencer Museum of Art

Lawrence, Kansas | August 2021 - July 2022 | Communications Assistant

Communications at the Spencer

The communications team at the Spencer is small but mighty. Working within this team and with other departments across the Museum gave me a more complete picture of museum work and how all the pieces come together to create a valuable institution. This position was a graduate internship and where I worked for my final year of graduate school. It was a great experience to balance academic work with hands-on museum experience. Working during the pandemic meant balancing occasionally working at home and alternating schedules, as well as taught flexibility, and strengthened my ability to work independently. Additionally, my final few months in this position were spent covering additional duties while the Assistant to the Director was on parental leave.

Social Media

As the communications assistant, I managed the Museum's social media calendar. This involved looking ahead and planning posts for upcoming events, holidays, and exhibitions, and drafting the posts for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In generating social media posts, I was able to connect with other departments and staff to best share and highlight our collection. I planned, organized, and drafted content for social events such as Ask A Curator, 5 Women Artists, Museum Week, and national months such as Black History Month and Native American Heritage Month, as well as university-wide fundraising days.

Exhibition Labels

I was fortunate to join the Museum at a really exciting time for them. They were completing Phase I of a huge renovation and planning a reinstall of the galleries. This was an opportunity for new exhibition labels to be written and an examination of how we connect with our communities and share our knowledge. During my time at the Museum, I was able to edit all the labels for the reinstall. This was a huge project, providing massive insight into the thought process of the Museum and sparking conversations across departments to better serve our audience. Through this work, I was able to consider the value and experience of a variety of label types such as QR codes, large print, narrative labels, and labels focused on sparking conversation and questions. Details were debated including investigations of artist-given titles versus museum-given titles, what should active lines include, and how detailed locations should be. These conversations were informative and helped me gain a better understanding of the goals of the museum.

E/News

The Museum had a bi-weekly emailed newsletter called the E/News. I was given the contents and priority order and drafted the E/News twice a month. To get this done, photos were chosen and selected, event details were edited, and content was written. Every E/News featured an Art Restart at the end which showcased a piece from the collection, insight into the work, and a moment of mindful reflection. Writing the Art Restart was a great task to pick up when I needed a break. Searching for thoughtful connection and mindfulness in the collection was calming and supportive. Before concluding my internship, I created a collection of Art Restarts, both fully written ones and selected images, for the new intern to use in the newsletter as well as to instruct and guide the creation of future Art Restarts.

View Newsletter

Twice a year the Spencer produces their printed newsletter View, for distribution to its members, staff, and visitors. A frequent first-place winner of the American Alliance of Museums Museum Publications Design Competition in the Newsletters and Calendar of Events category, contributing to this beautifully designed newsletter was an ongoing task in this position. I acted as a proofreader for all content, a writer for several entries, verified information, selected photos, and participated in design meetings.

I contributed to View in Fall of 2021 and Spring of 2022.

Click to Read Spencer Newsletter