[Miami Beach, FL]—March 3, 2023—The Bass Museum of Art announced today that it has been chosen as one of 10 art museums to participate in the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) annual paid internship program. For the program, which focuses on college students from underrepresented backgrounds, The Bass will host an intern for 12 weeks and provide opportunities for work and career development in different museum departments. In addition, the museum’s intern will be supported by a mentor from the leadership team.

AAMD’s paid internships are available to undergraduate students in their sophomore, junior, or senior years, and are designed to provide opportunity for students who have begun to solidify their academic interests and potential career path. In 2023, interns will receive a stipend of $6,720 over 12 weeks, equivalent to an hourly wage of $16 for a 35 hour work week. Each intern is also paired with a mentor—a member of the museum’s senior leadership team—who is responsible for directing their activities and providing overall counsel on their professional development. Because mentors can be so crucial to the development of a person’s career, this approach encourages the kind of long-term relationship-building that is often essential to an individual’s success in the field. During the term of their internship, mentors ensure that there are opportunities for conversation, feedback, direction, and questions.

The internship program will focus on development, fundraising and membership retention. The application process will formally open later this spring, with more information including how to apply coming soon.

“We are excited to welcome the class of 2023 internship hosts and grateful to The Bass for embracing this program as a way to support students,” said Christine Anagnos, AAMD’s Executive Director. “Persistent financial limitations remain a barrier to accessing career-building summer work experiences, especially for students from Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, or multiracial backgrounds. Our paid internship program, which covers much of the costs the museums would otherwise need to bear on their own, is a benefit we can offer to our members while also investing in the future of the museum field. The Bass was among those institutions selected because they proposed a compelling proposal that we are sure will be of interest to local college students.”

About AAMD’s Paid Internship Program
The museums participating in AAMD’s paid internship program this year includes the second Canadian institution in the program, along with three museums—the Mississippi Museum of Art, San Jose Museum of Art, and Speed Art Museum—that have hosted an intern previously. An 11th museum, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, will also host an intern this year after deferring from 2022. The 10 participating museums for 2023 are:
Hillwood Estate, Museum & Garden
Mississippi Museum of Art
Rollins Museum of Art
Royal Ontario Museum
San Jose Museum of Art
Speed Art Museum
Spencer Museum of Art
The Bass
The Newark Museum of Art
Weisman Art Museum

Financial and logistical support for this program is provided by AAMD and by the participating member museums. This is only one of a number of steps AAMD has taken to increase equity and diversity in the field, where research has consistently shown that fewer than 20% of leadership positions are held by people of color. In 2019, the Association issued a resolution calling on museums to offer a stipend with all internships, recognizing that the limited financial resources often available to students from diverse backgrounds also becomes a limitation on access to career development opportunities. Recognizing that it is also difficult to address problems that are not properly evaluated, AAMD has also been an active partner with the Mellon Foundation, Ithaka S+R, and other organizations on a series of research projects exploring elements of museum staff, leadership, and trustee diversity and participation. This includes, most recently, the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey 2022.

About The Bass
The Bass is Miami Beach’s contemporary art museum. Its mission is to create connections between international contemporary art and its diverse audiences. The museum shares the power of contemporary art through experiences that excite, challenge and educate. Recognized for organizing major exhibitions and commissioned art projects by mid-career and established contemporary artists, it’s exhibition and education programs encompass a wide range of media and artistic points of view, that bring fresh perspectives to the diverse cultural context of Miami Beach, as well as to international audiences.

Founded in 1964 by the City of Miami Beach, the museum was established after the donation of a private collection of Johanna Bass and opened in what was formerly the Miami Beach Public Library and Art Center, a 1930s Art Deco building designed by Russell Pancoast. It is currently housed in this historic building, which later added an Arata Isozaki/David Gauld expansion. The exhibition program encompasses a wide range of media and artistic points of view, bringing fresh perspectives to the diverse cultural context of Miami Beach. The Bass is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. For more information, please visit www.thebass.org, or follow The Bass on social media at www.facebook.com/TheBassMoA or Twitter and Instagram via @TheBassMoA.

About AAMD
The Association of Art Museum Directors advances the profession by cultivating leadership capabilities of directors, advocating for the field, and fostering excellence in art museums. An agile, issues-driven organization, AAMD has three desired outcomes: engagement, leadership, and shared learning. Further information about AAMD’s professional practice guidelines and position papers is available at www.aamd.org.