Intro to the Intern

My name is Katherine Hellberg, and I’ve been interning at Dubuque Museum of Art since January of this year. My journey to arriving at DuMA isn’t all that different from how I would expect a lot of art enthusiasts end up in the museum world. When I was little, I thought I’d grow up to be an artist for sure. Art was an important mode of relaying the thoughts I found so difficult to express out into the world. As I got older, I realistically didn’t see myself becoming a working artist, but I still wanted art in my life. So, if I wasn’t going to make art, I wanted to work with art. I went on to study Art History at Illinois State University and had my first taste in curating student shows. Currently, I’m finishing up my MA in Museum Studies at Western Illinois University – Quad Cities. My primary career aspiration is to be an art curator whose practice is always conscious of inclusivity, is transparent and truthful, and possesses the upmost integrity. I would also like to be involved with or create an LGBT youth arts program at some point in my career. Working in art museums allows me the opportunity to expose the world to individuals whose talents, stories, and messages are so incredibly extraordinary, and I find that to be a privilege.

As a Museum Studies graduate student, internships, or any mode of hands-on work, are really essential for gathering the experience I need for developing myself as a young museum professional. It’s also a great way to dip my toes into different areas of the field and discover what work I really connect with. I’m interested in working at a smaller or medium sized art museum, so being an intern at DuMA has allowed me the opportunity to wear lots of hats, which is often necessary at smaller institutions.

By Katherine Hellberg, Intern at Dubuque Museum of Art