The Block Museum is proud to continue its paid internship program by welcoming Madie Giaconia for the FY21-22 year. As part of the Block Museum of Art internship program, our students are conducting directed research on works of art in the permanent collection, assisting with curatorial research, and working with our collection database. All Block interns take part in a Museum Seminar series in which they meet regularly with museum staff members for discussion and a behind-the-scenes look at museum careers.

Hello! My name is Madie Giaconia (she/her/hers), and I’m a sophomore from New Hartford, CT. I’m double majoring in Radio/Television/Film and Art History, and I’m particularly interested in the period of history when camera-produced media (i.e. photography and film) rose to prevalence and intersected with classical visual art styles like painting. When I’m not writing screenplays or working on student film sets, I love drawing, painting, and ceramics—you’ll often see me walking around campus in a pair of painted jeans or clay earrings. 

Growing up, my dad—an 18th-century woodworking hobbyist—always brought me to historical sites and museums like the Met and the MFA. Combined with my lifelong love of creating visual art, I suppose it was only natural that I became interested in art history and museum work. I applied to the Block internship in order to learn more about the various types of museum jobs, as well as art historical research. 

In my time at the Block this year, I will be researching the museum’s huge collection of stunning photographs by W. Eugene Smith, a photographer for Life Magazine in the 1950’s. I am also assisting the Exhibitions and Collections department with inventorying the Block’s artworks, which has allowed me to get an up-close look at the many pieces not on display (a few weeks ago, I was awestruck upon realizing I was handling a Kandinsky sketch).

I am so excited to see what the next few months have in store for me at the Block!