The Block Museum is proud to continue its paid internship program by welcoming two undergraduate Interns for the FY22-23 year Elizabeth Vazquez and Vitoria Monteiro de Carvalho Faria. 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. Vitoria sat down with us to share how her Northwestern Direction has brought her to The Block.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your field of study?

I’m a fourth-year undergraduate student at Northwestern coming from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I double major in Art History and Economics with a particular interest in art collecting histories ranging from Early Modern to Contemporary art. 

2. Can you tell us about some of your previous experiences or affiliations at Northwestern?

Since my first year at Northwestern, I have been involved with The Block Museum in different ways. In Spring of 2020, I was lucky to be a part of the Collecting and Critique class with Professor Hannah Feldman, Essi Rönkkö and Kate Hadley Toftness, where in addition to learning about current museum collecting and curating practices, the class collectively chose a work that was acquired by The Block and was displayed at the Who Says, Who Shows, What Counts exhibition. In addition, during the 2021-2022 academic year, I was honored to be a part of the Block Student Associates program, where my gallery teaching and public engagement skills in relation to the current exhibitions increased tremendously. 

3. What interests you about this internship opportunity? Does this advance any personal goals you have?

The Curatorial Internship at The Block Museum provides the opportunity to conduct object-based research and collection research more generally in a unique way given the access to the works on-site. As an aspiring art historian passionate about different periods, media, and regions, the Block’s collection is an amazing resource to learn hands-on about curatorial practices and acquire important skills for my future career such as art handling and museum cataloging. 

4. What will you be focusing on while you are here?

During the course of the internship, I will be working closely with Corinne Granof on projects supporting future exhibitions as well as permanent collection research, such as The Block’s collection of photographs by Edward Steichen (1879-1973).

 5. What museum exhibitions or programs (outside the Block) have inspired you lately?

Earlier this year the Frick Collection in New York held an installation of works by the contemporary artist Giuseppe Penone (b.1947) called Propagazioni: Giuseppe Penone at Sèvres. The installation occupied an entire room at The Frick, next to a few of its acclaimed Old Master galleries. The dialogue between contemporary artists and works by Old Masters in a museum setting truly inspires me as I think about alternative and more diverse narratives of the Renaissance and Early Modern period.