Internship Positions at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University for 2011-2012

CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES AT DUKE UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES INTERNSHIPS FOR 2011-2012

The Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University is accepting applications for nine-month internship positions that will begin in September 2011 and end in May 2012. The interns will gain broad experience in the documentary field, with particular focus on exhibiting, digital arts and publishing, web design, and producing a range of materials related to the documentary arts. Three positions are available. (See more detailed descriptions below.) The interns will be based at CDS in Durham, North Carolina, for the 2011-12 academic year.

To qualify, applicants should be recent college graduates (no more than three years out of school) who demonstrate excellent communications abilities, pay careful attention to details, balance initiative and drive with congeniality and team play, show creative talent, and exhibit achievement in some aspect of the documentary arts. CDS internships require a commitment of 30 hours per week, and interns receive a monthly stipend of $1,000.

Interns will be expected to participate as staff colleagues in all CDS activities.

The Center for Documentary Studies offers an interdisciplinary program in the documentary arts—photography, audio, film/video, narrative writing, and other means of creative expression—that emphasizes active engagement in the world beyond the university campus. Much more than a traditional educational center, CDS encourages experiential learning in diverse environments outside the classroom, with an emphasis on the role of individual artistic expression in advancing broader societal goals. Programs range widely to include university undergraduate courses, popular summer institutes that attract students from across the country, international awards competitions, award-winning book publishing and radio programming, exhibitions of new and established artists in our own galleries, and fieldwork projects in the U.S. and abroad.

READ MORE: http://documentarystudies.duke.edu

To apply to be part of the 2011-12 internship program, send a cover letter, resume, relevant writing sample (no more than 3 pages; excerpts accepted), one letter of recommendation, and a personal statement of goals and intent for the internship to Lauren Hart at lh90@duke.edu. Please send all materials as electronic files with “Internship Applicant (Applicant’s Name) – (Exhibitions, Publishing, or Web Design)” in the e-mail subject line. Ideally, the recommendation letter should be sent as a PDF directly from the person who is recommending the applicant, with the same information in the e-mail subject line.

DEADLINE: June 1, 2011.

EXHIBITIONS

The exhibitions intern is involved in exhibitions management, planning, program development, and outreach; and is responsible for coordinating the Traveling Exhibitions program at CDS, which extends broadly to take the documentary arts to audiences across the country. A successful candidate will have experience in any or all of the following: photography and audio production, exhibits management; a keen understanding of documentary work; excellent skills as a communicator and team player; very strong organizational skills; and enthusiasm about working with community, school, and university groups, reaching populations of all ages and backgrounds.

The exhibitions intern, supervised by the Exhibitions Director, assists with in-house exhibition fabrication, installation, maintenance, and take-down; organization and inventory of preparatory materials and exhibits in storage; transfer of materials to special collections archive; public programming for exhibitions; outreach to Duke University, local community, and school groups, including exhibition and other public events awareness; and processing submissions and handling return correspondence.

Coordinating the traveling exhibitions program, under the umbrella of the Exhibitions Program, includes overseeing transition of select exhibits into traveling exhibitions; ordering crates; generating contracts/condition reports; fabricating text panels; organizing shipping; managing existing traveling exhibitions scheduling and paperwork and facilitating related programming; overseeing physical maintenance of exhibitions in storage and on the road; managing communications with existing and potential venues; and marketing traveling exhibits while also marketing CDS as a whole through web, direct mail, and phone communications.

DIGITAL ARTS AND PUBLISHING

The Center for Documentary Studies publishes a quarterly newsletter, Document; a First Book Prize in Photography series, with Duke University Press; a series of books on the documentary arts, with the University of North Carolina Press; and photography books by individual artists. In addition, CDS publishes an active, in-depth website that presents rich multimedia content and requires extensive editorial and production support.

The publishing internship—designed for individuals interested in documentary work in all mediums and a career in communications and/or publishing—provides excellent experience in how books are produced and promoted and offers insight into all manner of print media (magazines, postcards, brochures, advertisements) and web presentations. The work covers all stages of the book editorial and production process, including internet and library research, proofreading, handling and scanning of art, generating publicity and marketing materials, coordinating advertising, and assisting with online publicity campaigns.

This intern also works closely with the Communications staff to expand and advance the use of the CDS Porch blog, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, iTunes U, e-mail newsletters, and other web-based publicity and marketing options to increase awareness of CDS projects, exhibitions, and events. The intern will create video, photo, and audio productions that document ongoing programs and events and will publish these across the CDS digital platforms.

We are looking for a responsible, organized, and detail-oriented person with good writing, proofreading, and communications skills.

WEB DESIGN

This intern works with the Web Content Manager and Communications staff on a variety of web projects, including the creation and project management of sites for new CDS publishing and editorial endeavors, streamlining the ongoing maintenance of existing web resources, and strategizing and creating new web content as directed.

Desired expertise includes:

· Experience in Adobe Creative Suite applications, HTML, CSS, CMS publishing systems, Final Cut Pro, and compression of audio and video content;

· Experience in customizing WordPress themes, including Graph Paper Press;

· Strong project management skills; and

· Skills in audio, photo, and video production.