Conservation Artist Material Collection Intern

San Francisco, CA - USA

Monthly Salary: Not Disclosed

Posted on: Yesterday

Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States and a thriving cultural center for the Bay Area. We cannot imagine life without art; it inspires and connects us every day. Now more than ever these connections matter and are aligned with ourvalues.

Inclusive: We strive to be a museum of many voices in dialogue.

Passionate: We believe working with art is more than a job or trusteeship - its a way of life.

Brave: We are committed to approaching our work with courage and a sense of adventure always ready to explore new perspectives.

Empathic: We aim to act like a person not an institution.

SFMOMA is a place for the infinitely curious to explore support and experience the art of our time. We believe that modern and contemporary art can influence the way we think view the world and embrace the many voices and perspectives around us. We aspire to foster an environment that elicits joy nurtures a sense of belonging and purposewhere difference is seen as a strength and every one is appreciated for their whole self.

Schedule: Full Time 35 hours/week Monday June 15 - Friday August 14 up to five days working onsite

Department Description

The Elise S. Haas Conservation Department of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a multi-disciplinary team. The department focuses on the preservation conservation research and display of modern and contemporary artworks and on the exploration and documentation of artists practices.

Position Description

The Internship will focus on developing the Artist Material Collection (AMC) which is managed by the Conservation Department. The project would include review and processing of gifts of artist materials relating to Marvin Lipofsky Steve Wolfe and Frederick Hammersley among materials directly relate to works made by these artists in the Permanent Collection. Working with a supervisor and Conservation staff the Intern will enter the materials into the Collection database photograph the items and implement storage housing for the items and move them into storage locations.

Additional potential projects include photographing and re-housing catalogued artist materials as well as digitizing color slides from past conservation treatment or research projects.

Project Plan

Over the 9- week program the Intern will:

Review and examine items slated for the AMC

Create digital records for the items and enter descriptive information into the Museum Collection Database

Participate in documentary photography of the items

Select and implement appropriate storage housing for the items

Move the housed items to storage locations and document the location in the database

Re-house catalogued AMC items

Photograph catalogued AMC items

Digitize color slides and save files in Digital Garden our digital assets management system

Educational Objectives

We hope that through this internship the AMC Intern will expand their understanding of what it means to be a part of a multidisciplinary conservation team at a large museum. The project will help the Intern experience the full process of ingesting items into a collection including initial review data entry photo documentation housing and storage.

Additional Internship Programming

The Summer 2026 Internship will offer 9-weeks of hands-on experience and mentorship along with weekly presentations and discussions with various departments in the museum off-site educational visits within the Bay Area community and access to various tours and events within the museum.

Requirements

Applicants must be currently enrolled in a graduate program (preferably Museum Studies) or a recent graduate.

The SFMOMA recognizes a graduation date within 6 months of the internship start date as a recent graduate.

If you are a current employee of the SFMOMA applying for an internship you must be a current student or a

recent graduate within 6 months of the internship start date.

Ability to safely handle delicate artworks

Aptitude to closely examine artworks and describe materials

Work independently on detail-oriented tasks such as database entry

Work collaboratively with staff to determine appropriate housing for items in the AMC

$7000 - $7000 one-time

Pre-tax stipend paid out in a one-lump sum after start date

*TAX WITHHOLDING: For certain non-US residents and non-CA residents any payments that constitute taxable income under U.S. tax law may be subject to up to 30% federal and 7% state tax withholding (or the current applicable rates) and so any payments you receive may be reduced accordingly. Please consult with your tax advisor regarding the tax treatment of your stipend from this internship.

Application Requirements

Intern application on SFMOMA job site

Resume in PDF format

Cover letter stating the specific internship of interest in PDF format

Describe the experience you bring why you are interested in museum or nonprofit work reasons for

applying to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and your goals for the internship.

Two letters of recommendation from either a college professor or current/former employer in PDF format

College/university transcript in PDF format

Transcripts can be unofficial but must be legible

If you are currently enrolled in a masters or PhD program please provide the transcript for your current

program not your undergraduate transcript

Application Deadline: February 6 2026

Please note: You only need two letters of recommendation total not separate letters for each internship. If you apply to multiple internships (up to three) simply inform your recommenders which positions youre applying for. Well review the same two letters across all your applications.

Location:San Francisco 151 3rd Street.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

SFMOMA is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity equity inclusion and accessibility. No person shall be discriminated against based on race color religion gender gender identity age genetic informationancestry/national origin marital status disability medical condition HIV status sexual orientation veteran/military status and any other category protected by federal of state law.

You may request reasonable accommodation if you are unable to or are limited in your ability to access job postings or provide additional information asked in the job posting.

You can request reasonable accommodation by contacting the People Team at emailprotected.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process such as reviewing applications analyzing resumes or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed please contact us.

Required Experience:

Intern