Archives and Art Resources Intellectual Property, Rights Intern

San Francisco, CA - USA

Monthly Salary: Not Disclosed

Posted on: 3 days ago

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 at least three days working onsite

Department Description

Archives and Art Resources (AAR) upholds SFMOMAs promise to provide generous access to and inspiring experiences with modern and contemporary art by working cross-departmentally to develop and steward the museums digital records related to art and artists. AAR manages SFMOMAs collections and digital asset management systems; photographs artworks exhibitions and activities; institutional archives; and manages rights around making and using digital content about art and artists all towards maximizing art access for the museums audiences and staff.

Position Description

The Intellectual Property Rights Intern will focus on assessing works by artist Henri Matisse in the museums collection for public domain status. The intern will be jointly mentored by staff in both the Archives and Art Resources and Legal teams. Specifically the intern will be responsible for researching writing and tracking information related to public domain assessment for a selection of works.

Research is a collaborative endeavor amongst and across multiple teams in the museum and happens in conversation or involvement with artists rights holders or their representatives. The intern will work throughout the project with staff in Archives and Art Resources Legal and will be in dialogue with colleagues across the museum.

Project Plan

Over the 9-week program the AAR Intern will:

Research and familiarize themselves with SFMOMAs collection

Select approximately five (5) artworks to focus public domain research

Bonus priorities:

Provide feedback on how we can improve our processes related to assessing works in the collection for public

domain status.

The Project Milestones for the intern are:

Locate publications for artworks by week 7

Research written summary for five (5) artworks and their rights status to be provided by week 9

Educational Objectives

The intern will gain practical experience with:

Gaining knowledge about rules and legal doctrines governing copyright and public domain in the U.S.

Research and writing skills needed to evaluate copyright assessment

Working across departments at a large museum.

Museum collections management digital asset management and rights administration.

Seeking and documenting rights-related information about art.

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 school 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.

$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 28 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