Curatorial Fashion and Design Research 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

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts Architecture Design (AD) collection connects people with pivotal works that influence contemporary culture. By bringing thought-provoking architecture and design into focus we reveal their powerful ability to inspire and often transform our individual and collective experience of the world. More than an object or a space that affects how we act and interact design is a process and way of thinking that prompts responses to challenging issues that impact the quality of our lives and our communities. Since its founding in 1935 the museum has organized exhibitions of design and in 1988 formed a department of architecture and design adding works of graphic design product design furniture and architecture to its permanent collection. The departments focus is to acquire and present modern and contemporary works that are innovative represent current ideas within the discipline and culture and critique the status quo.

Position Description

In close collaboration with the Assistant Curator of Architecture Design the Curatorial Fashion and Design Research Intern will familiarize themselves with the Museums Architecture Design collection upcoming projects and associated programs. This research-based position will be focused on the organization and tracking of exhibition related material including auxiliary images captions and bibliographies for an upcoming temporary exhibition on the intrinsic relationship between fashion and postwar and contemporary sculpture.

Project Plan

Over the 9-week program the Architecture & Design Intern will:

Conduct research on artists designers and objects on the exhibition checklist

Research auxiliary images for publication gallery texts and interpretative needs and generate associated captions

Research and compile annotated bibliographies as needed for publication and interpretive texts

Compile research folders bibliographic materials existing texts and frame research

Assist in writing in-gallery and online interpretive materials as appropriate

Participate in occasional exhibition planning meetings

Educational Objectives

Exposure to various aspects of organizing large-scale temporary exhibitions such as conducting research compiling checklists writing interpretive materials and collaborating with departments across the museum.

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

Recent or current graduate student in Design History Material Culture Studies Contemporary Art Cultural/Ethnic Studies Art History or related field with a demonstrable focus on Fashion History from 1945 to present preferred. The SFMOMA recognizes a graduation date within 6 months of the internship start date as a recent graduate.

Applicants with at least two years of undergraduate coursework in a related field and relevant experience will also be considered.

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