Author: Celeste Smith
Some of the very first advice I received when deciding to pursue a career working in museums was that I had to be willing to travel to chase down the perfect job opportunity. That’s how I found myself flying out just a week after my graduation to a city I’d never heard of before, in a state I’d never been to before, for my first professional museum internship. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota, the South Dakota Art Museum is a small but exceptional museum with a dedicated team, fantastic events, and a powerful collection focused on highlighting the artists of South Dakota. This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to work at the institution as a Collections Intern and apply the skills I learned while obtaining my undergraduate.
During the 12 weeks I spent working with the team at the South Dakota Art Museum, I was lucky enough to contribute to two major projects. The first was America in Art, the museum’s exhibition to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, featuring over 100 works of art across four gallery spaces. My first 4 weeks in Brookings were focused on helping bring this exhibition to life and gaining experience in a wide variety of museum work. From writing wall labels to mounting artworks to lighting galleries, I got to do a little bit of everything. Watching an exhibition come to life for the first time was a wondrous experience and made me excited for the rest of my career.
The rest of the summer was dedicated to updating catalog records for the Nelson Pottery Collection, a 258-piece collection of mostly Native American-made pottery produced in South Dakota. Before I could handle the objects, I did some general research on the collection and makers as well as created a unique condition report to use while analyzing the objects. With the prep work done, I moved on to processing the objects. Working shelf by shelf, I pulled down a few objects at a time to write condition reports until the shelf was empty, then photographed each piece from every angle before returning the works to their home location and repeating the process. It was tedious work, but it was so exciting to bring out works that hadn't been seen in years and discover my own favorite pieces. Many of my favorite works were produced by artists who worked for Sioux Pottery because they featured vibrant colors and the handiwork of generations of artists, every single one a unique work of art.
Before working at the South Dakota Art Museum, I had no knowledge about the world of pottery, much less any interest in it. Now, while I still wouldn’t call myself an expert, I can pick out stylistic features and understand the terminology associated with the medium. I’m even brainstorming a paper looking at the overlap between authentic and tourist art using the work of Olive Cottier, one of the three Irving sisters who learned how to make pottery through a Work Progress Administration program on the Pine Ridge Reservation. My time working as part of the South Dakota Art Museum team taught me how to stand on my own even while contributing to larger team, giving me the confidence to take on larger roles in the future. I’m especially grateful to my supervisor, Taylor McKeown, the museum’s Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, who believed in me endlessly and trusted me to handle such a special collection all on my own. Even though I’ve returned to Pittsburgh as part of the next step in my career journey, I’ll never forget my time in South Dakota and the foundation it laid.
Celeste Smith was a Summer Intern at the South Dakota Art Museum, supported by a Tomayko Foundation Summer Internship Grant.