Mackenzie Robinson
Intern

It was a fateful day of the fall semester when I received an email saying DOMA’s internship application deadlines had been extended for one week. Being the stressed college student that I am, I had somehow missed the original email about the internship among my sea of other emails I get daily. So, choosing insanity, I spent the next week collecting reference letters from teachers who are far too patient with me for their own good, writing and re-writing my resume, and over-thinking application questions until the words were burned into my brain. When I got that email confirming that I had indeed gotten the internship in DOMA’s collections department, I was beyond thrilled.

John Jessiman, Stack #6 2015, ceramic, Donated by the artist in memory of Alice Nichols and Marvin Rechle, 2016.001.000.  A piece I have worked with and catalogued the last few weeks, now on display on the 3rd floor for a limited time

As an intern in the collection department of our campus’ prestigious art museum, I work with Rebecca Vaughn, our registrar, and learn how things run behind the scenes. All those beautiful art works and historical masterpieces hanging up on our walls or resting on pedestals must be studied, purchased, processed, and preserved before they go out on display. As an intern here at DOMA, I am directly involved in this process. Each time I come in I have the privilege of studying recently purchased or loaned artworks and cataloging them into our database. My first few weeks here I was trained on how to handle art and how each piece needs to be carefully tended to in its own unique way. I help unpack new acquisitions and find homes for them among our mass of storage space until they are ready to be displayed. Museums are much more intricate that I originally thought. The art on display in our various galleries is only a small portion of what needs to be taken care of and juggled to keep our museum growing and improving.

I am an art major here at Ball State, and I have always been interested in art history and famous artists. However, coming to DOMA has taught me more than I ever imagined about the intricacies of art history. Each time I come in I get to examine art made by incredible craftsmen and gain new knowledge on how I can improve my own art. I learn about religions and cultures that I have never heard of before. Best of all, I get to work with other lovers of the arts and constantly be surrounded with what I am most passionate about. Interning here at the David Owsley Museum of Art has been a dream come true, and I am so glad that this internship program can continue so more people can learn about art in such a unique and exciting way.