When Kimberly Gaitonde (AB ’20) was pursuing her undergraduate degree in art history at the University of Georgia, she interned at the Georgia Museum of Art in the collections department for the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters. There, she worked closely with museum staff to care for and preserve art in the permanent collection. Now, her experience at the Georgia Museum of Art is being put to good use in her new positions as curatorial assistant and executive assistant for the Yellowstone Art Museum (YAM) in Billings, Montana.
Much of her role at the YAM closely aligns with the work she did during her time spent in Athens, but it is more intensive. She is involved with and assists with much of the work behind the scenes. As curatorial assistant, she helps the museum’s curator, registrar and preparator in tasks big and small. From planning and managing exhibitions and programming, communicating with artists and pursuing curatorial research to executing copy, design and installation of exhibitions or writing grant proposals, her role there is integral. As executive assistant, she does even more behind-the-scenes work – managing staff needs, maintaining programming and exhibition calendars, keeping records and taking minutes for meetings.
Following her internship at the Georgia Museum of Art, Gaitonde moved to Montana and began working as an intern for the YAM before obtaining her current position. Montana’s contemporary art museum boasts quite a collection of unique art. According to the YAM website, it first opened its doors to the public in 1964, at a time when established regional museums primarily emphasized the western genre and nostalgia, but the YAM founders took a different approach and chose to focus on “contemporary, avant-garde work originating in the northern Rockies region.”
Today, the YAM boasts a collection of approximately 3,500 works of art, along with thousands of sketches, photographs, correspondence and other archival materials. These works come from all historic periods, with an emphasis on artists working in Montana and the American Northwest who were part of the artistic vanguard of their time. They include historic and contemporary work that serves as the interpretive foundation for regional art-making practices and/or is influential for regional artists and audiences.
Exposure to art in high school and at the Georgia Museum of Art as an intern made a significant impact on Gaitonde. “My interests in museum work were a natural outcome of my time practicing, studying and researching art both in high school and at the University of Georgia,” she said. “In high school, I took my very first trip out of the United States with my AP Studio Art class, and I was exposed to so much beautiful art in museums throughout London, Paris, Florence and Rome. It was this trip that I believe sparked my excitement over museum work and eventually led me to take a Museum Studies class at UGA. This class was held at the Georgia Museum of Art and was my first exposure to how museums function behind the scenes. Then, it was a class trip to the campus’ Special Collections Library where I learned that the museum was looking for a student intern to work in its collections, and I immediately offered myself for the position.”
In her first semester as an intern, Gaitonde worked alongside registrar Amber Barnhardt to catalog, condition report and store art objects in the collection. The impact of that experience was the impetus for her career in museum work today. “Although I had an established love for the arts previous to my internship, it was the experience of working hands-on with art objects that really ignited my passion for museum work specifically,” she said. “There is something about handling the artworks – the precision and care that is required and the wonder I find in observing them – that makes me feel like I’m in the movies I used to watch. I still experience a sort of giddiness and excitement, like I am in ‘The DaVinci Code’ or ‘National Treasure,’ like a scientist or treasure hunter looking for clues!”
Gaitonde’s second semester as a Georgia Museum of Art intern challenged everything she thought she knew about museums. She said, “I had never thought about how art was stored or what factors go into storing artwork, such as temperature, humidity, light. I knew that museums had collections, but I didn’t know a thing about all that goes into maintaining them.”
The experience allowed her to learn about all of the intricacies involved in museums’ service as public institutions and bolstered her self-confidence, she added. “The [Georgia Museum of Art] allowed me to be a student and continue to learn while introducing me to new skills and encouraging me to hone them in,” she said.
She credits that experience with her newfound position at the YAM and success in her career so far.
“After I graduated in 2020, I immediately sought out museums in Montana where I could continue to work. Luckily, I have found a place at the YAM, and continue to work with an amazing and knowledgeable staff who challenge, teach and encourage me,” she said. “I began at the YAM with the confidence I had found through the Georgia Museum of Art and a deeper understanding of how the skills I learned could help me to serve the Billings community.”
The Georgia Museum of Art’s intern program began in 1990 and has fostered hundreds of UGA students’ interest and passion for museums and art. This semester, we have the most interns we’ve ever had and we are continually impressed and proud to see our former interns working at museums across the country and around the world. Some of our interns have even returned to the Georgia Museum of Art for full-time jobs.
For Gaitonde, the experience made all the difference in her path after college. “I would encourage all students who are interested in art to check out the Georgia Museum of Art,” she said. “You never know where your passions may lie.”
Want to learn more about our internships? Visit: https://georgiamuseum.org/learn/internships-at-the-georgia-museum-of-art/. Read more about Gaitonde’s new curatorial role at the YAM in TRIPTYCH, its member magazine. Visit the YAM’s website and plan a visit if you’re in the area in the future. One point of interest? The YAM has a Visible Vault where visitors can see where and how the museum stores its permanent collection and can view whatever behind-the-scenes work is going on at the moment.
Authored by:
Kristen Locke
