Working as an Intern
for
Vroom & Varossieau
A couple of months before starting my internship at Vroom and Varossieau (V &V), I was at the gallery for the first time, attending the opening of an exhibition. After seeing a certain excitement that was filling up the room, I wondered whether a communication science student could still be able to help out in such a creative and established environment. A few days after the event, I went back to ask if they would offer internships. As it turned out, I started to work for them as an intern a couple of weeks after, as a communication expert. What to expect from such a position was absolutely new and definitely scary.
V &V is an art gallery located next to museum plain in Amsterdam. It has a certain focus on street, urban and contemporary art. As an art gallery it bring a forward thinking and is a point of reference when it comes to creating projects and bringing artists from all over the world.
When I first started working, as a communication science student, I was told to be working on the website and social media pages of the gallery. This meant that I had to updated the website, and upload pictures on its Instagram page. Gradually, I started making catalogues or PDF files (as we call them) for new art works, and new artist profiles. Because I was working from the gallery space, and my shifts included Saturdays (by myself), I was inclined to handle clients and potential customers too. This enabled me to communicate directly and have full responsibility over some clients.
Because this internship was for me the first real work experience, most of the learning came when I just started or completed some tasks. From web design to tax calculations, these were all new to me. As well as the work environment which surround me for four days a week, for five months.
I have definitely acquired a lot of practical skills, in terms of how to get tasks done. However what I considered more important, is that I understood what it means to have certain responsibilities, and how to handle them during different situations. For example, I learned that I have to speak up my own opinion. I have to communicate whether I need more supervision for a certain task, and simply to communicate that the workload can get excessive at times.
For these reasons however, one is able to understand what work environment this is. If you are someone who loves an open, friendly and honest yet chaotic and informal setting, and can handle the responsibility to keep a good relationship with the clients then I would recommend the work environment of an art gallery.
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Research
The results of the research report demonstrated that art galleries still need to invest more time and budget in developing optimal strategies for online communication.
We found that the perception on the attitude and behavioral intentions of the type of online communication: social media vs. website, does not differ between female and male. Thus further research could investigate on different moderators, like age and education.