Within the walls of the Springville Art Museum, interns learn lessons as timeless as the art displayed inside.
Behind the scenes of every art museum are many hands busy at work tending to the details that shape the museum’s atmosphere. BYU student interns at the Springville Art Museum gained experience in many of these roles, from dusting art to arranging exhibits for community shows. Along the way, they learned that museums are built on collaboration, care, and often-unseen work that brings each gallery to life; the skills they gained extend well beyond the museum’s walls.
Leadership in Practice
The first thing Kelsey Barton (Art History & Curatorial Studies ’26) learned from her internship was the value of strong leadership. During her welcoming tour on her first day, the group passed the office of museum director Emily Larsen (Art History & Curatorial Studies ’12), who immediately came out to personally introduce herself to each new member of the team. “That was a really good example of someone who is so dedicated to all things about the museum,” Barton says. The experience inspired Barton in all aspects of her internship, whether writing online biographies of artists, giving tours, or setting up for annual showcases.
In addition to lessons in leadership, learning practical skills in museum work—like how to handle, clean, and hang art—has been significant for Barton because these skills are best learned in practice. Combining these practical skills with the principles she has learned in her coursework at BYU has prepared Barton to apply for an internship at a gallery in Europe.
Education in Illustration
For Brynne Petty (Art History & Curatorial Studies ’26), the internship gave her the chance to teach younger audiences about the value of art. A unique aspect of the Springville Art Museum is their professional outreach program, which provides free resources and opportunities for K–12 art education to schools in Utah. Petty worked in the museum’s education department, creating coursework and activities with younger students in mind.
Petty also gave tours to students who visited the museum. “The students are really fun to work with,” she says. “I liked hearing what they had to say their perspectives and experiences.” When giving tours, she learned how to direct at a good pace and change tack when needed to keep her group both engaged and informed. This experience taught her adaptability and critical thinking. “These are skills that I can continue to build on and work with, and they apply even outside of my career; they apply to life in general,” she says.
Research on Relationships
Kira Bundy (Psychology ’26) worked for the education department as well, conducting research that combined art with her psychology education. “One of the new exhibits falls right into psychology, because it’s all about social connection,” she says. “I’m doing a lot of research for that, and how art museums can help people have social connection with each other.”
Bundy’s other responsibilities included helping with the museum’s outreach program. She enjoyed visiting with students to help them “get in touch with the art,” and teach them “that they can be artists.”
This experience is valuable to Bundy as she prepares to start a master’s program in instructional psychology and technology. “I love teaching, and so it’s been really fun to teach high school students,” she says. “I’ve gained the ability to talk to other people, work as a team, share my thoughts, and effectively listen to other people’s thoughts.”
At the Heart of the Art
For each intern, the museum internship not only prepared them for their careers but also showed them that museums can become more than just a gallery: They can center a community. “The culture at the museum is really great,” Barton says. “Everyone there is very dedicated to all things arts. It’s a very fun place to be.”
Learn more about Comparative Arts &Letters internships on the Comparative Arts & Letters website