Mark's Story: Arts Administration Internship in Berlin

This is Mark!

Mark is a student at Denison University who joined the ArtBound Initiative program and completed an Arts Administration internship with SomoS Arts in Berlin. SomoS Arts is a non-commercial, artist-run art space and residency that supports interdisciplinary projects across drawing, collage, photography, media art, performance, and video. It provides studio space, exhibitions, and curatorial support for emerging artists within Berlin’s vibrant creative community.

Read more about his experience below!

Could you describe what your day-to-day looks like at SomoS?

My day starts off with greeting my boss, and fellow colleagues and discussing our priorities for the day/week. After that we’ll talk about dividing up the tasks that we plan on doing for the day, some days I’ll work on the Newsletter (both internal and external) for the Month introducing new resident artists, upcoming events, and community gatherings.

Some days I’ll work with the team on PR. There’s a PR checklist we use to stay organized, so for an event like an artist talk, book launch, or exhibit, we’ll go to the SomoS page where the event has been created and grab the short link. We use that as the primary source of information, while the press release serves as the secondary source. We’ll go through the checklist and input the event into multiple websites, including forms and artist event pages.

Our three main sources of social media promotion include Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We use PlannThat to post thank-you posts, artist spotlights, and upcoming events on Instagram and Facebook. Alongside these technical tasks, we also focus on community building. We’ll gather information about an artist and their project during their SomoS residency and provide support for their vision. Drafting emails to groups was another task I did to keep communication flowing.

We also help with event setup, i.e. arranging the bar, chairs, projector (for artist talks/book launches), and exhibition layouts, which sometimes includes shifting walls, moving furniture, or prepping signage. Along with bartending, hosting was also part of the job, as well as documenting and filming the events.

I also handled personal assistant tasks like picking up posters and programs from the print shop. I helped film a reel for an artist’s Instagram promo, following the artist to capture shots of his project and research at SomoS. I held props, made sure items were where they needed to be, and later edited the footage my colleagues filmed. I used the audio I recorded for the artist’s voiceover, creating a documentary-style reel.

What aspect of your internship is most enjoyable, rewarding, and/or useful?

I was fascinated with meeting a diverse range of people, learning about their backgrounds and experiences, and gaining insight on the challenges and opportunities that they've faced during their artistic journey. Connection is key. I think if there's one thing that this experience has taught me, it's that connecting and building relationships is such a huge thing and it goes a long way. I was also honored to put together a reel for SomoS, specifically the video pertaining to Eric S. Dickson's swan project - just being able to showcase my video editing skills, and create something that both my boss and the artist loved was more than enough. Framing the posters, bartending, and of course those little mini runs to the Paper Twins print shop were also highlights to the experience, each task, no matter how small!

Did your internship meet your expectations and how will it impact your career goals?

This internship has met my expectations. There were things I didn’t expect to do originally, like sitting at the computer for most of the day - I imagined being more in the gallery scene. As I progressed through the internship, I started doing more diverse tasks such as setting up exhibitions, artist talks, and book launches. I also helped with lighting direction for a few artist photoshoots and was part of filming and editing a reel. It was such a beautiful experience, and I couldn’t be more honored to contribute to the SomoS vision.

This internship taught me that I love video editing and connecting with artists and people from different backgrounds. I’ve made so many connections that I hope to carry throughout my artistic journey, and I’m so grateful for that. I learned a lot from the artists at SomoS and its partner programs and gained useful insight into coordinating with a team and running a gallery.

In the long run, I’d love to be part of a video editing team for an art gallery or company, along with doing graphic design for logos or branding. I also want to continue freelancing, building up my Ko-fi shop, and developing my own individual branding around the themes my work explores Black queer identity. It would be amazing to travel, connect with other freelance artists, and keep networking, which I think is essential when working with a team of creative individuals. Helping make people’s visions possible is something I strive toward. I definitely see myself doing an artist residency somewhere down the road, and I hope to make an impact the way SomoS and Berlin have impacted me and my artistic vision.

I think ArtBound has taught me that networking is key - and that there's an important aspect of building connections, and the ability to communicate and willingness to communicate, especially in the Art world. I'm grateful to ABI for this experience, as it helped me experience the world in a completely different way, allowing me to feel more confident and have a more clear vision on what I want to do.

Mark

Arts Administration Internship | SomoS

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Interested in the program but don't know where to start? Check your eligibility here!

ArtBound Initiative is a fee-based global internship program for creatives. We prepare students for their careers through an online coaching curriculum and by helping them secure an internship in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, London, Berlin, Melbourne, Sydney, and Virtually. With an expansive network of leading creative companies, our program provides access to creative industries that are notoriously insular.

Read more about ArtBound Initiative Berlin Internships here.

Questions? Contact us at info@artboundinitiative.com