Summer Interns Working Behind the Scenes!

Summer Interns Working Behind the Scenes!

Here at Southern Exposure, we have artists coming from different neighborhoods to participate in our programs. As the Mission Voices Summer program comes to a start, we have a lot of people working behind the scenes. Let's take a moment to meet the summer interns of 2017. We have six student interns: Nicole, Justine, Juliana, Elia, Laura, and Jennifer. Who are they, why did they choose to intern at SOEX, and what do they do?

My name is Jennifer, and I am an ambitious, introverted intern that has recently graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco. I chose to intern at Southern Exposure because I wanted to work with a non profit art related internship, plus I thought it would be cool to see what the artists come up with. At SOEX I work on different office tasks from organization to color correcting photos and posting on the SOEX website. One project that I am working on right now is interviewing the other interns and posting their biographies on the website, which you are reading right now. Outside of work I enjoy running, swimming, drawing comics, and writing short stories. My dream job is to become a webcomic artist, a writer, or a storyboard writer.

Meet Justine, a curious, dedicated, conscientious sophomore from Washington University in St. Louis. She became an intern at SOEX to discover what kind of job opportunities there are in the art field, while getting a sense about how SOEX operates, helps artist, and hosts exhibits. She enjoys seeing the exhibits, how they set them up, and talking with the artists. In her free time she enjoys reading, sketching, drawing, and has a portfolio of her work. She also posts artwork that she is most proud of on her tumblr account. Her three goals are to get a career that she enjoys, reach out to other people, and live comfortably in the Bay Area.  

Meet Nicole, an engaging, tech savvy oil painter who is a sophomore at Hamilton University in New York. One moment that she will never forget was when she was affected by a painting called Pandora by Odilon Redon, in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. She became an intern at SOEX because it is involved with the community: "It is like a museum and gallery, but interactive." At SOEX she helps Communications Director Lisa Martin with Facebook posts and events, and is conducting student interviews for the Mission Voices Summer program. A project that she is working on is an Artists in Education promo video and working with the Youth Advisory Board to help the youth promote themselves.

Meet Juliana, a patient, creative, responsible senior from John Macano High School in San Francisco. She became an intern after working with the Youth Advisory Board and was selected by our Artist in Education Director, Maya Gomez. As a Mission Voice Summer assistant, she helps with social outreach and recruitment. She is currently working on social outreach, documenting the activities, and posting to social media. In her free time she draws, paints, or plays music. Her dream job is to become a photographer, as one of her favorite memories was taking pictures for family members while receiving feedback and praise.

Meet Elia, a funny, supportive graduate from the California College of the Arts. She became an intern at SOEX because she loves art and wants to learn how the art field works from a new perspective. As an intern at SOEX she brainstorms ideas for events and plans out the events with members and donors. During her free time she enjoys reading art books, art theory, walking around, playing sports, going to museums, and looking at art. She is inspired by Louise Bourgeois because although she didn't get an exhibition until she was 70, she kept making art that was true to her style.

Meet Laura, an ambitious, passionate, introvert from UC Berkeley. She chose to intern at SOEX because she found it relevant to nonprofit and public policy and her Art History major. At SOEX she helps out with grant research and attended a staff and board strategy meeting. During her free time she does theater tech, visits museums and galleries, reads and watches tv shows. Speaking of theater tech, one thing that she will never forget was being a stage manager for a musical production of Heathers during her spring semester at college; there were so many designs, technical details, awesome staff, and an insane crowd.