UAM Summer Internship 2018: Life as a Summer Student at the University of Alberta Museums

This week I have decided to take a different approach to my blog. Rather than provide the typical update of what I have been doing over the last week, I have taken the opportunity to gain some more insight into what some of my fellow summer student colleagues are up to. I sat down with the University of Alberta Art Collection summer students, Georgia Ashworth and MorningStar Willier, and got to learn a little more about their work here at the University of Alberta Museums and what they think about life as a summer student!

Q: What are your backgrounds?

Georgia: I have a Bachelor of Arts in History from McGill University in Montreal.
MorningStar: I am in my second year of Native Studies with a minor in Anthropology here at the University of Alberta.

Q: What are your titles here at the University of Alberta Museums, and what do these roles entail?

G: I am a Collections Assistant [with the University of Alberta Art Collection (UAAC)] working on the Public Art Program. I am working on streamlining our copyright procedures and obtaining copyright licenses for the artwork in the Art Collection and will be writing art labels for the works on placement.
MS: I work as a Collections Assistant for the O.C. Edwards Ethnographic Collection, as part of the Art Collection, and I do research on the ethnographic artifacts.

Q: What drew you to these positions with the University of Alberta Museums?

G: I was hoping for an opportunity to gain more direct museum experience to further my career aspirations within the museum and heritage sector.
MS: My minor is anthropology and I enjoy the sociocultural side of anthropology, so working directly with ethnographic material, particularly Indigenous material, directly pertains to my degree and interests.

Q: Do you believe that it is important for young people to be able to receive summer positions at universities and museums such as the ones you have? If yes, why?

G: Yes, I believe it is very important. It is a great way for young people to gain experience in the museum field, and become more connected to their university.
MS: Yes, because it shows me what I can do with my degree after graduation.

Q: What would you say is the value of having an art and ethnographic collection such as this on a University campus?

G: I believe that as a university, for students studying in areas related to art or ethnography, it can be very important to be able to interact with and view the artifacts first hand instead of just reading about the material.
MS: I agree with Georgia, the chance to study the material in person is invaluable.

Q: What is the value of summer students doing this work, compared to other staff members?

G: The Young Canada Works program, which is the program that both MorningStar and I are part of, provides partial funding for our wages. This can help organizations that may not have a large budget for the type of work we do. Also, it allows permanent staff members to focus on the big picture while students do some of the more time-consuming work.
MS: We are able to do the work that other staff members are unable to fit into their schedules, due to other pressing matters

Q: What is your favourite part of your job, and what are you looking forward to the most?

G: My favourite thing that I have been able to do so far is redesigning the copyright section for our online database. This should make it a lot more useful to our museum staff. I am also looking forward to writing art labels for the collection.
MS: My favourite part so far has been going into the O.C. Edwards Collection storage room and working directly with the artifacts. I am also looking forward to updating descriptions of the artifacts within our online database, which uses the software program Mimsy.

Q: What are your plans after these positions wrap up? Do you plan to stay in the museum field?

G: This fall I am starting a Master's degree in Archaeological Heritage and Museums at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Afterwards, I am looking forward to continuing to work in the museum field.
MS: I am still unsure at the moment whether or not I will continue in the museum field, but I really enjoy the research and curatorial aspects of museum work so I think I may.

Q: Finally, do you have a favourite artifact or piece of art from the collection?

G: I like the Norman Yates mural, West and North, on the north side of the Education Building, and the Steinhauer, Treaty Bear sculpture in Main Quad.
MS: I love all of my collection, but really love the steer hide painting, from the Blood Reserve in Southern Alberta.