18 // CAMPUS | INTERVIEW
anu students celebrate amaga internship award AUTHOR // SHERIDAN BURNETT
Woroni congratulates ANU students Sophia Halloway and Georgia Reed, who have recently been awarded the inaugural Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA) Internship Prize. The prize was open to students who undertook internship programs in 2019 through ANU’s Centre for Art History and Art Theory and Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies. AMaGA is Australia’s national association and peak advocacy body representing our museums and galleries. Its members are linked by a shared dedication to the arts, movable cultural heritage, and the knowledge that Australian culture is a dynamic ecosystem that contributes to the social and economic wellbeing of the country. AMaGA ACT offers the internship prize to high performing students who are planning careers in the museums and galleries sector. The prize consists of a one-year membership to AMaGA and a gift voucher for The Curatoreum. Sophia and Georgia met with Sheridan Burnett of AMaGA ACT to discuss their experiences as interns and share their plans for the future. Sophia Halloway, Bachelor of Art History and Curatorship (Honours), interned at Canberra Contemporary Art Space (CCAS)
What did you study at university? I recently completed a Bachelor of Art History and Curatorship with Honours at the ANU. My particular research interests are contemporary art and material culture – I wrote my thesis on ephemeral media in contemporary practice.
Where did you intern and what was the best part of your internship? I spent the past year interning at Canberra Contemporary Art Space (CCAS). My previous experience in the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector was in larger collecting organisations, such as the National Gallery of Australia and Parliament House, so interning at CCAS was an opportunity to work very differently. The team is much smaller – only three people – and CCAS doesn’t have a permanent collection. This suited me well, however, since a small team means you do a bit of everything and there’s lots of opportunities to try something new. The best aspect of interning in a smaller organisation was the opportunity to become more involved in the community. Artists were constantly coming in and out of the office and the team attended plenty of exhibition openings at organisations across Canberra, where I was able to meet new people and discover new artists. The connections I made with people in the community were by far the most rewarding aspect.
