Background
Media Burn Archive is the exclusive repository for a history of video, focusing on documentary, on the political, and on the experimental, with collections ranging from early tapes made on the first widely available video cameras to 21st century digital work.
Preserving this history is a constant battle, as the technology required to read the vast majority of video formats is obsolete and unavailable, and the physical materials—the tapes themselves—are rapidly decaying. Further, because independent video producers have never had a reliable means of distributing or broadcasting their work, several generations’ worth of extraordinary work is in danger of being lost. Media Burn, through its larger collection and through its Guerrilla Television project, seeks to preserve and present this overlooked history.
INTERNS MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR THE DURATION OF THE PROGRAM.
Curatorial Intern
Overview
Details
Media Burn Archive is a repository for the history of videotape, focusing on documentary, political, and experimental content, with collections ranging from 1960s tapes made on the first widely available video cameras to 21st century digital work. Preserving this history is a constant battle, as the technology required to read the vast majority of video formats is obsolete and unavailable, and the physical materials—the tapes themselves—are rapidly decaying. Further, because independent video producers have never had a reliable means of distributing or broadcasting their work, several generations’ worth of extraordinary work is in danger of being lost. Through this internship, the Arts Intern will help us preserve and present this overlooked history.
Responsibilities
The Curatorial Intern will:
Focus on researching, documenting, and presenting a specific collection of videotapes (to be determined based on the intern’s interests).
Conduct research to create informational web pages providing on specific productions and videomakers, and research the existence and extent of other early video collections in archives around the country.
Log and summarize the contents of videos and will provide credits and details for public databases like Wikipedia, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), and Letterboxd.
Write blog posts presenting their research.
In addition to viewing the original videos, this research will be done through a variety of methods: consulting publicity materials and contemporary press coverage, reviewing scholarly journal articles and books, and interviewing creators and scholars.
The internship will conclude with a virtual screening/discussion of materials from the collection processed by the intern. The intern will facilitate the production of the event, from curation of the program to working with filmmakers and moderators to creating marketing materials. The intern will work closely with their supervisor to plan and prepare that event.
Requirements, Skills, and Qualifications
Strong research and writing skills, a high degree of organization and attention to detail
Ability to synthesize large amounts of information in compelling and easy-to-understand ways
Creative thinker with the energy and curiosity to find information on works that were largely overlooked by the mainstream press at the time they were produced
Interest in the history of art and media; eager to watch and learn.
Compensation
$20.00 per hour
INTERNS WILL WORK 28 HOURS PER WEEK AND ATTEND A MANDATORY OFFSITE PROGRAM DAY ONE DAY PER WEEK WITH THEIR COHORT.
Internship Period: June 4 – August 7
Total Weeks: 9 weeks
Work Hours per Week: 28
Total Hours: 252
Workdays: onsite, 4 days per week, 9AM–5PM
PROGRAM DAY:
On Fridays, interns will attend an offsite program day with their cohort.
These hours are separate from the internship hours.
Eligibility
To be eligible for Arts Intern 2025, you must be pursuing a bachelor’s degree and:
Currently enrolled as a full-time rising junior (a current sophomore)
– or –Currently enrolled as a full-time junior – or –
Currently enrolled as a full-time senior graduating by fall 2025.
You must either reside or attend college in Chicago.
Click HERE to apply now!