Job Opening Title:
Archives Intern
Name of Employer:
Cai Studio
Job Site Location (City, State) :
Manhattan
Application Deadline:
Minimum Degree Requirement:
BA
Years of experience required:
0
Salary Range:
$16.50/hour
Job Opening URL:
Job Description (if URL to posting not available). Include instructions for how to apply.:
Overview:
The studio of contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang (Cai Studio) is looking for a part-time archives intern for the 2025 spring semester. This position will primarily be in the New York Studio, based in Manhattan, although occasional travel to New Jersey may be required. The intern will primarily be working on the Project Files collection, reporting mainly to the Project Archivist, and helping to organize the studio library, although other work may also be assigned.
Ideal candidates will have experience in archives or libraries, as well as interest in contemporary art. This internship is ideal for anyone interested in working in art archives, as this is a fast-paced, living-artist archive that is constantly growing and expanding.
The intern will work 2-3 days a week, and at least one of the working days must fall on Tuesday or Wednesday. Working hours are from 10am-6pm. This is a fully in-person internship, the work cannot be completed remotely.
This is a paid internship at a rate of $16.50/hour.
About Cai Studio:
Under the direction of the artist, Cai Studio oversees the fabrication of original artworks, the coordination of public exhibitions, and the conception and production of related publications. The archive department is one of the three main departments (projects, archives, and collections) at the studio. This department is responsible for cataloging and maintaining photographs, videos, and printed documentation of artworks, the art making process, and exhibitions from the earliest stages of Cai’s career up to the present day. The team contributes to a wider understanding of the artist by supporting publications, exhibitions, and scholarship.
Responsibilities:
• Work with archivists to digitize paper documents, preliminary sketches, manuscripts from the Project Files collection
• Follow the digitization protocol for file naming and image quality control
• Help with archival processing of project files, including identifying categories, sorting physical files, re-housing with archival standard sleeves and folders
• Learn to search and find project information on the CollectiveAccess database to help identify the materials
• Reshelve library books, following the establish organization system
• Ensure that all books are properly stored upright, with adequate space between books, so as not to cause any damage
• Create library labels for incoming, unlabeled, or mislabeled books
• Perform other duties and tasks to assist the archivists, as assigned
Qualifications
Required:
• Bachelor’s degree
• Background and/or interest in archives, libraries, and preservation
• Strong organizational skills, ensuring accuracy of details and following protocols
• Knowledge of basic library and archival standards/principles
• Background and/or interest in contemporary art and art history
• Ability to carry and lift heavy boxes and objects (up to 20 lbs.), including up and down stairs
Preferred:
• Experience working with databases and scanning documents
• Current or recent MSLIS student
• Ability to read Chinese and/or Japanese preferred, but not necessary
• Familiarity with working with CollectiveAccess or other DAMS
Interested applications should send a resume and a brief cover letter to nystudio.search@gmail.com with the subject line “Archives Intern”.
Archives Gig 