Collections Intern

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States and a thriving cultural center for the Bay Area. We cannot imagine life without art; it inspires and connects us every day. Now more than ever, these connections matter and are aligned with our values.

Inclusive: We strive to be a museum of many voices in dialogue.

Passionate: We believe working with art is more than a job or trusteeship - it's a way of life.

Brave: We are committed to approaching our work with courage and a sense of adventure, always ready to explore new perspectives.

Empathic: We aim to act like a person, not an institution.

SFMOMA is a place for the infinitely curious to explore, support, and experience the art of our time. We believe that modern and contemporary art can influence the way we think, view the world, and embrace the many voices and perspectives around us. We aspire to foster an environment that elicits joy, nurtures a sense of belonging and purpose-where difference is seen as a strength, and every one is appreciated for their whole self.

Schedule: Full Time, 35 hours/week, Monday, June 15 - Friday, August 14, up to five days working onsite

Department Description

The Collections office integrates responsive, forward-looking stewardship of SFMOMA's art, library, archive, and artist materials collections. A cohort of five highly-collaborative Collections departments (Archives and Art Resources, Collections Management, Conservation, Library, and Registration) are responsible for the entire arc of collections care and access, including accessions, deaccessions, loans, research and documentation, in-person and online access. Together, Collections leads art stewardship in ways that encourage creativity and multivariant experiences with modern and contemporary art.

Position Description

The 2026 Collections Internship focuses on centralizing access to documentation about promised gifts of art to the museum. Promised gifts are an important instrument in enhancing areas of strength and filling gaps in the museum's art collection. Centralizing access to promised gift documentation allows information to be easily and successfully applied by staff in developing and caring for the museum's art collection. It also contributes to a comprehensive understanding of donor histories with the museum and its art collection.

The main project for the 9-week internship encompasses auditing records, contributing information, and centralizing documentation for a minimum selection of 100 promised gifts.

The Collections Intern will work directly with the Head of Collections on the project and will engage with staff in departments of Registration, Archives and Art Resources, Administration, Curatorial, Legal, and Philanthropy throughout the project. The Intern will have an impactful role in creating easy and reliable access to documentation that is needed in developing the art collection and furthering great relationships with museum donors.

Project Plan

Over the 9-week program the Collections Intern will:

• Meet with stakeholders in Collections, Administration, Curatorial, Legal, and Philanthropy to understand

departmental needs and interests related to promised gifts.

• Make discoveries and/or make recommendations based on stakeholder needs and interests, which may

include:

• Looking for patterns or trends in promised gifts

• Assessing completion rates of promised gifts over the past 10, 15, or 20 years

• Considering the storage implications of receiving all pending promised gifts

• Recommending ways to inform staff that promised gifts will be on display

• Participate in discussions about the types of information needed to analyze the effect of promised gifts on

collections development and care.

• Audit hardcopy and digital files housed with Collections and Curatorial related to promised gifts.

• Scan documents, upload scans, and add information about the documents to the museum's digital asset

management system.

• Audit information in the museum's collections management system and contribute information to the system,

including information about artworks, donors, and ownership.

• Add information about hardcopy files to an Object Records Inventory sheet.

• Compare the process for proposed promised gifts to that of proposed acquisitions.

• Support with the draft of a Standard Operating Procedure related to documenting promised gifts.

• Participate in reviewing the museum's collections management policy and gift acceptance policies for relevant

updates based on learnings from the internship.

• Report-out on discoveries and recommendations at one or more cross-departmental meetings.

Educational Objectives

• Learn about the scope of collections stewardship at a museum of modern and contemporary art.

• Learn about managing collections development strategies: gifts, promised gifts, fractional gifts, co-ownerships,

and purchases.

• Gain experience with collections information governance in museums.

• Gain experience with information systems used by museums to document art.

• Gain experience working cross-departmentally.

• Experience backstage collections stewardship activities to increase understanding of collections-related needs,

challenges, and opportunities.

Additional Internship Programming

The Summer 2026 Internship will offer 9-weeks of hands-on experience and mentorship along with weekly presentations and discussions with various departments in the museum, off-site educational visits within the Bay Area community, and access to various tours and events within the museum.

Requirements

• Applicants must be currently enrolled in school or a recent graduate. The SFMOMA recognizes a graduation date

within 6 months of the internship start date as a recent graduate.

• If you are a current employee of the SFMOMA applying for an internship, you must be a current student or a recent

graduate, within 6 months of the internship start date.

• General knowledge of museum practices, art collections development, and modern and contemporary art.

• Familiarity with records management and organization.

• Familiarity with digital asset management and collections management systems.

• Comfortable working with a range of internal constituents.

• Eager to work in a creative, collaborative, team-oriented environment.

$7,000 - $7,000 one-time

Pre-tax stipend paid out in a one-lump sum after start date

*TAX WITHHOLDING: For certain non-US residents and non-CA residents, any payments that constitute taxable income under U.S. tax law may be subject to up to 30% federal and 7% state tax withholding (or the current applicable rates), and so any payments you receive may be reduced accordingly. Please consult with your tax advisor regarding the tax treatment of your stipend from this internship.

Application Requirements

• Intern application on SFMOMA job site

• Resume, in PDF format

• Cover letter stating the specific internship of interest, in PDF format

• Describe the experience you bring, why you are interested in museum or nonprofit work, reasons for

applying to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and your goals for the internship.

• Two letters of recommendation from either a college professor or current/former employer, in PDF format

• College/university transcript, in PDF format

• Transcripts can be unofficial but must be legible

• If you are currently enrolled in a master's or PhD program, please provide the transcript for your current

program, not your undergraduate transcript

Application Deadline: February 28, 2026

Please note: You only need two letters of recommendation total, not separate letters for each internship. If you apply to multiple internships (up to three), simply inform your recommenders which positions you're applying for. We'll review the same two letters across all your applications.

Location: San Francisco, 151 3rd Street.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

SFMOMA is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. No person shall be discriminated against based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, age, genetic information, ancestry/national origin, marital status, disability, medical condition, HIV status, sexual orientation, veteran/military status, and any other category protected by federal of state law.

You may request reasonable accommodation if you are unable to or are limited in your ability to access job postings or provide additional information asked in the job posting.

You can request reasonable accommodation by contacting the People Team at [email protected].

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