A 3 month internship at the Martin Art Gallery in Allentown, PA.
Internship Highlights
One of the main tasks of updating the gallery’s documents was to update the its manual which had not been updated since 2007. Major updates of this document include the following:
-Restructuring and formatting of the entire document.
-Removal of several repetitive unnecessary sections.
-Revised to reflect the galleries current staff, collection plan, and goals.
-Included a 5-year plan based on all documented issues and goals.
-Included a section for a currently non-existent disaster plan.
-Developed new procedures for Accessioning and Deaccessioning artworks.
Though the internship was not long enough to develop and schedule an entire exhibition into the already scheduled 3 year exhibition plan, Thomas was able to schedule a high profile event for the gallery. He personally reached out and handled the logistics of scheduling an artist talk with renowned artist Trenton Doyle Hancock. Trenton is a big artist to have at the Martin Art Gallery and as such the event is being scheduled for September to allow ample time for proper advertising.
This virtual artist talk is officially scheduled for: 9/5/24 @ 5PM (EST)
Artist’s Representation Sight: Jamescohan.com/TDH
A final highlight of the internship is the physical updates of the storage and work space completed during the internship. The space itself had been so unkempt by previous gallery directors that this restoration of the space uncovered many equipment and material assets, facility issues, and even unaccounted for artworks. This cleanup allowed for the implementation of more appropriate storage for artworks working within the gallery budget. Before and after photos of this are included in the following debriefing document created upon completion of the internship. This document also covers the entire internship more in depth.
Thomas Petty Portfolio 