This post is part of our Internship Spotlight series. For this installment, Rachel Bufalino (’27) tells us about their internship experience at Henry Art Gallery.
Hey, I’m Rachel, a first-year museology student. This quarter, I was a Collections Intern for the Henry Art Gallery. Mainly, I helped inventory the Henry’s on and off-site storage. Before this internship, I had helped a small history museum organize and digitize its collections. That experience gave me knowledge that informed the decisions I made during my internship. Additionally, I learned how to properly handle art and other best art practices during the Preservation and Management of Collections course.
Inventorying may seem boring, but it helps document where every object in the collection is located. Sometimes we found objects that were documented as being in a different location, and other times we discovered that objects were missing. By aiding in the inventorying of the Henry’s collection, I helped the Henry have a greater understanding of their collections.
One thing I liked about this internship was the problem-solving skills I got to use. During the internship, I helped find new locations for accessioned works, built archival boxes, and organized the storage area. With each of these tasks, I had to be creative and find solutions that were safe and effective for both the object and the collection space. I enjoyed learning and growing my skills of collection management through this internship.