Harn Museum Marketing and Public Relations Internship Guide

Marketing and PR Internship: Web and Social Media, Photography—Gainesville, Florida

The University of Florida’s Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, located on campus on Hull Road, offers a break for UF students from stressful school schedules with amazing African, Asian, modern and contemporary art, etc. that you can enjoy for free. Can the Harn get any better than that? The ability to intern throughout your semester in a gorgeous museum and take part in the events and exhibitions will no doubt create amazing memories and invaluable exposure to the art world.

What It’s Actually Like

As a Marketing and PR intern, no task at the Harn will seem monotonous. From writing news releases on exhibitions to working with media representatives, you will always find yourself running around and getting to learn something new at every corner. “I was in charge of the Harn’s social media accounts. This entailed daily posting and interaction with followers. I created GIFs and photographs, advertised events and worked with my supervisors to develop other media projects for emails,” marketing, PR and photography intern Katie Clarfield said. “I also photographed events like Museum Nights (monthly) and each semester’s Harn Member pARTy.”

Cool Stuff You’ll Get to Do

Each assignment given stimulates a different set of skills and keeps you motivated to work your hardest behind the camera and in front of the many guests of the museum. “No two days were alike. Some days I would be in the gardens with my supervisor, photographing specific plants and rocks. Other days I’d be live-tweeting our events and interacting with museum visitors up-close,” Clarfield said. Not only do you gain experience, but you also get a workout.

What You’ll Learn

At the Harn, you’ll learn how to promote and bring in visitors to events and exhibits. Plus, you’ll learn to multitask by working with numerous departments. Marketing and PR interns get to come to the awesome events (such as Museum Nights), photograph and document all the fun we miss out on. “At Museum Nights, MUSE meetings and my daily walks around the museum, I got to see how people interact with the works,” MUSE intern Savannah Carr said. You know how to promote yourself and all the coffee shops you study at on Instagram. But can you promote a museum and all its glories? The Harn can help you with that. “The Harn internships are great because they give you real projects and responsibilities—there’s none of the filing and coffee-fetching that is associated with internships,” Carr said.

How to Prepare for an Application

The application requires a letter of intent, two recommendation forms from references, a background check, your official transcripts and three examples of graphic design works for Marketing and PR applicants. Adding your interest and pursuit of a career in an art museum won’t hurt either. If you aren’t sure about your exact field of interest at the moment, don’t fret. Showing your passion to learn and experience the art world at the Harn as well as the professionalism this internship necessitates will look great as well.

Skills that Impress Them

Strong writing, research skills and a sense of professionalism rank high on the list.

Cool Perks

After all the many benefits an intern receives through experience on a daily basis, you’d think it would end there. Miraculously, the Harn takes twenty more steps to indulge its interns just to show how much they care. “I got a free membership to the Harn (and all other partnered museums around the nation, such as the Dali Museum). I also got to go behind the scenes where the art was stored,” Clarfield said. Excuse me while I pull up the application.