"On 30 April, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that the Rubio Butterfield Foundation-led by the recently elected museum trustee Jennifer Rubio and her husband, Stewart Butterfield-has pledged more than $23m to endow the museum's internships in perpetuity. The museum has offered internships for almost 30 years, with 100 undergraduate and graduate students participating annually. They have allowed students to learn about conservation, curation, digital imaging and more. These internships have only been paid since 2021."
"Max Hollein, the Met's director and chief executive, tells The Art Newspaper that "through our conversations with Jen and Stewart, it became clear that investing in people-specifically in access and opportunity-was their highest priority as supporters". He adds that "donors come to us with a wide range of interests, perspectives and passions" and part of his job is learning about what those are. "At their core, these discussions centre on two essential questions: What does the institution need most? And what does the donor care most deeply about?""
"It is often assumed that most donations to museums are objects to display on the walls or cash to buy more of them. In fact, museum officials have very different ideas when talking with prospective donors. "We have more art than we need," says Gary Vikan, a former director of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. What he often looked for was money to endow curatorial positions, which insured continued scholarship on the art that the museum already has or might gain in the future."
""When I came aboard, the museum had three endowed curatorships," Vikan says. "When I left, we had 18." Large museums have numerous funds and endowments, donated or added to by a great many donors. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has approximately 140 separate funds and endowments that add up to $1.9bn,"
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced a Rubio Butterfield Foundation pledge of more than $23 million to endow internships in perpetuity. The internships have been offered for nearly 30 years, with roughly 100 undergraduate and graduate students participating each year. Students gain experience in conservation, curation, digital imaging, and related museum work. Internships became paid only in 2021. The Met’s leadership framed the gift as an investment in people, emphasizing access and opportunity. Museum officials described donor conversations as focused on institutional needs and donor priorities. Other museum leaders have sought endowments for curatorial roles to ensure ongoing scholarship for existing and future collections. Large museums maintain many separate funds and endowments supported by multiple donors.
#museum-internships #philanthropy #endowments #museum-conservation-and-curation #access-and-opportunity
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