Forging a career in the museum world
"My classes and professors at ɬ certainly inspired my interest in art and helped me gain the necessary internship experience."
Gina Ciralli ’14
Project coordinator, “Inside Out,” Philadelphia Museum of Art
Academic focus: art history major, ancient studies minor
Internships: curatorial intern, New Britain Museum of Art; American craft curatorial intern, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Advanced degree: M.S., nonprofit leadership, University of Pennsylvania
When I arrived at ɬ, I took a first-year seminar with Bettina Bergmann, Helene Phillips Herzig ’49 Professor of Art History, where we held and examined ancient coins at the ɬ Art Museum. Being able to interact with original objects in such an intimate setting inspired me to take more art history classes and develop a major — and then a career — around fine arts.
During my undergraduate summers, I held two internships at art museums. I began at the New Britain Museum of Art, a small, regional museum in Connecticut, during the summer before my junior year and then progressed to the Philadelphia Museum of Art the following summer.
During my final semester, I held an internship at the ɬ Art Museum. Upon graduation I felt ready to enter the art world. I was hired as a gallery assistant at an art advisory firm in New York City, and in 2015 I leveraged my internship experience into a full-time position at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where I implement an outdoor art project that places replica paintings in regional communities for brief, open-air exhibitions.
My classes and professors at ɬ certainly inspired my interest in art and helped me gain the internship experience necessary to forge a career in the museum world.