Internship Summary: Samantha Bedell completed a semester long marketing and communications internship at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute during the spring of 2017. Throughout her time at The Clark, Bedell held a variety of responsibilities including media research for publications (print and online) targeting modern and contemporary art shows, preparing social media materials, and community outreach in support of Clark events. Being a part of the marketing and communications team allowed Bedell to fully engage in a unique, professional environment with some of the most famous paintings, drawings, and photographs in the world.
Reflection: For three months during this past spring semester, I had an internship in the marketing and communications department at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. This position at The Clark was my third internship placement through Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Without a doubt, this experience has been the most influential on determining the direction I wish to go in the arts world come graduation in May 2017. During my time at The Clark, I held a variety of daily responsibilities. Some of those responsibilities included media research for publications (print and online) targeting modern and contemporary art shows, preparing social media materials, and community outreach in support of Clark events. While interning at such a world- renowned institution, I really thought I would be doing busy-work. I could not have been more wrong and more surprised. The tasks I competed at The Clark actually mattered. For example, I completed numerous research projects and the information I gathered ended up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for thousands of people to see. The final result of another research project was incorporated into a New York Times promotion for The Clark and other arts organizations in the area. I would not have been prepared for these tasks if it wasn’t for the faculty at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the courses they taught. Two courses influenced how I approached the research and marketing efforts for The Clark: Marketing in the Arts and Artist Entrepreneurship. Each of these classes stressed marketing for organizations and marketing for the self, respectively. Content between the two overlapped, but enforced the idea of how to effectively and efficiently promote an organization and individual. One of the most underrated lectures of both courses discussed the importance of making sure that social media posts are short and to the point, without losing information. Between the two, this was one of the most difficult concepts to perfect. Consciously changing my writing habit from passive to active when on social media took some time, but it was and is necessary to master to ensure people will take the time to read a post’s content. This marketing and communications internship at The Clark was the best way to end my time at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. I was influenced by this incredible institution from a young age and dreamed of an opportunity to work there during high school. The chance to have a semester-long internship was the icing on the cake before commencement in a few weeks. Seeing my research highlighted on so many different online and print platforms was inspiring and has led me to pursue a masters degree in marketing and communications in the coming years. Lastly, the connections I made at The Clark allowed me to secure a full time position from June through September working Summer Crew on The Clark’s campus. Everything has finally fallen into place!
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