Day in the Life of an Intern
Written by Ariana Ozga-Reinecke
When you are part of the Works2Work internship, your day-to-day tasks can look quite a bit different depending on which stream of the program you are in. From production to volunteer to marketing to curatorial, each team plays a critical role in putting on the Works Art and Design Festival every year. The experience is a valuable mix of hands-on work and classroom learning (Works2Work sessions) that gives participants a wealth of professional experience. While teams each have their own responsibilities, there is often collaboration between departments when extra support or expertise is needed.
The internship can be broken up into 3 distinct parts: pre-festival, festival and post-festival. Daily tasks will shift during each stage of the internship. Below, explore By some pre-festival day-in-the-life schedules of interns from each department. Skip to the department that interests you most or read through them all!
Production Interns’ Day-in-the-Life
Production interns start the day in the office with a check-in with the production supervisor and discuss the game plan for the day.
Moving out to the bunker, tasks are assigned, and teams break off to accomplish their goals for the day.
Pre-festival tasks can include:
Building and painting new artist installations for the festival
Learning how to set up and take down installations within a set amount of time for install and strike
Repairing old installations
Cleaning and organizing the bunker
Installing artwork at satellite locations.
Mid-day lunch break is a good time to catch up with other departments and relax!
After lunch, if there are no group classroom sessions (W2W Sessions), departmental work resumes.
At the end of the day, the production supervisor is updated on task progress, and plans are discussed for the next day.
Volunteer Interns’ Day-in-the-Life
Volunteer interns start the day in the office at their computers with a quick check-in from the volunteer supervisor to discuss the tasks for the day.
Connecting with volunteers is paramount, so monitoring and responding to emails and phone calls is a daily task.
Pre-festival tasks can include:
Answering volunteer questions via email and phone
Conducting volunteer meetings and interviews (virtually and in-person)
Processing volunteer applications
Initiating goods and service outreach
Planning volunteer orientations (virtual and in-person)
Mid-day lunch is a great opportunity to chat with other departments and take it easy!
After lunch, if there are no group classroom sessions (W2W Sessions), departmental work resumes.
At the end of the day, the volunteer supervisor is updated on task progress, and plans are discussed for the next day.
Marketing Interns’ Day-in-the-Life
Marketing interns start the day in the office at their computers with a quick check-in from the marketing supervisor to discuss the tasks and priorities for the day.
Emails are checked to stay up to date with our design agency and marketing initiatives, as well as requests from other departments.
Pre-festival tasks can include:
Social media content planning and posting
Photo and video capturing
Writing copy
Filming and editing promotional artist interviews
Developing signage for the festival
Organizing digital files and archives
Mid-day lunch is a lovely time to hang out with other departments and relax!
After lunch, if there are no group classroom sessions (W2W Sessions), departmental work resumes.
At the end of the day, the marketing supervisor is updated on task progress, and priorities are discussed for the next day.
Curatorial Interns’ Day-in-the-Life
Curatorial interns start the day in the office at their computers with a check-in from the curatorial supervisor to discuss daily and weekly tasks as well as setting priorities.
Emails are checked to stay up to date with artists and partner galleries, fielding questions and requesting deliverables.
Pre-festival tasks can include:
Copy editing deliverables from artists and galleries
Developing interview questions and filming artist interviews
Picking up artwork
Installing artwork at satellite locations
Artwork condition reporting
Preparing the Training in Art Interpretation (TArt) workshop for volunteers
Preparing Exhibit Attendance Kits for the festival
Mid-day lunch is an excellent time to spend time with other departments and enjoy a break!
After lunch, if there are no group classroom sessions (W2W Sessions), departmental work resumes.
At the end of the day, the curatorial supervisor is updated on task progress, and priorities are discussed for the next day.
Ariana (she/her) is a visual artist and designer who lives in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan. She graduated with a BFA from the University of Alberta in 2021 and has exhibited her work in spaces such as Mile Zero Dance and The Nina Haggerty Centre. In her artwork she translates video into drawn and painted stills, exploring our relationships to the places we inhabit. As a designer she enjoys creating motion graphic designs and colourful illustrations. If sketching her partner was illegal, she would have been locked up ages ago. Check out Ariana’s work on her Instagram @justanartiste or her website artbyariana.com.