[ad_1]
University students keen to gain experience working at one of the world’s largest museums are to benefit from a slate of 100% paid internships, thanks to an “exceptional” $23 million gift.
The endowment, worth approximately £17m, will ensure the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s internship scheme runs in perpetuity, and with every placement remunerated.
It is supported by American businesswoman Jennifer Rubio, who co-founded travel and accessory brand Away, and her husband, Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield, via their Rubio Butterfield Foundation.
The multimillion-dollar gift was announced days before the museum welcomed some of the world’s best-known faces to the 76th Met Gala fundraiser, which raised a record $42m (£31m) for the building’s Costume Institute.
A boost for access and a forthcoming wing
The Met claims to be the single largest museum in the US to offer exclusively paid internships. Based in Central Park, in New York, the organisation is to rename the student internship initiative after its donors, beginning in September 2026.
The scheme has run for more than 60 years and welcomes more than 100 participants annually.
The move has been celebrated as a boon for increased access to equitable careers within the arts.
The Rubio Butterfield Foundation has also made an additional, undisclosed pledge to support the Met’s new Tang Wing for modern and contemporary art, opening in 2030.
The five-storey space will make room for the museum’s 20th and 21st-century collections, and is designed by architect Frida Escobedo, the first woman to design a new wing in the museum’s 154-year history.
“Jen and Stewart’s exceptional gift substantially strengthens the future of the Met, and the broader arts and culture ecosystem, by supporting in perpetuity a continuous pipeline for new voices and innovative ideas to enter the field,” said Max Hollein, the museum’s chief executive officer.
“We are deeply grateful to Jen, as a new trustee, for recognizing the importance of expanding access and helping to foster the next generation of talent. As we look ahead to the construction of our new galleries for modern and contemporary art, we are equally thrilled to have such respected collectors engaged with and helping to advance this transformative project for contemporary culture.”
Rubio said “too often” internship pathways depended upon “circumstance rather than talent”.
“My own path has been made possible by access – by people and institutions that opened doors early on, and by formative experiences that shaped how I came to see the world,” she said, adding: “Stewart and I are proud to support the Met in making that entry point more equitable, ensuring that emerging voices, perspectives, and expertise help define the future of the museum and the broader cultural landscape.”
[ad_2]
Source link
