Bienvenido al Museo

June 27, 2007
Ashley Pritchard, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, IL.

Week five started off on a fashionable note. A local magazine, Today's Chicago Woman, planned a photo shoot at the museum. We have a terrace and sculpture garden in the back of the museum and the magazine needed one last location to finish off their summer fashion spread. My supervisor and I headed downstairs to meet the photographers, editors and models.

The tricky thing about an art museum is all the restrictions with photos and video. We don't have the rights for many pieces so we had to make sure none of the sculptures were in any shots. I felt glamorous for a moment, until I had to stand out in the sweltering heat for two hours. Although I no longer looked summer fresh the shoot turned out great and I'm excited to see the layout in the July issue.

On Friday, we hosted a media preview for our new exhibit, Escultura Social. I arrived at work early and began setting up for the day, getting the media checklist ready and made sure we had plenty of media kits and catalogues handy. We had a wonderful turnout with about 30 people attending, Univision even came and interviewed two artists.

It is interesting to be on this side of the media. My job was to chat with reporters, make them feel comfortable and put in little plugs about the show. I must admit, this is where I shine. I love chatting with new people and finding out their stories and backgrounds. The event turned out great, the exhibit is now open and we are getting great press.

This week helped me realize that I really like the public relations field. There aren't classes in college that equate to real life experience quite like an internship provides. Through my internships I have discovered what types of jobs I like and what types I would hate to do for the rest of my life.

I am a senior advertising and Spanish major. This summer, I am interning in the media relations department of the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art from May to August. I am excited to check out the windy city and maybe a Cubs game or two. During the school year, I am the marketing intern at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, so i'm excited to stay connected to the arts. Email Me, View All Ashley's Entries