“As a temporary intern, I never expected to consider myself an integral part of the Museum’s education team, but I was quickly accepted and intertwined with the Museum’s permanent staff. I soon found that I was granted a certain amount of responsibility and therefore the staff’s trust and friendship.  

The Newport Art Museum’s summer program provided a look into how art within a more accessible, daily interaction and context is applied and received within outreach programs targeted towards the community. As it is my career goal to create work that interacts and touches the hearts and minds of children, it was exciting to observe the development and application of art education in the lives of children and apply them myself. And see the different paths for both art and artists beyond art school. 

My last day, the Museum’s Annual Fundraiser ‘Wet Paint’  was a wonderful encapsulation of my time working over the summer. Everyone at the museum was working together, along with artists of all ages and people not only from Newport but all over Rhode Island. It was a truly amazing experience to see how individuals can come together as a collective to provide for the community.  

I am so grateful for my experience as an intern at the Newport art museum and the connections that have grown from my time there. Relationships that are both professional and personal, as I found my supervisors and coworkers both incredibly instructive and kind. I was able to gain an inside look at museum management and art education, witnessing firsthand the bold personalities and visions that keep it afloat.”

~ Leah Lara, summer Youth Art Camp paid intern & current senior at RISD