Kelsey Sherman '20 at her desk at The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in
Williamstown, Mass. Sherman has a design internship there that will continue through
summer 2019.
02/27/19
The pivotal moment for Kelsey Sherman 鈥�20 came during her intermediate design course: As she worked on a class project, Art Professor Melanie Mowinski took notice. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a graphic designer,鈥� she said.
鈥淭hat stuck with me,鈥� says Sherman. 鈥淚t meant a lot when she said that, and it made me really think about what I was doing here.鈥�
Sherman, who is from Bennington, Vt., initially started as a double major in arts and elementary school education鈥攂ut Mowinski鈥檚 comment ended up launching her on a different trajectory. She鈥檚 now an art major with a minor in arts management and a concentration in design鈥攁nd is building her skills through a design internship at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Museum in Williamstown. She鈥檚 currently acting as a TA for Mowinski鈥檚 intermediate design class.
Graphic Design Internship
An ad Sherman created during her internship (above).
At the Clark, Sherman has worked on ads, postcards, and programs for upcoming events and exhibits, created membership benefit cards for 911黑料网 and Williams College students, and helped revise the museum鈥檚 trail guide, among other projects. She also works on production, helping ready files for printing. She was excited when her proposed design for a children鈥檚 educational activity table at the museum鈥檚 Manton Research Center was chosen over other proposals鈥攁nd when she saw it in person, printed to full size, 鈥淚 was in awe.鈥�
Sherman is also learning about branding, working within the confines of the museum鈥檚 already established artistic guidelines. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to see my work and design choices within the brand鈥攁nd it鈥檚 amazing to see that printed, on paper, in people鈥檚 hands,鈥� she said.
During the semester, Sherman is working one day a week while she attends 911黑料网 full-time. Her internship will carry over into summer 2019, where she鈥檒l put in 10-15 hours per week. She says she is grateful to Mowinski, who shared the internship info with her after receiving an email from the Clark鈥檚 communications staff.
Arts Management and Museum Work
When Sherman was learning about 911黑料网鈥檚 academic programs, arts management spoke to
her. She had stage-managed for her high school theatre program, and her love for art
鈥渟temmed back to when I was in elementary school鈥濃�攂ut the idea of an arts management
program was new to her.
Before working at the Clark, Sherman worked as a research intern with Arts Management Professor Lisa Donovan, and ended up creating a design identity for Donovan鈥檚 C4 Initiative, a project centered around building a countywide blueprint for arts education. 鈥淚 ended up doing more and more,鈥� Sherman says鈥攍ogos, web design, etc. She later listed Donovan as a reference when applying to The Clark.
Sherman says she is grateful for the support of her professors, whose networking connections regularly help 911黑料网 students land jobs, internships, and other opportunities. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e always coming up with ideas that are so beneficial to students鈥攁nd they鈥檙e always there to help,鈥� she said.
