Volunteer awarded prestigious art internship

Published on 13 December 2018

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A Rockhampton Art Gallery volunteer has been awarded a prestigious Backstage Pass Regional Internship through Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), one of only three offered by QAGOMA for 2019.

Jessica Cathcart volunteers at Rockhampton Art Gallery, contributing to activities and projects in exhibitions and collections. She is also a student at Central Queensland University, studying Bachelor of Arts (History and Writing).

Through her volunteer roles and formal education Jessica is aspiring to a career in arts administration.

QAGOMA’s Backstage Pass Regional Internship Program is designed to support lifelong learning for regional Queenslanders. Through the program, QAGOMA works with regional arts workers to enhance their capacity to provide access to transformative arts experiences in their community.

Chair of Rockhampton Regional Council’s Community Services Committee Cr Rose Swadling congratulated Jessica on the internship.

“It’s great to see the hard work and determination of our young people such as Jessica pay off with this internship,” Cr Swadling said.

“Being immersed in the working of our state institution she will witness first class arts administration in action, gaining a better understanding of their duties to expand her experience in and knowledge of ‘best practice’ procedures and standards. I am sure it will be a fantastic learning opportunity for her and of immense value in her future career objectives.”

Coupled with her volunteering experience at Rockhampton Art Gallery, QAGOMA’s Backstage Pass internship will support Jessica in developing further skills and experience that will advance her career objectives and contribute back to the institutional knowledge of Rockhampton Art Gallery.

Jessica will take up her internship in 2019 at QAGOMA, where she will develop an understanding of the role of photography in art curation and acquire basic working skills. She will experience the challenges of managing a sizeable collection and gain knowledge in methods and systems used to overcome them.

“The QAGOMA Regional Internship is an incredible opportunity for regional gallery volunteers, such as myself, to engage with and learn from an institute at the very helm of cultural representation in Australia. Gaining further experience with QAGOMA’s team would establish a solid foundation on which I could begin my career.” Jessica said.

Rockhampton Art Gallery is owned and operated by Rockhampton Regional Council.