Will Rowe Learns Valuable Technical Skills as Intern for 621 Gallery
from FSU Art BFA ’21 Will Rowe:
During my internship at 621 Gallery my responsibilities included helping to set up each monthly exhibits. I helped with tasks such as creating exhibition catalogs, hanging vinyl, advertising on social media, and setting up the venue for first Fridays. I also had responsibilities during shows like photographing the exhibits, taking donations for the gallery, and serving guests drinks. Some of the most important things I learned during my time at 621 were the specific techniques used to hang frames, canvases, and vinyl to gallery standards. I had absolutely no experience in this area before I started. I’m embarrassed to say that because I’ve been renting apartments my whole adult life, I hadn’t ever needed to use a power drill before, and I had to use one for the very first time while hanging canvases in the gallery. Aside from this basic life skill I also learned the more specific gallery techniques, like the measuring and simple math needed to hang an art piece to gallery standards, or how to hang vinyl titles for the show when the humidity in the building make’s it almost impossible (unsurprisingly, Elmer’s glue does not solve vinyl adhesive issues).
The challenge that everyone is facing this semester is adjusting to completely remote classes and internships. A group of the interns have been having regular Zoom meetings where we discuss ways to keep 621’s online presence going during the pandemic. The things I was looking forward to the most with this internship were all experiences I would get at the gallery itself, so now I’m adjusting my expectations for the rest of the internship. I’m learning about websites and digital mediums that the gallery might use in the upcoming months to continue functioning remotely that I never thought I would be using.
I would recommend this internship to other students not only for the practical gallery experience you’ll gain but for the wonderful people you’ll meet. There were almost twenty interns working for the gallery this semester, some of whom I was already friends with, and it was great to get to spend time with others with similar interests outside of a classroom setting. The internship was like any other good working environment; you’ll make a group of friends through it. The current director of 621 Gallery, Lauren Baker, was also great to work with. She was incredibly patient and understanding, which are both great qualities to have when you’re the person teaching a bunch of interns how to do stuff for the first time.
