Persistence
Since April this year, I have been continuously revising my portfolio and CV, sending applications to ten art institutions. At first, I received internship offers from two fashion brands, a game company, and three art museums. However, the company I desired best—UCCA Center for Contemporary Art—still haven’t reply.
Founded in Beijing by the Ullens couple, UCCA is China’s top contemporary art institutions and also my favorite museum. It has hosted many solo exhibitions of global famous artists, such as Lubaina Himid and Lawrence Weiner. My desire to intern there not only because its curatorial excellence, but also because I believe the opportunity to learn within a professional and intellectually vibrant environment.
UCCA webside: https://ucca.org.cn
I first applied through UCCA’s website in June, updated my portfolio and reapplied in July, but received no response. Although I felt anxious and discouraged, knowing the competition was fierce, I applied a third time in August—and a week later received an interview invitation. During the interview, my supervisor told me UCCA had no plan to recruit interns in June and July, but new projects had just opened positions, and my email happened to appear at the top of their inbox. That experience taught me that no reply doesn’t mean rejection, persistence and sincerity can create opportunities.
Observation
I am currently interning in the UCCA Lab department, which curates collaborative art projects between UCCA and government and various brands, such as Prada, Arc’teryx, and Lenovo. Over the past two months,I have participated in five projects and gained valuable experience.
Firstly, I developed new graphic design skills. Previously, I only used Photoshop, but many projects required editing AI-format posters and InDesign layouts. To meet these needs, I learned AI and ID by myself. During this process, I often asked technical problems to ChatGPT—it has become my most reliable learning companion. Through continuous practice, I am now proficient in both design software and in using artificial intelligence tools. This improvement has made me more efficient in my internship and made a solid foundation for creating my own publications in the future.
More importantly, this internship revealed the complex structure behind art projects. Although as an intern, my work mainly involves execution rather than innovation or decision-making, I have learned about the entire process of turning a curatorial concept into an actual exhibition.
I used to think that curation was simply about spatial design and artwork arrangement. However, I now see that my supervisors must also communicate constantly with government partners and sponsors, refine proposals, collaborate with design studios on visual systems, and handle logistics such as transport and travel. My duties include creating visual designs based on the main visual systems, designing goods, confirming caption with artists……
Practice
This experience completely reshaped my previous “bias”of curation. It is not merely an artistic idea, but a collaborative and highly coordinated system involving multiple departments. The experiences, methods, and insights I have gained here will continue to influence my future studies and creative practice.
At present, I plan to work at UCCA Lab for three months, then apply for another department at UCCA or seek new internship opportunities in London. I hope that through experiencing different professional and cultural environments, I can broaden my perspective, challenge my own biases, and make my artistic practice more open and inclusive.
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