Background
Heights Arts is a nonprofit community arts organization in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Founded in 2000, Heights Arts cultivates a strong, diverse, and collaborative arts community by inspiring people of all ages to engage in the arts; supporting the arts through education; providing exhibition and performance opportunities; and fostering public appreciation for the arts.
The organization contributes to Northeast Ohio’s artistic vitality by showing regional artists at Heights Arts Gallery on Lee Road near Cedar Road, facilitating public art and design projects, presenting chamber music and other concerts in intimate settings, nominating and supporting the Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate, and holding classes and workshops in the arts.
INTERNS MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR THE DURATION OF THE PROGRAM.
Two Positions Available: Store & Exhibitions Interns
Details
Overview
We are seeking two Store & Exhibitions interns for our multi-disciplinary nonprofit arts organization in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Exhibition & Store Interns will undertake a pivotal role in supporting Heights Arts’ diverse array of exhibition and retail operations.
This internship is designed to provide a comprehensive experience in arts administration, with a focus on Holiday Store management and exhibitions planning. Additionally, the interns will assist with social media and marketing tasks, including photo storage archiving, website artist listing expansion, and Holiday Store promotions to enhance visibility and engagement.
Program Description: The Holiday Store happens every year in the months of November and December, representing a large portion of Heights Arts’ income for the year. The Holiday Store fills the entire gallery space with works from more than 100 artists. New art continually arrives through December, so visitors are encouraged to return and support local artists with their holiday purchases. Special seasonal shopping days may include Small Business Saturday plus the Cedar Lee Holiday Stroll in early December.
Heights Arts presents five group and five individual exhibitions each year. The Exhibitions Community Team (ECT) is meant to engage the resources of the surrounding community to provide expertise and ensure that Height Arts’ visual arts programming is of the highest quality, is relevant, and reflects our community. Community team members are essential to the success and quality of Heights Arts programming. To keep the team running at its best capacity, team members commit to the following: Special expertise in particular media and/or familiarity with specific artistic communities in the region.
Responsibilities
Store & Exhibitions Intern responsibilities include:
Making visitors their first priority when serving at the sales desk
Handling gallery maintenance including repairing, painting, and cleaning
Ensuring proper art installation and handling in the Store, Holiday Store, and Exhibitions
Receiving, tagging, and recording artist inventory
Tracking artist sales and entering payables to artists
Recruiting artists for volunteer shifts in the store
Assisting in sales of work
Assisting in events as needed
Researching new artists
Engaging in studio visits / evaluation of work
Acquiring knowledge of Heights Arts programming and upcoming events to convey our mission to customers and event attendees
Assisting in preparing materials for bi-monthly ECT meetings
Handing routine calendar and appointment organizing
Assisting with general store email
Serving as an ambassador of Heights Arts in the community
Assisting with artist paperwork such as contracts, labels, inventories, and programs
Assisting with online store maintenance
Assisting with online social media and marketing for Holiday Store
Photo storage archiving
Expanding website artist listings
Other work as assigned (exhibition mailings, donation and membership processing, etc.)
Requirements, Skills, and Qualifications
Store and Exhibitions Interns should have:
Experience or willingness to learn Point-of-sale (POS) systems for sales tracking and inventory management. We specifically use ConsignCloud, Square, and Clover.
Basic proficiency in Canva, Adobe Photoshop, or Illustrator. Experience or willingness to learn WordPress, Squarespace, and Little Green Light.
Ability to use Excel or Google Suit for tracking inventory, scheduling, email management, and other written materials.
Familiarity of photo equipment (phone is acceptable).
The Heights Arts Store and Exhibition Interns must be comfortable with working independently and taking initiative in a specific task.
Examples of this might be contacting artists to evaluate their work through phone, online and personal contact in meetings or studio visits. Tasks may vary day-to-day and will vary depending upon the time of year. Interns will work under the store manager & exhibitions coordinator, and programs coordinator.
Educational Value: Interns will learn and develop interpersonal skills in dealing with the public and artist community in person and through online and telephone communication. In addition, Interns will learn skills in database management, inventory management, and retail management through their work in identifying new and maintaining current relationships with artists and the community.
Interns will gain insight into Cleveland’s artist community and artist culture, and interface with other arts organizations with which Heights Arts collaborates. We can also address opportunities that align with an individual intern’s interest if it relates to our operational procedures.
Compensation
$15.00 per hour
Work Schedule & Hours
Students who apply MUST be in town and available to work holiday hours from October through December. These positions require an average of 10 hours weekly, including evenings and weekends. Saturdays are mandatory with at least partial working hours from 12–8 PM.
Location: Heights Arts Gallery at 2175 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Heights Arts does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, height, weight, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, and marital status.
CSU Fellowship Details
Five awards per academic year will be made. Each Fellow will receive a $1,500 scholarship per semester, a paid internship ($15 per hour, 10 hours per week, 15 weeks per semester), and career mentoring at a local, creative institution.
Any semester-long fellowship may be renewable for an additional semester.
Eligibility
Full-time CSU undergraduate juniors and seniors with majors in Art, Design, Creative Writing or Film
3.0 Minimum GPA in the major
Eligibility
CSU Fellowship Online Application Process
Please complete a fellowship application form.
Fellowship Program Timeline:
May 5 – May 9: Cleveland State University will review student applications and approve students for participation.
May 9: Host sites receive information on students approved for participation.
May 12 – 23: Host sites will review student materials, contact students of interest, and conduct interviews.
May 23: Final student placements are communicated to Cleveland State and the Studio Institute Team from all host sites.