Internship - Decorative Arts of the Gulf South (DAGS) Black Craftspeople Project bei The Historic New Orleans Collection

Description

Department: Curatorial  

Program Duration: September 22 – November 28, 2025 (10 weeks)  

Application Deadline: September 12, 2025 at 11:59pm 

Program Description 

The DAGS Black Craftspeople Internship at the Historic New Orleans Collection offers graduate students a unique opportunity to contribute to ongoing research that expands our understanding of decorative arts and artisans in Louisiana. Since 2022, DAGS has collaborated with the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive (BCDA) project, gathering biographical information about craftspeople of color throughout New Orleans history. Previous internships focused on cabinetmakers and metalworkers. The 2025 intern will investigate other trades, with a particular focus on residents of the historic Treme neighborhood. 

By participating in this internship, a graduate student will gain hands-on experience in historical research practices and public history interpretation. In 2027, HNOC will host the exhibition Fighting for Freedom: Black Craftspeople and the Pursuit of Independence, a collaboration between BCDA and the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum. Intern research will contribute to planned supplemental materials focused on Black craftspeople in New Orleans. 

Learning Objectives 

• Primary Source Research – Intern will learn to investigate census records, city directories, and other primary sources for information about local craftspeople of color. They will also gain project management skills required to organize large datasets of research findings. 
• New Orleans History - Intern will learn about the unique role Free People of Color have played throughout New Orleans history and become familiar with recent scholarship about racial identity and material culture in Louisiana. 
• Public Interpretation - Intern will learn how to craft compelling narratives and visual presentations that interpret research findings for a general audience. 

Engagement Tasks: 

The intern will:  

• Compile names and biographical details of Black craftspeople who lived and worked in New Orleans from 1718-1900. 
• Conduct detailed research about two case studies identified from primary sources. 
• Analyze research dataset for patterns and connect those trends to their larger historical context. 
• Create a visual presentation of text, images, and maps sharing research findings. 

Requirements

Applicant Qualifications: 

• Qualified candidates are students actively enrolled at a New Orleans-based four-year university (Dillard University, Loyola University at New Orleans, Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana). 
• Applicants should be classified as undergraduate juniors or seniors or be pursuing advanced degrees in Art History, History Museum Studies, Ethnic/Cultural Studies or a related field of study. Students with academic concentrations in American History, Africana Studies, African American Studies, or Material Culture are encouraged to apply. 
• Applicants should be able to commit to a minimum of 10-hours per week on-site at the Historic New Orleans Collection French Quarter campus and be willing to completed remote tasks as required.