The internships last from three to five months and pair students with experts at the National Gallery.Ashley Fraser/Globe and Mail
The National Gallery of Canada is launching an internship program for Indigenous and Black students, as well as students from other cultural communities across Canada.
The gallery’s NGC Conservation Internship Program for Diversity was created in collaboration with the art conservation program at Queen’s University and the Canadian Conservation Institute.
The initiative offers four interns real-world experience in conservation and restoration work, as well as a $25,000 bursary to formally study the field in a master’s program at the Kingston, Ont. university.
The gallery says interns will become familiar with some of the complexities of research, technical examination, and historic and ethical concerns when working with art and artifacts.
The internships last from three to five months and pair students with experts at the National Gallery. They will also be introduced to conservation science and broader heritage preservation issues at the Canadian Conservation Institute, also in Ottawa.
The program began last June with its first intern, Caribbean-Canadian Tirza Harris from Kingston, Ont.
Sign up for The Globe’s arts and lifestyle newsletters for more news, columns and advice in your inbox.