The Intern Experience
By: Sarah Murphy
My name is Sarah Murphy and I have been interning at Art Windsor-Essex for the past three months, working in marketing and engagement. I don’t mean to be cheesy, but I have to say, AWE has its name for a reason. I came to the gallery with a background in creative writing and administrative communications with the hope of connecting them through marketing in an arts space, and it has shown me that this is the kind of work I would love to do after graduation. Marketing for a company that is so full of passion, motivation, innovation, and beauty has been a privilege and has expanded my thinking in so many ways.
My time at AWE has taught me a lot about transition. As the world has started to open back up after the pandemic, businesses that thrive off in-person interactions and community connection have started to blossom once again, and it was incredible to be a witness to that here. I have recognized students from my university and from the community who were inspired by the art and events at AWE after being secluded in their houses for so long. I watched the number of people in attendance steadily increase along with their comfort and excitement for the artwork and the connections they were making. As a student in my early twenties, the gallery is an amazing outlet of inclusion and creativity in the bustle of everyday life.
I have also been a witness to the physical transition of the gallery. In February, I wandered through our third floor as the exhibitions were changed and brought a theme of seeing things in a new way. The innovation of Flowing Forces, the open-mindedness of Aura, the transformation of Hard Look Soft Gaze, and the awareness of Water Protectors brought new life to the space and showed me what goes into the pristine final product that viewers see. If that wasn’t enough, March brought literal new life to the second floor with another change of exhibitions. Assisting with the installation of BioCurious and getting the chance to interview the artists of Disruptive Body and Cut-outs, Offcuts, and Cast-offs gave me a new appreciation for art as a writer and helped me connect with the pieces so much more.
I have loved having the chance to understand and appreciate both the artwork and the community-based brand that surrounds it through my work at AWE. I learned about everything from implementing brand guidelines to writing Instagram captions (check us out @artwindsoressex) and got to experience so many amazing moments and meet so many amazing people. AWE is an organization that has changed and grown with its community, and I hope that everyone in it gets a chance to explore what they have to offer. To showcase how creativity and marketing melded in my time here, I wrote a poem about the gallery and my feelings while interning there. Thank you, AWE!
A Poem By Sarah Murphy about her experience at Art Windsor-Essex:
This is the Place
This is the place where the people go.
When the day has been too much,
When the heart shrinks from touch,
When you’ve lost your final crutch,
This is the place where the people go.
Where flora can line cement brick halls,
Where life and death can hang on walls,
Where dreams are drawn and reality falls,
This is the place where the people go.
When you need to feel your heart beat,
When you forget to follow your feet,
When you want to connect and release,
This is the place where the people go.
Where new thoughts are had, and new questions asked,
Where beauty and mind meet at last,
If you need one place to see humanity, so vast,
This is the place where the people go.
