Opportunities

Collections Internship

“Wende” is a German word that means “transformation.” It is commonly used to describe the era of uncertainty and possibility leading up to and following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Headquartered in a renovated National Guard Armory in Culver City, the Wende Museum is a cultural laboratory that pairs unparalleled collections from the Cold War era with contemporary artists, filmmakers, musicians, scholars, and others. The Wende’s collection encompasses more than 100,000 holdings, ranging from consumer products to fine art, political symbols, audiovisual materials, spy equipment, posters, ephemera, commemoratives, books, archives, and personal histories.

The Wende Museum offers Collections Internships for currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate students, as well as recent graduates who are interested in gaining experience in collection management, collection development, and artifact research. Positions are part-time, paid at $18/hour for 120 hours, and available for course credit. Internships are offered year-round, typically beginning in January, June, and September.

The Collections Internship will focus on cataloging the Museum’s incoming acquisitions and existing backlog. Interns will gain experience in key areas of object handling, processing objects, and using a museum database (Mimsy XG). Interns will have the opportunity to directly work with artifacts from the Cold War and be exposed to a variety of museum activities. Potential interns must meet the following criteria for consideration:

• Be available to work part-time between Monday and Friday;
• Have completed at least one semester of college by the time of application;
• Possess an interest in museum studies, collections management, history, and/or material and visual culture of the Cold War;
• Be comfortable working with databases and computers;
• Be detail-oriented, self-motivated, and independent, with excellent communication skills;
• A reading knowledge of German, Russian, or an Eastern European Language is helpful but not required.

We are currently accepting applications for our Summer internship, which is set to begin in June 2025, through May 2. To apply, please fill out this form and send a cover letter outlining your interest and a current resume to internships@wendemuseum.org.

Please indicate that you are applying for the Collections Internship, both in the email subject and cover letter.