Elizabeth Perkins Fellowship in Museum Practice & Research
To receive an application, please email education@oldyork.org or download an application. Completed applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on March 16, 2012
About the Fellowship
The Fellowship is an intensive twelve-week program in research and hands-on museum practice. The experience includes interaction with museum visitors, providing docent tour services, exposure to museum education, development, and administration issues as they relate to curatorial activity and exhibit development, attending professional staff meetings, and opportunities to meet and network with other regional museum professionals. A typical week, depending on scheduling, can consist of 2 or 3 days of research and project development activities (including field trips to other museums in northern New England), 3 or 4 days of giving public tours of Old York’s historic museum structures, and 1 day of personal time. Field trips are planned by Fellows and appropriate staff and are related to the projects and to interpretative themes.
Successful candidates are awarded a Fellowship which includes tuition, books, field trip expenses, and housing for twelve weeks. Fellows also receive a $2700 stipend for that period.
2012 Fellowship Dates
Elizabeth Perkins Fellows arrive on Tuesday, May 21, 2012 and begin introductory training the following day. The Fellowship Symposium takes place on Monday, August 13, 2012.
Program Location
The Fellowship is centered at the Museums of Old York in York, Maine. Settled in 1631, York, Maine is one hour north of Boston, forty-five minutes south of Portland, Maine’s largest city and cultural hub, and ten minutes from historic Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is located directly on the southern coast of Maine, which offers a density of historic villages and settlements, many having been established in the 17th century. The area also offers extensive beach and recreational activities.
About the Museums of Old York
The Museums of Old York is one of the largest historical museums in Maine, maintaining eight historic museum buildings. The museums houses a large collection of artifacts associated with the development of southern Maine from pre-history through the twentieth century. With roots stretching back to 1899 and the opening of its first museum in 1900, Old York is recognized as one of the earliest collecting institutions in New England. .
Fellows' Living Quarters
Fellows are housed in the former servants’ quarters of the Elizabeth Perkins House, a sprawling colonial revival summer estate on the York River, just minutes from the ocean front at York Harbor. Fellowship quarters consist of a wing housing four individual bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a common kitchen/dining area and pantry, a living room, and a large private screened porch overlooking the rear lawn and gardens out to the river. The quarters were added to the original 1730s house in 1926, and offer a Maine “summer cottage” experience. They are basic and comfortable. Cable is provided for internet service and television.
Program Considerations
This program, now in its twenty-third year, was founded to provide students interested in establishing museum and cultural academic careers with the opportunity to conduct meaningful research and present it in a public forum. In addition, Fellows serve as educational interpreters for several of Old York's historic buildings. The most successful Fellows are those who are self-starters, highly motivated, able to live, as well as work, closely with others and who seek to gain professional experience during an intense and rewarding period of residency.
The Fellowship is open to graduate and upper level undergraduate students pursuing museum, preservation, or academic careers. Selection is very competitive, with four Fellowships being awarded each year. Academic credit may be arranged through the applicant’s school.
2012 Fellowship Projects
We seek three candidates who will work collaboratively on one museum project. The three fellows will assume the responsibility of redeveloping and beginning to install an interpretive exhibit on the second floor of the 18th century John Hancock Warehouse. That space currently houses a 30-year-old exhibit. The 2012 exhibit will focus on the working waterfront throughout York’s history.
This project will provide considerable hands-on experience in exhibit design and installation both independently and in collaboration with the Old York staff. The exhibit process will begin with developing an exhibition plan and time line. An outline of exhibit resources including potential objects and a budget will be provided by the museum to help guide the exhibition process. Once complete a plan is complete, the Fellows will begin researching, choosing artifacts, creating labels and installing the exhibition. The goal is to have a full exhibition plan in place by the first week of August and possibly some of the installation begun. At the annual Fellows’ Symposium on August 13th 2012 the summer’s project will be unveiled to the public.
John Hancock Warehouse is located on the York River adjacent to the George Marshall Store, a contemporary art gallery owned by the Museums. It shares a parking lot with the GMS as well as the John Hancock Wharf which is used year round by three commercial lobstermen. The Fellows’ project will be part of a larger museum sponsored summer in 2012 celebration titled “Work and Play on the Waterfront”. This celebration will include educational programs, a fundraiser, an art exhibit and the Fellows’ project all based around York’s Rivers and Ocean.
Application Procedures
The selection committee bases its decisions on a completed application, essay, and two letters of recommendation from faculty or professional references. Strong candidates also participate in a telephone or in-office interview. Applicants are not required to be currently enrolled at an academic institution at the time of their admission to the Fellowship program. Also, since the Fellowship aims to expose young professionals to museum work, previous experience in museums is not required, but does demonstrate a strong interest in the field.
To receive an application, please email education@oldyork.org or download an application.
Completed applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on March 16, 2012
Fellowship Alumni
The Fellowship program has over seventy alumni who live and work in the United States, Canada and Europe. Over 95 percent of past Fellows work in museums and other cultural organizations, including:
Carl Sandburg National Historic Site |
Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Contact Information
For general information please click here. For more information about the Elizabeth Bishop Perkins Fellowship, please contact:
Zoe Keefer-Norris, Education Director
Museums of Old York
P.O. Box 312
York, ME 03909
education@oldyork.org
P: (207) 363-4974 x12
F: (207) 363-4021