paris museum internships
Musée du Louvre
The Musée du Louvre internship is an unpaid, three-month program for students who are fluent in French. The museum is only looking for applicants over the age of 18, with past experience working in a museum setting and/or relevant work experience. Students must be enrolled at an accredited college or university, with a full semester left to complete before graduation.
The education department at the Louvre offers many different opportunities for interns, including administration and research positions. If you’re interested in working in these areas, your first step should be to check out the museum’s employment page. There are also plenty of other jobs available at this site that require fluency in French but don’t necessarily require previous museum experience—these can make great internships if you’re looking to gain some new skills while also having fun!
Musée d’Orsay
The Musée d’Orsay offers internships in five areas: conservation, education, library, press and administration.
In the conservation department you will work with an experienced conservator of paintings who will teach you how to clean and repair paintings while also giving a theoretical background on this field.
The education department is looking for interns who are able to develop educational programs for children or adults. In addition to organizing tours and events, they also need people who can help them write articles on art history topics as well as create brochures or flyers. Applicants should have good writing skills in English or French and be comfortable working with computers (Word documents). The library offers opportunities for interns who want to get closer to books than ever before! Interns will gain experience by working closely with librarians in order to make sure that the collection is well-organized so that anyone can find what they’re looking for easily. They’ll also help out with various tasks around the museum such as cataloguing new acquisitions into our database system (Ex Libris), maintaining our archives and preparing materials for exhibitions.”
Centre Pompidou
The Pompidou Center, on the banks of the river Seine, is a modern art museum that opened in 1977. The Centre Pompidou houses over 200 works of art by such artists as Picasso and Braque. The building itself was designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers and is often described as an upside down ziggurat or pyramid shape.
The museum hosts special exhibitions from time to time; some current examples include The Secret History of Comics: From William Hogarth to Winsor McCay (through February 7, 2018) and Bordeaux Wine Route – Vineyards & Winemakers (through June 17). During these events there will be more people visiting the museum so it’s best to book your internship during non-exhibition times if you want a quieter experience at the Centre Pompidou!
Musée de l’Orangerie
The Musée de l’Orangerie is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The museum was established by Louis XIV in 1682 as a greenhouse for oranges that were imported from Italy using royal gardens as a model. It was moved to its present location and opened to public under Louis XVIII in 1826, when it became known as “Musée Napoléon”. In 1833, the museum acquired its current name with its first collection dedicated exclusively to Impressionist paintings.
As one of France’s finest museums, it houses works by Monet, Gauguin and Van Gogh…
Petit Palais – musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris
The Petit Palais – musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris is a complete Parisian Belle Epoque jewel, housing a large collection of paintings, sculptures and furniture from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
The museum was built by Charles Girault between 1887 and 1900 to be the home of the city’s collections of fine arts as they had been exhibited at l’Exposition Universelle (1889). At first it was known as “La salle des concours” (the competition room) due to its purpose as an exhibition space during this world fair. It later became known as “The Palace” because of its resemblance to Versailles palace gardens when seen from above. In 1905 it was renamed “Petit Palais” in reference to its small size compared with other palaces such as l’Opéra Garnier or l’Orangerie du Jardin des Tuileries (which no longer exists).
École du Louvre
École du Louvre internships are open to university students who wish to gain professional experience in the museum field as part of their studies. Interns will attend seminars, lectures, and workshops where they can learn about the history of art and conservation. In addition to their education, interns will also be able to see how museums work from behind-the-scenes by working at the museum itself. Depending on their interests and abilities interns may be able to participate in other activities such as attending special events or helping with research projects.
École du Louvre offers internships for both French speaking university students and non-French speaking ones that last between one month and three months depending on your availability during this time period (June-September). The possibility of travelling abroad is also available if desired but not required!
Institut National du Patrimoine (INP)
The Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) is a French organization that works to protect historic sites, buildings, and monuments in France. The institute also provides training programs for preservation and conservation professionals.
You can apply for an internship with the INP through their website once you’ve been accepted into a program at your university.
To apply, you must have:
- A high-level understanding of French or another foreign language (Arabic, English, Spanish) and /or knowledge of a second foreign language (English).
- A good knowledge of English is required for all internships except those in the Department of European Architecture and Urbanism. – French is advised for all internships except those in the Departments of European Architecture & Urbanism; Ethnology; History; Middle East Studies; Southeast Asia Studies. – German is advised for some internships within the Departments of Asian Art History & Archaeology, Islamic Art History & Archaeology. – Italian is advised if interested in participating in one semester internships as part of our Leonardo da Vinci Program.
There are many museum internships in Paris.
Here is a list of museums in Paris that offer internships:
- Musée d’Orsay
- Centre Pompidou
- L’Orangerie du Louvre
- Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
This list is not complete, so if you know of any other museums offering internships to students, please let me know.