Programming Intern, Music

The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Founded by philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton, Crystal Bridges is a public non-profit charitable organization.

Job Description:

Position Title: Programming Intern, Music and Festivals

Position Type: High School Intern

Division: Music and Festivals

Department: Production

Reports to: Laura Newell

Compensation Range: High School Intern: $12.00 an hour

About Crystal Bridges & The Momentary:

Crystal Bridges is a museum of American art located in Bentonville, Arkansas. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate the American heritage and artistic possibilities. Founded by Alice Walton in 2005, the museum opened in 2011 and is a public, non-profit charitable organization with free admission.

The Momentary is a new contemporary art space that opened to the public on February 22, 2020, in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. A satellite to Crystal Bridges, the Momentary presents visual, performing, and culinary arts. The mission of the Momentary is to champion contemporary art's role in everyday life and explore the unfolding story of contemporary American arts in an international context by actively commissioning and exhibiting outstanding works that explore new ideas and inspire action.

Position Summary:

The Programming Intern is an integral member of the Music & Festivals team who contributes to the programmatic vision through programming and administrative support. A strong interest in and experience with music is required. The Programming Intern supports an active team in the research, planning and implementation of a wide range of music programming including concerts, festivals, residencies, and other events or programs at varying scales. The intern selected for this position will be supporting our Music and Festivals Department and Production teams during the Fall of 2024 and the Spring of 2025. See Below for Schedule.

The Programming Intern will shadow the Music & Festivals team, who are in regular communication with artists and their representatives, external contractors, and community partners. They will learn the ins-and-outs of the Music & Festivals department and act as a bridge between idea generation, practical production and audience experiences. Opportunities exist for this role to deliver programs under the supervision of the Associate Programmer of Music & Festivals, and the Director of Music & Festivals.

The Programming Intern regularly performs administrative tasks that are complex in nature and require considerable discretion and confidentiality. The Programming Intern must be consistently professional, approachable, proactive, and be able to organize and balance multiple tasks. Regularly, the Programming Intern will be responsible for working across multiple, overlapping timelines and insuring all external and inter-departmental communications are clear, timely, and documented.

The Programming Intern reports to the Associate Programmer, Music & Festivals, and works closely with team members across departments at Crystal Bridges and the Momentary, including, but not limited to, Operations, Box Office, Data Strategy, Brand Strategy and Communications, Engagement, Visual Arts, and Special Events.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The intern selected for this role will perform the following duties and responsibilities:

Music Research and Data Analysis

• Conduct comprehensive research on musicians, bands, and emerging artists to identify potential acts for our events. Analyze trends in music genres, audience preferences, and performance histories to make informed recommendations for bookings.

• Maintain and update a detailed database of musician contacts, performance metrics, and historical booking data to support strategic decision-making in event programming.

Talent Coordination:

• Shadow in booking openers for headlining acts, effectively doubling the number of bookings for certain events.
• Shadow communications and negotiations with agents, keeping accurate records of interactions and agreements.
• Maintain and update a tracker of open, expiring, and expired offers in correlation with the events calendar.
• Provide timely and accurate information to the coordinator to ensure that all Microsoft Team channels, EMS, and other calendars are updated.
• Help manage contracts, file them appropriately, and keep updated riders accessible in the Microsoft Teams channel.
• Assist in providing organizational support for Music & Festivals projects, including scheduling project meetings, booking meeting rooms, preparing agendas and sending out notes focused on next steps.

Budget and Financial Tracking:

• Assists in monitoring and documenting the internal budgets and amounts spent on offers.

Programming Support:

• Shadow the Programmer on Site for events, providing backup to the primary programmer.
• Contribute to the creation of ancillary programming to boost event attendance, including pop-up events at Tower Bar, patio listening sessions, and other venues.
• Assist in generating and submitting offer letters to musicians.
• Assist in submissions of programs to various platforms including program management team, Smartsheet, and Microsoft Teams programming documents.
• Assist in creating and managing specific program channels within Microsoft Teams.

Collaboration and Teamwork:

• Work closely with the programming team and other departments to manage workflow and coordination, especially during peak seasons at locations like North Forest at Crystal Bridges
• Engage in brainstorming sessions to continually innovate and improve our music offerings.

Additional Duties

• The intern will assist in
  • answering inquiries in a prompt, professional manner
  • provides suggestions to improve processes
  • Keep supervisor informed as to any issues or changes in project scope
  • Helps foster team creativity, collegiality, timeliness, and mutual respect, to create experiences that engage and delight guests

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of music, festivals, and music business required
• Interest in learning project coordination
• Ability to meet deadlines within fast-paced working environments
• Willingness to learn specialized software systems is required, including Microsoft products, EMS, Workday, Adaptive, and Google Workspace
• Once sufficiently trained, a willingness to work independently, as well as within a team
• This position requires the ability to maintain the highest ethics as they relate to all aspects of curatorial endeavor and to understand and maintain the highest levels of confidentiality and discretion

Timeline:

• Anticipated Start Date for Fall: October 1st
• Anticipated End Date for Fall: November 23rd
• Anticipated Start Date for Spring: January 20th
• Anticipated End Date for Spring: April 26th

Schedule:

• Dates: See Above
• Hours: Up to 15 hours a week
• Weekly schedule to be arranged with direct supervisor

Compensation:

• High School Students are eligible to receive $12.00 an hour.

Required Documents:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• At least one letter of recommendation; please submit a maximum of two.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an intern to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical demands: In the work environment described below, position requires work at a desk, utilizing a computer and a telephone for prolonged periods of time, good eye/hand coordination, bending and stretching for filing, and physical stamina to lift a minimum of 25 pounds to a height of at least three feet for file and materials storage as appropriate for the demands of the office. Visual acuity to review written materials is required for this job.

• Work environment: Work will be performed in an office environment and museum spaces. The noise level in the museum work environment is usually low to moderate.

If the intern's personal equipment is used, the museum accepts no liability for any damage caused to said equipment while being used for museum purposes, nor loss or corruption of electronic files on devices.

All offers of employment are contingent on your successful completion (where permitted by state law) of a confidentiality agreement and background check. In addition, you will need to provide proper identification verifying your eligibility to work in the United States on your first day of work.

Crystal Bridges is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a culturally diverse workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. We encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.

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