APPRENTICE AND INTERN PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

"A fellowship of apprenticeship requires a common sacrifice to the common objective." Frank Lloyd Wright

Recent movements in contemporary art have changed the processes by which many professional artists develop their works. Many times, the major artist does not resemble the solitary figure locked in the studio, as was the case with painters and sculptors not too many years ago. Environmental concerns, the use of industrial materials, technology, and scale have required many artists' studios to pursue a team approach to research, problem solving, and execution of final works. It is difficult for students in a university curriculum to experience the new operational procedures unique to this period.

The John David Mooney Foundation's Apprentice and Internship Program is a response to the requests of college professors, students, and graduates seeking meaningful transnational collaboration, an interdisciplinary experience, and professional training in the Arts.

Participants in the Apprentice and Internship Program come from all over the world, creating an international learning experience for architects, artists, art historians, industrial designers, arts management professionals, landscape architects, graphic designers, urban planners, and serious art advocates. It is a program of intense, advanced study purposefully designed to foster a team-oriented, interdisciplinary approach to creative discovery, filling the voids, and fulfilling the artist's responsibility to society. Participants learn how to maximize performance by focusing on four leadership qualities: Vision, Goal-Setting, Accountability, and Commitment.

The Foundation normally has five to six interns and apprentices in residence from around the world and from various disciplines. Participants are required to draw upon the creativity and skills of one another and to engage government, engineers, developers, scientists, and others in the process. What is more, the natural dynamic of a diverse studio group demands that participants bring their individual strengths to the fore as they connect with one another and with the larger public sphere in socially conscious, creative problem solving.

The philosophical challenge of the Apprentice and Internship Program is the discovery of the artist's responsibility to society.

The program's emphasis on the spiritual and social dimensions of the creative journey readily distinguishes itself from traditional approaches. The program is not concerned with an art object, but with the process of becoming. Self initiation, the task of discovery, and problem solving that addresses the broader needs of society are seen as the vital components of the art process.

Internships

The Foundation offers internships in a variety of fields including Fine Arts, Architecture, Arts Administration, Urban Innovations, Archival and Curatorial Practices, Industrial Design, and Graphic Design, as well as Special Programs focusing on the relationship between Art and Science. Interns may also propose an individualized program of study that integrates an outside discipline with the mission and programming of the Foundation. In addition to visual art and architecture, disciplines represented by past interns include chemistry, human rights, engineering, literature, philosophy, the culinary arts, and the liberal arts.

Interns assist in the running of both an artists' studio and an international art gallery while exploring and refining their individual creative talents. Regardless of one's individual background, each intern is assigned to work on specific projects while working on the full range of Foundation activities; including exhibition organization, catalog design, arts administration, and of course, the development of a project from inception to conclusion.

Interns normally have acquired their undergraduate or graduate degrees, but there are no formal restrictions as to who may apply. Internships are awarded for a period of 3 months renewable to 6 months. To learn more about past participants in the John David Mooney Foundation Apprentice and Internship Program, please see the biographies of current interns and apprentices, read about our Alumni in the News, or view the list of nations and universities represented by past apprentices and interns. Applications are received on an ongoing basis and are selected by the Foundation's distinguished jury.

Apprenticeships

The heart and soul of the Foundation is its unique Apprenticeship Program. The exploratory process, the dialogue, and the energized relationships that characterize the program stimulate a one of a kind dynamism and create an environment in which to excel. Throughout the Foundation's thirty year history of granting apprenticeships, the vast majority of applicants came to this program simply through personal recommendations. Today, because the number of applicants far exceeds the places available, a jury of distinguished architects and artists review the applicants' portfolios.

To be awarded an apprenticeship candidates must have practiced their art professionally. Apprenticeships are awarded to those professionals of outstanding merit who have made significant contributions through their art, and who, while in residence, will be willing to participate in projects that bridge the relationship between Art and Architecture, as well as to assist in generating activities that weave art into the public domain, thereby facilitating cultural exchange and fostering a sense of global citizenship.

An Apprentice Fellowship is usually awarded one at a time and held by an international artist or architect whose body of work can be presented in a special exhibition while in Chicago. Apprentices are expected to give lectures on their work, to participate in special conferences and panel discussions, and to mentor interns. Particular efforts are also made to represent the cultural wealth of the apprentice's nation, and minority artists may be eligible for special awards.

Candidates are normally artists established in their professions or architects who have been engaged in practice and wish to take leave from their normal endeavors to become involved in a hands-on process of exploring new realms of environmental art, architecture, and planning. Professors often use their sabbatical time to accept an apprenticeship. Apprenticeships range in time from six months to two years.

Arts Management and Administration

Recently, the Foundation has awarded Apprenticeships in Arts Management to established arts administrators from prestigious art organizations around the country. The Foundation's lectures and exhibitions, the International Currents Programs, as well as the Great River Project, a flotilla of 15 barges for the performing arts, have provided an exceptional opportunity for innovative programming and creative management. Specialists from a diversity of fields including law and communications, finance and design, marketing and computers, community outreach, grant writing, archival control, and historical research, are all engaged in ongoing implementation of the Foundation's programs.

Interns in Arts Management and Administration come from a diversity of disciplines: Business, Art History and Criticism, Journalism and Communications, Computer Sciences, and the Liberal Arts and Sciences. The field of Arts Management offers many employment opportunities through the rapidly growing number of not-for-profit arts organizations. The Foundation's training procedures of active involvement in day-to-day operations, as well as the creation of long term goals and implementation plans, prepares the intern with management level experience upon entry into the field. Interns in Arts Management represent a wealth of geographic and cultural diversity, hailing from many countries and from many regions within the United States. The Foundation takes special pride in the diversity of its participants and actively pursues an expansion of opportunity for minorities both inside and outside of the Internship Program.

Apprentices for Arts Management are chosen through a process similar to the process by which candidates in Art and Architecture are chosen. Qualifications are based on established professional experience and achievement. The success of the Foundation's work depends upon highly motivated and creative individuals who can bring to the organization their knowledge of American and international business, governmental processes, and implementation techniques.

Applicants to the Arts Management and Administration Program should note in their cover letter that they are applying specifically for an Arts Management placement.

Awards

The Foundation does not charge tuition for its educational services, nor are internships and apprenticeships paid positions. The Foundation does, however, grant distinguished participants with the following fellowships:

The Walter Netsch Fellowship is awarded to an outstanding candidate in the Internship Program who has successfully completed the first three months of the Internship. The Netsch Fellowship is normally given to architects.

The Marie E. Mooney Memorial Fellowship is awarded to an intern who has successfully completed a three-month internship in Leadership for the Arts, who has shown evidence of extraordinary care and concern for others, and whose social actions demonstrate a spirit of joy and beauty.

The Lorado Taft Fellowship is awarded to an outstanding candidate in the Apprenticeship program. This fellowship is available only to a candidate in the Fine Arts who has completed an Internship at the Foundation.

The Jens Jensen Fellowship is awarded to a candidate in Landscape Architecture who has successfully completed a three-month internship.

All Fellowships are awarded after a review of achievements by the Foundation's distinguished jury.

For both Apprentices and Interns, the day includes a communal meal in the studio, and the Foundation will assist participants in the Apprentice and Internship Program in finding accommodations.

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