By Roxanne Phillips
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| Gallery view: Art Saint Louis "Fiber Focus 2011" exhibition on which Kalina Irving worked during her internship. Photo by Robin Hirsch-Steinhoff. |
Kalina Irving served as Intern for Art Saint Louis in the summer of 2011 when she was an undergrad student at University of Missouri-Columbia. In 2016, Kalina earned a Master’s Degree in Art History and Archaeology from the University of Missouri. Since then she has served as a Curatorial Intern with Saint Louis Art Museum, worked as a Gallery Assistant at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and for the Saint Louis Art Museum where she is currently the Senior Administrative Assistant for Curatorial Affairs and Museum Programs.
Roxanne Phillips: How did you become involved with Art Saint Louis?
Kalina Irving: I was a sophomore in college, Art History major, and knew I wanted to work in museums My mom discovered Art Saint Louis online and suggested that I email them to ask if they had any summer internships. I did and met with Robin [Hirsch-Steinhoff, ASL's Artistic Director] and the rest is history.
RP: What year did you serve as an ASL intern and through what institution?
KI: I interned for Art Saint Louis the Summer of 2011. I was a student in Art History and Archaeology at University of Missouri-Columbia during my internship but the position was found and pursued by me. I didn’t get course credit for it, but I did gain really great art world experience!
After my internship ended, I also volunteered for the organization and helped move Art Saint Louis from their former location on Washington Avenue to their new (and current) location on Pine. I will always be willing to help ASL!
RP: What skills or knowledge did you gain from your experience at Art Saint Louis that you still utilize today?
KI: ASL taught me a lot about the gallery world and how that process is run. It helped me form the skills to talk with artists, install shows, and what to look for when curating projects. I used the skills I learned from ASL in my other gallery internships/jobs.
RP: How did your internship with Art Saint Louis impact your life as an artist (or other career)? Is there anything that you learned that applies to your current work life and processes.
KI: Working at ASL really launched me into my path as a Museum/Gallery professional. Every task, job, project they assigned me directly related to something I have done in my career after leaving Art Saint Louis. I really owe them the biggest thanks for giving me the opportunity and for continuing to support my journey in this industry.
RP: Please share your best memory/memories of your time interning at Art Saint Louis.
KI: My best memory is learning from and becoming friends with Robin. She is a wonderful mentor and really taught me about the art world and how to curate shows.
My other favorite memory is unpacking and cataloguing artworks for exhibitions and especially having to unpack a fiber artwork that was the size of a full-grown man… I am much smaller than that and so it was very entertaining (there are pictures 😊).
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| Kalina Irving unpacking a life-sized artwork by Kansas artist Jayson Schwaller for the Art Saint Louis "Fiber Focus 2011" exhibition. Photo by Robin Hirsch-Steinhoff. |
RP: Is there anything you could share about your experiences at ASL?
KI: As someone who is not an artist but who loves to study art, the internship at ASL gave me the invaluable chance to learn how to work with and learn from current artists. It is a skill not everyone in the gallery/museum world has and so I feel very grateful that at such an early stage in my career I was afforded the opportunity to learn and grow this skill.
My internship with Art Saint Louis informed my work in graduate school, my work as an intern at the Saint Louis Art Museum, and as the Gallery Assistant at the Kranzberg Arts Center. I cannot say enough how valuable the internship was for me. It allowed me to study all aspects of the gallery, from juror’s presentations, grant writing, administrative works, openings, installations, and much more.
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Roxanne Phillips
is an artist and art educator based in St. Louis since 2001. She earned
a MFA in Printmaking & Drawing from Washington University in St.
Louis and BFA in Painting & Drawing from University of North Texas.
Roxanne is an adjunct art instructor at Washington University in
St. Louis and has worked with Art Saint Louis
since 2017 as Administrative Assistant and Installer. From 2018-2020
she was Master Printer for Pele Prints. Her works have been featured in
numerous exhibitions
throughout the St. Louis region including at Art Saint Louis, Crossroads
Art Studio & Gallery, and St. Louis Artists’ Guild. Her work is
currently available at Union Studio in St. Louis. She has served as
exhibit Juror for several regional exhibits & art fairs. Roxanne is
past Board member of St. Louis Women’s Caucus for Art.
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