Job Specifications
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States and a thriving cultural center for the Bay Area. We cannot imagine life without art; it inspires and connects us every day. Now more than ever, these connections matter and are aligned with our values.
Inclusive: We strive to be a museum of many voices in dialogue.
Passionate : We believe working with art is more than a job or trusteeship - it's a way of life.
Brave : We are committed to approaching our work with courage and a sense of adventure, always ready to explore new perspectives.
Empathic : We aim to act like a person, not an institution.
SFMOMA is a place for the infinitely curious to explore, support, and experience the art of our time. We believe that modern and contemporary art can influence the way we think, view the world, and embrace the many voices and perspectives around us. We aspire to foster an environment that elicits joy, nurtures a sense of belonging and purpose—where difference is seen as a strength, and every one is appreciated for their whole self.
Schedule: Full Time, 35 hours/week, Monday, June 15 - Friday, August 14, at least three days working onsite
Department Description
The Communications Department is comprised of the Public Relations and the Editorial teams. This internship joins the three-person Public Relations team, which works with colleagues across the broader department, division, and the institution as well as external stakeholders to expand visibility and build diverse audiences for the full range of museum activity. Focus areas include SFMOMA’s exhibitions, permanent collections, acquisitions, education and community engagement programs, artists, staff, board leadership, museum store, philanthropy events, and partnerships, among other initiatives. The Public Relations team secures a significant and wide range of press coverage for the museum, generates press materials and staff and leadership talking points, facilitates interviews, as well as film and photography shoots, all helping tell and share the many stories of SFMOMA with the public.
Position Description
Inspired by the goal of promoting our exhibitions and programs to a broad audience, the Summer 2026 Public Relations intern will aid the Public Relations (PR) team in researching relevant media contacts, tracking and analyzing press coverage, and preparing and reviewing select communications for distribution to our press lists.
With guidance from the PR team, the Summer 2026 Public Relations intern’s primary project will focus on researching and making strategic updates to the museum’s database of journalists, editors, and media outlets who may have interest in covering SFMOMA’s Fall 2026 surcharged exhibition RM x SFMOMA and Spring 2027 surcharged exhibition (to be announced). The Summer 2026 Public Relations intern will also have the opportunity to contribute to select press releases and/or media alerts and will help manage the PR Team’s press highlights board (which displays key press clippings for SFMOMA’s staff). The Summer 2026 intern will additionally be welcomed to a variety of department and division meetings and outings, including: PR team meetings to develop a sense of PR strategy and media relations at the museum, Communications Department meetings to gain an understanding of the Editorial and Public Relations planning processes and collaborations, and monthly Marketing and Communications (M+C) All Hands meetings to become familiar with the different roles and responsibilities of the wider division.
Project Plan
Over The 9-week Program The PR Intern Will
Weeks 1-3: Become familiar with SFMOMA, its building, collection, and programs; the M+C division
responsibilities; the PR team priorities, schedule, and press list; explore the PR Team’s main press list and
Meltwater Database
Weeks 4-6: Review exhibition materials related to SFMOMA’s 2026-2027 surcharged exhibitions; begin
conducting research on potential press targets; research comparable exhibitions and related press coverage;
regularly update SFMOMA’s press highlights board; review and/or contribute to select press releases and/or
media alerts
Weeks 7-8: Continue research on relevant media outlets and contacts; finalize recommendations to SFMOMA’s
press list
Week 9: Work on final project and presentation
Educational Objectives
Develop a greater awareness of the current media landscape
Gain first-hand experience with public relations at an arts nonprofit, PR strategy and planning, effective
communications and pitching to the media
Increase knowledge of a wide variety of media outlets, writers, and editors and hone a greater understanding of
how to effectively reach a diverse range of audiences
Additional Internship Programming
The Summer 2026 Internship will offer 9-weeks of hands-on experience and mentorship along with weekly presentations and discussions with various departments in the mus
About the Company
Art transforms lives. It provokes us to think, to express, to explore our own creativity, to envision new possibilities. SFMOMA expanded the museum to provide a better experience for our visitors and a better home for our expanding collections, including the SFMOMA collection and the Fisher Collection, one of the finest collections of contemporary art in the world. The new SFMOMA, designed in collaboration with the architecture firm Snøhetta, opened May 2016. With this project, we are transforming not just the museum's physi...
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