Third-year studio art BFA student Heidi Vance is spending her summer at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., interning at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. Vance is a recipient of the Conservation Internship for Broadening Access (CIBA), which aims to help diversify the field of museum conservation by introducing students to the field who come from varied economic, cultural, social, and educational backgrounds. This internship serves as a pre-graduate program opportunity to learn about art conservation in a museum setting through multi-disciplinary experiences with various works of art, technology used for conservation, and conservation practices.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 19 museums and the National Zoo—shaping the future by preserving heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing resources with the world. The Institution was founded in 1846 with funds from the Englishman James Smithson (1765–1829) according to his wishes “under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
At UCF, Vance is concentrating on painting and minoring in art history. She plans to attend graduate school for a master’s degree in art conservation.