Redux Internship Empowers College of Charleston Student

^{Photos by Catie Cleveland}

This summer as an intern at Redux Contemporary Art Center, Shelby Allen learned how to design an exhibition featuring 42 resident artists’ work, which might sound simple, but involved spackling, sanding and painting gallery walls. Allen spent hours carrying and moving delicate pieces of art, while collaborating with artists about where to hang works in varying colors, sizes and textures in a way that felt cohesive.

“We were given complete creative freedom to arrange the show,” says the Hartsville, South Carolina, native, who enjoyed being a part of the collaborative efforts required to run a small, nonprofit organization like Redux. “I felt validated, trusted and truly empowered during my internship.”

An Honors College senior majoring in arts management (the perfect blend, she says, of what she loves – art – and what she’s good at: analytical thinking), Allen fell in love with Redux during a field trip with her sculpture class, taught by associate professor of studio art Jarod Charzewski.

“Redux is an incredibly unique space that is home to 38 studio spaces, up to 42 artists and three gallery spaces: There’s a main gallery, a middle gallery that hosts a resident artist’s work and a back gallery that displays lightning residency work,” says Allen, explaining that the lightning residency is a six-week program that enables two emerging artists to share a studio space and create an exhibition together. “As you travel from one gallery to another, you can peek inside different artists’ studios and view their work, which is available for purchase. Their doors are open so you can poke your head into the studios and chat with the artists and craftspeople.”

As a recipient of the Career Center Internship Award (CCIA), a program that assists students with professional development and helps to eliminate financial barriers, Allen met periodically with a cohort of other interns to learn about professional development that included résumé tips, how to build and give an elevator pitch and much more.

“The program really helped me put my best foot forward as I applied for internships, and I’m confident that I presented the best possible version of myself,” she says, adding that the CCIA also helped her with networking. “I’ve connected with many people who offered support or advice. We heard from guest speakers who are experts in their field about hiring processes and other career-readiness skills.”

She is also making connections at Redux, where many of the staff, resident studio artists and instructors are CofC alumni – including Maggie Jordan ’12, Redux’s exhibition and studio director.

“I knew Shelby Allen would be a great fit as one of Redux interns because of her enthusiasm, attention to detail and ability to welcome visitors into Redux while also completing projects that help make Redux a successful arts organization,” says Jordan, who double majored in art history and anthropology and interned at both Redux and the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art while at the College. “We’re so lucky to work within our community, especially the College of Charleston internship program, to find the next generation of arts administrators, artists and business owners. Interns are integral to our organization.”

Allen is a go-getter and balances the demands of being a full-time student with a job at Starbucks as a barista, trainer and shift supervisor, and a guide with Charleston 40, the group that gives prospective students and families tours of campus. After graduation, she hopes to earn a Master of Business Administration at the College and become a certified associate in project management.

“My hope,” she says, “is that with these tools I’ll be able to help other people produce and sell their artwork.”