Meet AE: Group Exhibitions Guest Blog by Amber White

Guest post written by Amber White. Read more about Amber on the August 2012 blog Amber White and Tangled Antlers.

Or check out her work at www.tangledantlers.com

Amber White: Currently, I am the Director of Group Exhibitions. My position involves creating and managing 14 group exhibitions each year, communicating with all exhibiting artists, selecting and installing artwork, and supervising a group of exhibition interns. I volunteer anywhere from 15 to 25 hours each week to achieve all of these tasks, partially on-site at Ae and partially from home.

I began as an Assistant Gallery Director intern for the year of 2010 and was encouraged to join the board of directors when my internship was nearing the end. I began training with the previous Group Exhibitions Director at the end of 2010 and have been in my current role since then.

Pictured AE Board: Jenna Theis, Kara Hendershot, Cassie Pupovac, Jamie Schumacher, Bjorn Rolvaag, Todd Peterson, Noelle Bakken,

Kari Schuster, Pati Hibbard, Summer Scharinghausen, Kristin Thompson, Amber White, Suzanne  Pfutzenreuter,

Kate Renee, Cris Halverson, Hanna Jungbauer, and Lupi McGinty

As with all of our board member positions, my role is a three-year volunteer (unpaid) commitment. 2013 is my last year of this board term, so we are currently searching for an applicant to train as my replacement! The ideal Group Exhibitions Director candidate should have a fairly open evening and weekend schedule, previous exhibition and installation experience, training or teaching experience, knowledge of Google Apps, frequent access to internet and email, and superb time-management skills. It is one of our most involved roles at Altered Esthetics, but it is also extremely rewarding to work directly with the hundreds of artists and artworks that we exhibit each year.

Altered Esthetics’ next opening reception will be for the Creative Property exhibition: “Can a person claim ownership of an intangible asset? Artists face the issues of copyright and trademark as they relate to originality and creativity.” Come hang out with us Friday, September 7^th from 7 to 10pm! We also have some exciting workshop opportunities coming up this fall, and our 2013 Featured Artist Contest deadline is coming up on August 31^st!

From the Fear Itself Exhibition: (front center installation): Kim Gillespie, (wall behind L to R): Lara Crombie, Light the Underground, Helene Henderson, Miriam Houg, Janelle Photo, and Sharon Farrah

I am afraid to say that Ae is probably stuck with me for a long time. While I will definitely be taking a much needed break to focus on my own artwork when my current position concludes, I plan to remain involved in some capacity whether it be in another board position or as a drop-in volunteer. The mission of the organization is one I completely believe in, and much of the staff has become like family to me.

If you would like to learn more about the Group Exhibitions Director position or work with me as an Exhibitions Assistant, check out our opportunities page and internship page of the Ae website:

http://www.alteredesthetics.com/documents/opportunities

http://www.alteredesthetics.com/documents/internships

From the Belles Lettres Exhibition: L to R: Kara Hendershot and Joe Hendershot (collaborative), Paige Tokarczyk, Emily Beck, Janelle Doyle, Jason Huntzinger, and (front left on the pedestal) Maryellen Murphy

If you are unsure whether or not a three year board position is right for you, we also provide Gallery Director and Exhibitions Director internships that take place over much smaller time frames (6 months or 1 year). You can also be added to our volunteer newsletter to stay in the loop on special opportunities and events where your help may be needed. Our street team and installation crews always love having extra help!

Contact joinae@alteredesthetics.org for more information on internships and volunteering.