Intern Profile, Bianca Arthur-Hull, Archives and Special Collections Blog Intern

This year, Archives and Special Collections has benefited from some a number of interns whose work has focused particularly on showcasing works across Special Collections in a number of written pieces for this blog. During a break in her studies this year, Bianca Aurthur-Hull took the opportunity to complete her Museums and Collections Internship, gaining a greater in-depth knowledge of our collections.

What is your academic background? 

I did my bachelor’s in Art History and French. Within Art History I’m interested in constructions of value, authorship, the museum, and historiography (and Early Renaissance devotional art, period!) 

What path led you to undertaking an Internship in Archives and Special Collections? 

I’d engaged with the Archives and Special Collections department at various points throughout my degree, but it was only when I started looking into scholarships in my final year that I discovered the programs and internships run via the department. I was always going to apply in 2020 for the experience of working within the collections, but it just so happened that the pandemic allowed for a perfect opportunity to take on this work. I postponed my study this year, but I’ve still been able to write for the collections virtually. 

How will you the skills you use now be helpful for the future? 

Aside from the experience in research, writing, editing, and time management, this whole process has just really distilled in me the fact that I want to continue with Art History. I know a lot of people, myself included, have been absolutely dismayed at what the next few years will look like within the Arts, but I am endlessly inspired by the collections at Unimelb and working within this field.   

What do you see as your options for next steps from here? 

 Next year I’ll be back studying. I’ve recently started another part-time internship with a Sydney-based Arts organisation. It may all still be virtual for a while, but I wouldn’t have landed that without this experience! 

 Something unusual I’ve discovered in the collections is…. 

 They’re so diverse! And even within the more established collections—like the print collection—there is a lot to be discovered. A couple of my posts for the Special Collections blog have involved the biggest internet/research deep-dives I’ve ever been on to discover attribution, origin, etc. It’s easy to become complacent and think that all artworks and objects within these collections have a known history, but in fact many are little mysteries waiting to be uncovered.  

You can read Bianca’s writing on the blog, here, here and here, or search the blog with her name.

As told to Chelsea Harris, Communications and Engagement Coordinator.

Feature image: John Martin, Satan viewing the ascent to Heaven from series Paradise Lost, 1825, mezzotint.