Nico Frouws

“I am doing my internship at the BredaPhoto Festival, an international photo biennale held in the city of Breda in the South of Holland. The next edition of the festival starts in September 2018. A friend of mine told me about the festival, and I read as much as I could about the previous editions of the festival, as well as upcoming ones. While there was no vacancy for any internship on their website, I decided to email them my CV and motivation letter. Thus, contacting them really paid off in the end! Within the organisation of my internship, I fulfil the role of communication, production and communication of the first week of the festival, which is called The Professionals Week. This week consists of numerous events and activities.  Within communication, my main tasks include designing and distributing brochures, communicating with photography/art academies across Europe, etc. My tasks also focus on organisation and productions, this includes working with partners to organise a campsite for students, as well as organising ‘buddies’ for the international photographers who are coming to the festival. Next to this, I also help with office administration, such as editing and translating documents.”

Identifying concepts

“Organisation of Arts and Culture and Marketing of Arts and Culture played a crucial role in my position here at BredaPhoto. I am able to see how the organisation collaborates with other cultural institutions and get first hand insight in the various production aspects of the festival. Furthermore, the internship also allows me to identify concepts taught in Advanced Economics of Arts and Culture, such as how a cultural organisation is financed by both private and public funding, as well as how the resources are allocated to different aspects within the organisation.”

Doubt causes mistakes

“So far the most valuable lesson my internship has taught me is to ask for help/advise. People try too often to avoid asking for assistance, myself included, but it helps getting the job done quicker when you are more informed about the task at hand. Doubt causes mistakes. In the end, the most important thing is to gain skills that you can utilize in your future career. Make sure your internship teaches you valuable skills and new things. Give it your all, because in the end you are there to learn and it will only benefit you when you are taking on extra tasks and responsibilities. You learn just as much in the office as in the classroom. Finally, don’t be afraid to contact organisations even if they did not post an advertisement for an internship.”