Professional Development

Galleries

The Art Institute of Boston presents a full program of exhibitions throughout the year in the college's main gallery in student galleries in the Lounge, Gallery South, and at the colleges 601 Newbury Street building. Major exhibitions offer the opportunity to experience works of important American and international artists as well as works by alumni, faculty artists and emerging artists. Students can assist in mounting exhibitions and personally meet visiting artists. Exhibits of student work in all visual media are displayed throughout the year in student galleries, and students may exhibit their artwork in the public gallery on the third floor of the Porter Exchange Building on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. They may participate in exhibitions arranged with commercial galleries around Boston as well.

Juries/Reviews

Students have the opportunity for periodic, professional reviews of their portfolios as they advance toward completion of their studies. Juries are composed of outside professionals with an interest in artists' development in various disciplines. See individual department requirements and course descriptions.

Critique Week

The Spring semester culminates in Critique Week, when all students present their work in small critique groups composed of faculty and peers. Students may choose to attend a critique headed by a team of jurors from another discipline.

Career Resources

The Career Resource Center (CRC) provides career development and job search services to Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University degree candidates and alumni. Our mission is to include job search, career assessment, and decision making skills which are necessary throughout life, as an integral part of our education.

The CRC provides individual appointments for guidance on career decision-making, and job search strategies. Workshops and special events are planned throughout the academic year on a variety of topics. The Artists Resource Center in the AIB Library is managed by the CRC. It contains many resources on art career options, the business of art, art and design companies and organizations, and graduate school information. Listings of full-time, part-time, and freelance positions in the arts are also available.

The Update Newsletter and the Calendar of Events are two publications published by the CRC that keep students and alumni updated on current events on and off campus. The CRC web page includes many resources and contains a collection of web sites in art and design on its Career Web Sites Collection and online job listings in the arts on Lesley JobLink.

Artists' Resources

AIB maintains a self-service resource library which provides access for students and faculty to job listings, exhibition opportunities, grant information, internships and other career development opportunities for artists.

Internships

The Internship program gives students the opportunity to experience a professional environment as part of their preparation for entrance into their field. Internships allow students to work as members of a professional team, to put their technical and creative knowledge to work, and to connect with other professionals in their chosen field. Previous internship sites have included Boston Magazine; The Boston Herald; Fablevision, a Boston animation company; Olive Jar Animation; Polaroid Corporation; Big Blue Dot, a design firm; Clifford Stoltze Design; WGBH; WLVI-TV 56; WCVB-TV; TV Brazil USA; Magnum Photography; Panoption; First Expressions Gallery; and the Bromfield Gallery. Students apply formally for positions generally lasting 15 weeks during the second semester. See each department description for more details.