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Ada spent her summer interning at Het HEM, a “new home for contemporary culture” whose artistic programming includes visual art and also music and audio works. Located in a repurposed munitions factory on the outskirts of Amsterdam, in Zaandam, Het HEM’s architecture provides an expansive, industrial space for art, music, food, literature, and socializing. Read her story below.

"I spent my internship working with Berber Meindertsma, a UCU alumna who is responsible for fundraising at Het HEM. My main project was to conduct research about how to develop their philanthropy-based membership program. I conducted a comparative analysis of many organizations in the sector, talked to other professionals in the field, collected feedback from current members, and evaluated the areas in which the program could grow. Berber and I presented these findings to the rest of the team. Once we had their input, I wrote a development strategy proposal, which, following approval, will be used to implement changes to the membership program . I also had other tasks, which were not part of this ongoing project. For example, I wrote newsletters and event invitations for Het HEM’s members, helped design parts of the communications strategy for the membership program, wrote website texts for the membership program, and helped at some of the events.

This work required me to look outwards from the organization to establish benchmarks of how the rest of the artworld operates, but also inwards, to reflect on the needs and expectations of Het HEM’s members and the unique assets that it offers. I also developed greater familiarity with the ins and outs of an entire side of the art world that I didn’t often come face-to-face with otherwise: arts patronage and the social world built into the artworld of people committed to pushing for and following developments in contemporary culture.

Het HEM is still a young organization, so the team is relatively small (compared to large, long-established museums, for example). This meant that I got to see many sides of how Het HEM runs, both because of proximity and the need to collaborate with people in other roles, such as productions and communications. Berber and I shared an office with the curatorial team, which was really fun because I got to hear updates daily about progress with the upcoming exhibition. During my time there, Maia Kenney, also a UCU alumnus, was working at Het HEM as one of the curators for the temporary group exhibition Sweet Harmony | Out from the Underground about rave culture as a breeding ground for developments in contemporary culture. I  also spent time working with Maia on her curatorial work, doing tasks such as preparing information to send to the graphic designer for the exhibition zine, making contact with artist collectives to invite to partake in the exhibition, and cleaning artworks.

Between learning such an incredible amount about art and the artworld and feeling inspired by the creative work of others every day, this internship has without a doubt been one of the most rewarding parts of my UCU degree. All the work I did at Het HEM felt fulfilling because I was learning about new arts and cultural programming we would host, knew how my work always contributed towards actualizing this, and I of course attended and got to enjoy and see other people experience the exhibitions and events that were the final products of this work. It was of course a perk to be in a beautiful space and in a warm work environment with a fun team of people (and an office dog!). After so many CHIP internships having taken place online during Corona, I am very excited for all the students who will be able to return to having experiences as immersive as my own."

Class of 2022. HUM major.