Camilla Boldrini at Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology in Florence, Italy
Camilla Boldrini's CHIP internship was at Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology in Florence, Italy (2021).
"Working for a full semester on L. Cipriani’s early twentieth-century face cast collection at the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology in Florence (MAEF) for my bachelor thesis brought me in contact with professionals at the museum. My thesis gave me the opportunity to conduct follow-up research as an intern for five weeks putting into practice the knowledge I gained.
Although my internship was fully online, I was closely supervised by curator Dr. Francesca Bigoni, who guided me through the project and research we devised together. My task was to look into and report on the traces of late nineteenth/ early twentieth century Italian anthropologist and explorer Elio Modigliani to be found in Dutch archives and databases. Modigliani travelled through the former Dutch East Indies from 1886-1894. My task was to begin reconstructing the trajectories of colonial artefacts, such as Modigliani’s face casts and photographs, through Italian and Dutch institutions (the MAEF in Italy, and the National Museum of World Cultures, in the Netherlands), and thereby lay the foundations for possible collaborative projects between different institutions in the global museum landscape.
Although my internship was fully online, I was closely supervised by curator Dr. Francesca Bigoni, who guided me through the project and research we devised together. My task was to look into and report on the traces of late nineteenth/ early twentieth century Italian anthropologist and explorer Elio Modigliani to be found in Dutch archives and databases.
Modigliani travelled through the former Dutch East Indies from 1886-1894. My task was to begin reconstructing the trajectories of colonial artefacts, such as Modigliani’s face casts and photographs, through Italian and Dutch institutions (the MAEF in Italy, and the National Museum of World Cultures, in the Netherlands), and thereby lay the foundations for possible collaborative projects between different institutions in the global museum landscape.
Working with the curator taught me how to ground practical research and everyday museum within theoretical frameworks. This experience allowed me to bring together my academic interests with a hands-on research project, strengthen my networking skills, and learn how to navigate the early phases of a museum initiative."
Class of 2021. Interdepartmental Major: HUM/SSC