Name: Time-Based Media Art Conservation Internship at IMMA
Start: 2026/08/01
End: 2026/09/03
Location: Ireland

Organizer Information

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art, located in Kilmainham, Dublin. The museum is housed in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (RHK), the oldest classical building in Ireland, founded in 1684 by James Butler, Duke of Ormonde, as a home for retired soldiers, and modelled on Les Invalides in Paris. The building was restored between 1984 and 1990 for cultural events and exhibitions, and opened in May 1991 as the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ireland's first Contemporary Art Museum. IMMA is home to Ireland's National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, comprising over 3,500 artworks by Irish and international artists, with roughly 120 of these works falling within the category of time-based media — including video, sound, slide and film, software, digital source files, and performance. Since 2018, IMMA has been building new procedures and infrastructure to support the long-term care and display of its Time-Based Media (TBM) Collection, including a dedicated viewing and condition-assessment workstation and centralised digital storage. The museum's grounds occupy 48 acres surrounding the historic Royal Hospital building.

Title & Description

Time-Based Media Art Conservation Internship — Collections Department, IMMA

IMMA and the Heritage Council are jointly offering a twelve-month Time-Based Media (TBM) Art Conservation Internship, delivered as part of the Heritage Council's Annual Conservation Internship Programme. The programme supports best practice in conservation across Ireland by giving early-career professionals hands-on experience of professional conservation practice within cultural institutions, guided by a mentor. The successful intern will support IMMA's Collection team in advancing conservation practices around its time-based media holdings, working closely with curators, the registrar, and an external TBM supervisory conservator on the processing of new acquisitions, display and loan of TBM works, Collection research, and the development of new procedures and best practices.

The Role Overview

Position Type: Full-time, Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week net of breaks
Contract Type: Fixed Term, 1-year internship
Salary: €38,803 per annum, aligned with public sector pay scales — Point 1 of the Executive Officer Standard (PPC) scale, effective from 1 June 2026
Reports To: The IMMA Collection team (curators, registrar, and external TBM supervisory conservator); mentored by a conservation professional within the host institution and supervised by relevant staff and/or independent conservation professionals as appropriate
Department / Programme: Collections Department
Working Hours: Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week, net of breaks
Reporting Requirement: The intern must keep the Heritage Council appraised of progress through short written updates or meetings, and provide a summary report to the Heritage Council on conclusion of the internship

Position & Tasks

Support the Collection team with processing new and recent acquisitions, including reviewing proposed artwork deliverables and purchase agreements; conducting artist interviews; cataloguing, condition assessment, reporting, and archival ingest and storage (physical and digital) of received artwork components; and creation of conservation documentation
Support the AV and Collection team in preparing TBM Collection works for exhibition and loan, including performing condition assessments and completing condition reports; reviewing object files and specifications and identifying knowledge gaps; and working with the Collection team to solicit additional material from artists, galleries, and estates
Create comprehensive written conservation documentation of installed/activated TBM Collection works
Support the Collection team and IT in relation to dedicated TBM server storage and development of digital preservation infrastructure
Work with existing acquisition and exhibition process lines, procedures, and workflows, and contribute to their ongoing development and implementation
Support the Collection team with ongoing cataloguing and inventory of existing TBM Collection components, including data cleaning in IMMA's collection management system, review of existing practices, risk assessment, and collection survey
Identify and propose individualised artwork preservation plans, and work with IMMA staff and external contractors to conduct and document conservation interventions
Conduct original research related to the TBM Collection and its conservation, and disseminate research through IMMA's website and other public programming
Present work undertaken during the internship, or an internship research project, at the Heritage Council's Conservation Winter Seminar (held annually in December)
Present work through the host institution's education and/or outreach programme, and during National Heritage Week
Contribute to other Heritage Council events, workshops, or training days in agreement with the host institution
Encouraged to prepare a research paper or other article for publication in a professional journal, and to engage with the ICRI and other professional bodies

Eligibility

Open to recent graduates who completed a relevant MA or MSc programme within the past two years
A postgraduate degree (MA or MSc) from an accredited fine art conservation training programme or a related discipline (e.g., audio-visual archiving and preservation), with demonstrable coursework in time-based media art conservation
Experience working with collections of time-based media artworks — including digitised and born-digital video, sound, slide and film, software, and live performance — is preferred, gained through postgraduate placement, previous internships, volunteering, or work experience
Familiarity with Mac and Windows operating systems
Familiarity with video editing software (e.g., Premiere, DaVinci Resolve), condition assessment software (e.g., QCTools), and playback hardware (including BlackMagic devices and legacy equipment) used in audio-visual condition assessment
Familiarity with command-line tools (e.g., BagIt, MediaInfo, FFmpeg), Python scripts for metadata extraction, condition assessment, and archival ingest, collection management systems, and digital asset management tools
Experience working with artists and their assistants/representatives in the display and care of their work
Experience creating written conservation documentation of time-based media artworks, including condition and treatment reports, and installation and activation reports
Familiarity with risk assessments and collection surveys
Familiarity using collection management systems
Excellent verbal, interpersonal, and written communication skills, and full English fluency
Interest in pursuing a career in time-based media conservation and contemporary art preservation
No nationality or country-of-residence restriction stated in the source

Program Benefits

Salary: €38,803 per annum (public sector pay scale, Point 1 of the Executive Officer Standard (PPC) scale, effective 1 June 2026)
Pension: Government Pension Scheme
Leave: Generous Public Sector leave benefits (specific number of days not stated in the source)
Working model: Progressive, hybrid working model
Career development: Career development opportunities through mentoring, coaching, and training
Mobility funding: Erasmus+ Staff Mobility Scheme funding by the European Union
Wellbeing support: Employee Wellbeing Committee; Employee Assistance Programme
Free parking / secure bike sheds
Networking opportunities with professionals in the museum and cultural sectors
Opportunities to attend special museum events and exhibitions
Opportunity to get involved in IMMA's 2024–2028 Strategy
Health/medical, dental/vision insurance: Not specified in the source
Tax details or gross/net notes: Not specified in the source
Probation period before benefits activate: Not specified in the source

Application Fee

None.

How to Apply?

Online Application

Key Dates

Application Deadline: 3 September 2026
Interview Dates: 16 September 2026

Location

Dublin, Ireland

Additional Details

IMMA operates an open competition process, with applications accepted exclusively via BambooHR
IMMA's HR office is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and Irish Bank Holidays; queries submitted during these times are answered the next working day
Response times may be longer than usual during periods of high activity
For further assistance or reasonable accommodations during the application process, contact tetiana.shchukina@imma.ie
Learning outcomes stated in the source include: hands-on experience in cataloguing, condition assessment, and conservation documentation of time-based media artworks; supporting exhibition/loan preparation including technical review and collaboration with artists, galleries, and estates; developing practical knowledge of TBM conservation tools and workflows (file QC, metadata extraction, archival ingest, transcoding, digital preservation systems); contributing to acquisition and exhibition workflows; conducting and disseminating original research; gaining experience within a national museum context and multidisciplinary team; presenting work at the Heritage Council's Conservation Winter Seminar; preparing research for publication; engaging with professional networks such as ICRI

Time-Based Media Art Conservation Internship at IMMA