Internship Opportunity at IMMA. Open Competition for the role of Time-Based Media Art Conservation Internship
Application deadline: 3 September 2026
Position type: 1-year fixed term contract of employment
Role Overview
IMMA is home to Ireland’s National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, with over 3,500 artworks by Irish and international artists. The Collection is firmly rooted in the present and important contemporary works are added each year. A significant portion of these works, approximately 120, fall within the category of time-based media, and involve artworks involving video, sound, slide and film, software, digital source files, performance.
Since 2018 IMMA has been implementing new procedures and infrastructure to support the long-term care and display of its TBM Collection; this includes a viewing and condition assessment workstation and improved andcentralised digital storage.
The Heritage Council and IMMA are pleased to offer a twelve-month Conservation Internship. The fellowship is part of the Heritage Council’s commitment to the promotion of best practice for conservation in Ireland and offers interns the opportunity to gain valuable experience, supported by a mentor, of professional conservation practice within cultural institutions and their professional conservation studios. Host institutions benefit from working with highly motivated, newly trained, early career professionals.
The Heritage Council’s Annual Conservation Internship Programme offers a Time-Based Media Conservation Internship opportunity for a period of 12 months. The successful intern will support the IMMA Collection team in their ongoing efforts to advance conservation practices around IMMA’s time-based media (TBM) artwork holdings and will develop and broaden the intern’s knowledge and experience.
- The TBM Conservation Intern will work closely with and report to the IMMA Collection team of curators, registrar, and external TBM supervisory conservator in the day-to-day processing of new acquisitions, display, and loan of TBM Collection works, Collection research, and development and implementation of new procedures and best practices.
- The intern will be mentored by a conservation professional within the host institution and will be supervised by relevant staff and/or independent conservation professionals as appropriate.
- The intern will keep the Heritage Council appraised of their progress through short written updates or meetings and on conclusion, will provide a summary report to the Heritage Council.
- The intern should present the work they have undertaken during their internship, or an internship research project, at the Heritage Council’s Conservation Winter Seminar (which takes place annually in December).
- The intern will also present their work through the host institution’s education and/or outreach programme as well as during National Heritage Week. In addition, the intern will be available to contribute to other Heritage Council events, workshops, or training days in agreement with the host institution.
- During their internship, interns will be 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: This opportunity is open to recent graduates (within two years of completing a relevant MA or MSc programme) who are interested in pursuing a career in time-based media conservation and contemporary art preservation.
Key Responsibilities
Key responsibilities to be undertaken based on priorities agreed with HOD and subject to the needs of the
Department/ Programme.
- 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 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 compressive written conservation documentation of installed/activated TBM Collection works.
- Support 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, uncluding 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 Web site and other public programming.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the Internship, the successful candidates will have:
- Gained hands-on experience in cataloguing, condition assessment, and conservation documentation of time-based media artworks.
- Supported the preparation of artworks for exhibition and loan, including technical review and collaboration with artists, galleries, and estates.
- Developed practical knowledge of TBMI conservation tools and workflows, including file QC, metadata ex traction, archival ingest, transcoding and digital preservation system.
- Contributed to acquisition and exhibition workflows, helping to refine procedures and support long-term care of the collection.
- Conducted and disseminated original research on time-based media conservation through IMMA Web site and other professional platforms.
- Acquired practical experience working within a national museum context and a multidisciplinary team.
- Presented their work at the Heritage Council’s Conservation Winter Seminar.
- Prepared research for publication in professional journals and contributed to IMMA’s public programming andoutreach.
- Engage with professional networks such as ICRI.
The successful candidate will have:
Qualifications:
- A postgraduate degree (MA or MSc) from an accredited fine art conservation training programme or a re-lated discipline (e.g., audio-visual archiving and preservation), with demonstrable coursework in time-based media art conservation.
- Experience (preferred) working with collections of time-based media artworks, including digitised and born-digital video, sound, slide and film, software, and live performance, e.g., through postgraduate placement,previous internships, volunteering, or work experiences.
Skills, Competencies, Knowledge:
- Familiarity with Mac and Windows operating systems.
- Familiarity with video editing software (e.g., Premier, DaVinci Resolve), condition assessment software (e.g., QCTools), and playback hardware (including BlackMagic devices and legacy equipment) used in the condition assessment of audio-visual material.
- Familiarity using a 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, 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.
Why Work with IMMA?
At IMMA, we are proud to offer:
- Opportunity to get involved in IMMA’s 2024-2028 Strategy, development of key themes in response to current global cultural concerns which will shape our programming over the next five years.
- Progressive, hybrid working model.
- The opportunity to work in a beautiful serene historic 17th Century Building surrounded by 48 acres of Meadows and Gardens – an oasis in Dublin City.
- Free Parking / Secure Bike Sheds.
- Career development opportunities through mentoring, coaching, and training.
- Erasmus + Staff Mobility Scheme funding by European Union.
- Government Pension Scheme
- Employee Wellbeing Committee.
- Employee Assistance Programme.
- Generous Public Sector leave benefits.
- Strong values-based and inclusive culture.
- Strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Great team environment working to our Core Tenets: Contemporary, Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration and Globally Connected.
- Valuable experience at a leading cultural institution.
- Opportunities to attend special museum events and exhibitions.
- Networking opportunities with professionals in the museum and cultural sectors.
Salary
The salary for this role is aligned with public sector pay scales and is set at €38,803 per annum, corresponding to
Point 1 of the Executive Officer Standard (PPC) scale, effective from 1st June 2026.
Candidates should note the Irish Museum of Modern Art complies with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and guidelines on Public Sector pay and conditions of employment and pension provisions. Entry levelwill be at Point 1 of this Grade.
Contract Details
- Contract Type: Fixed Term
- Contract Duration: 1-year Internship
- Hours: Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week, net of breaks
- Location: IMMA, Military Road, The Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Kilmainham, Dublin 8
How to Apply
To apply for this exciting opportunity, please submit the following:
- A tailored cover letter explaining your suitability for the role.
- A current curriculum vitae.
Applications should be submitted via this page.
Closing date for receipt of applications: 03/09/2026
Interview dates: 16/09/2026
