Cultural Landscape Research Summer intern

Description

The Cultural Landscape Research Internship is a unique opportunity for graduate students in the field of architecture, landscape architecture, art, museum studies, and/or library and information science to spend two months living and working at Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s desert laboratory, National Historic Landmark, and UNESCO World Heritage site. Taliesin West is comprised of over 80,000 square feet of historic structures situated within 495 acres of pristine Sonoran desert in Scottsdale, AZ.

The Cultural Landscape Research Intern will be working with a multidisciplinary team across the Preservation, Collections, and Taliesin Institute departments to help build a better understanding of the evolution of the landscape at Taliesin West and Wright’s ideas on environmentalism. The intern will gain hands-on experience working with invaluable and historically significant collections. The projects completed by the intern will help lay the groundwork for a Cultural Landscape Report (CLR), support further research on historic landscapes, environmentalism, and climate change, and help inform preservation and conservation interventions in the future.

NOTE: this position is approximately 8 weeks in duration (estimated to be mid-June through mid-August 2025) and includes both onsite housing on the Taliesin West campus and a stipend of $14.70/hour for up to 30 hours of work weekly. This year’s program accommodates 1 intern for the season.

Essential Functions:

• Primary document research: Under the guidance of the Director of Collection and Archives,

methodically review archival documents and isolate all that relate to historic landscape plantings at Taliesin West, from 1938 forward.

• Primary document processing: Using archival best practices, expand the item records to include materials acquired, amount paid or charged, how payment was made, personnel involved, other pertinent details available, and take photographs of the document for reference purposes as needed.

• Photographic and “support document” research: Review the archival collection for any 1938 or later photographs or written records such as oral histories or reports that might substantiate the location, planting, transplanting, or cultivation of any plants – trees, cacti, succulents, shrubs, grass – at Taliesin West. This would include internal memos, newsletters, event programs, outside correspondence, annotated publications, etc.

• Contemporary evidence collection: With guidance from the Director of Preservation, examine and photograph correlated landscape areas to determine growth, expansion, deletion, replacement, loss and any other changes to the historically documented areas.

• Organize and unify findings: Collate in chronological order and map all findings, cross-referencing all historical evidence that help define historic plantings on the property.

• Bibliography Production: With assistance from the VP/Director of the Taliesin Institute, research and collate writings from Wright on environmentalism into a reference bibliography and work with the Research and Special Collections Librarian to add the research guide to the library catalog database, Surpass.

• Hands-on Landscaping: Guided by the Director of Preservation, work alongside Facilities Technicians periodically to care for the existing landscape, understand current preservation practices, and contextualize research findings through hands-on engagement.

• Present findings: Create a presentation of visual and written materials to FLWF Preservation, Collections, and Taliesin Institute staff.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

· Enrollment in a graduate-level architecture, landscape architecture, art, museum studies, library and information science or related field; eligibility for university credit may exist depending on the academic internship requirements of the intern’s degree program (inquire for more details).

· Proficiency in basic computer operation, navigation of online web services and applications, and utilization of software programs including Microsoft Office within a Windows environment.

· Demonstrated high levels of motivation, capable of working in a high energy environment, a creative and flexible thinker, able to work independently and within a supportive team, demonstrate attention to detail, and have strong research and organizational skills.

· Good written, verbal, and interpersonal skills.

· Demonstrated flexibility and curiosity.

· Interest in the architecture and ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Physical Demands and Work Environment: The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job. 

· Physical Demands: While performing the essential functions of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; and consistently talk or hear; and rarely taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus. 

· Work environment: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.