During my internship at the BGSU Fine Arts Center Galleries, I gained hands-on experience in gallery operations and arts marketing, focusing on creating promotional materials, managing social media outreach, and supporting event planning for various exhibitions. My work centered on engaging the community and increasing attendance at gallery events.
The Fine Arts Center Galleries at Bowling Green State University are known for their engaging, inclusive, and thought-provoking exhibitions. As a graphic design intern, I worked closely with two other interns, Katelin Warner and Benjie Wilhelm, to develop marketing materials that captured the essence of each exhibition.
Through strategic design and targeted communication, we ensured each exhibition’s message resonated with both the campus and the broader community. These exhibitions included the 8th Annual Northwest Ohio Community Art Exhibition (NowOH 8), Shodo: Way of Writing, DO IT: A Participatory Exhibition, Fluent Expression: Modern and Traditional Chinese Painting, and the Annual BGSU Faculty & Staff Exhibition.
I took a leadership role in marketing for NowOH 8, a juried exhibition showcasing regional artists, where I successfully developed and executed strategies to increase visibility and attendance. As the lead designer for NowOH 8, I developed marketing materials and managed design elements for the event. Working within the established branding, I created cohesive print and digital ads, including a Call for Artists and Save the Date ads, as well as large-scale materials like a 32x80 banner and 11x17 posters.
Email Marketing
Print Ad
Large poster
Exhibition Banner
Flyer Poster
I also designed signage for the artwork drop-off process, ensuring a seamless experience for artists by mapping out stations for registration, payment, and check-in. I created a registration checklist and reminder cards for volunteers to help guide the process. Ahead of the exhibition opening, I designed a brochure featuring artists and award winners, along with a reception schedule, People's Choice ballots, and signage for voting. Additionally, I created a thank-you card for volunteers and donors.
I designed the printed collateral and promotional materials for the BGSU Faculty Show, celebrating the artistic achievements of the university's professors and staff. This included a trifold brochure and a 32x80 banner. I also managed the email marketing campaigns to promote other upcoming exhibitions such as Shodo: Way of Writing.
When my fellow interns, Katelin Warner and Benjie Wilhelm, took the lead on the design for exhibitions like DO IT and Fluent Expression, respectively, I assisted them by contributing to social media efforts, executing email marketing campaigns, and supporting strategies to boost visibility and attendance.
With Benjie acting as lead designer for Fluent Expression, we were each tasked with mocking up a postcard design featuring images of the exhibition artwork, which we presented to the gallery director for feedback. This collaborative process gave us a more refined creative direction for the concept before finalizing the exhibition materials.
DO IT: A Participatory Exhibition is part of a long-running series that has been featured in over 50 locations worldwide, with each iteration unique to its site, engaging the local community, and adapting to each venue. The exhibition is organized around a publication of written instructions by 250 artists, with venues selecting around 20 works to exhibit.
I helped brainstorm ideas and logistics alongside the lead design intern, Katelin Warner, who designed a unique folding fortune teller postcard to match the open-ended and creative format of the exhibition. I supported the social media and email marketing efforts, ensuring the exhibition was well-publicized and engaging to attendees.
These experiences helped me refine my skills in graphic design, content creation, and audience engagement, particularly through social media and email marketing, within the arts sector. I also gained valuable insight into working within a team, balancing leadership with supporting roles, and collaborating effectively to achieve shared goals. Gallery Director Jacqueline Nathan praised our design team in a statement, saying, “Thanks to graphic design interns Kalia Johnson, Katelin Warner, and Benjie Wilhelm – a great design team.”
