Meet Our Spring 2025 Interns

Meet our spring 2025 interns, who have just finished up their internships at the Phillips. Read about what they worked on over this past semester. Thank you, Amelia, Lia, Chantel, Gregory, and Allie! Learn more about the Phillips’s paid internships.

Amelia Myre (she/her) is a senior at Georgetown University majoring in culture and politics. This spring, she worked as the Director’s Office Intern under Caitlin Hoerr and Meredith Magnuson. During her internship, she conducted research on the museum’s history of deaccessioning artwork, compiled dossiers on commissioning practices at peer institutions, and studied the evolution of the Phillips’s core collection. Amelia grew up visiting the Phillips, and it remains a meaningful place for her each time she returns to Washington. Her favorite artist in the collection is Oskar Kokoschka—she studied at an art school in France founded by one of his students. After graduation, she will move to New York to work in documentary film production.

Lia Burchianti is a senior at American University, majoring in art history and minoring in studio art. Originally from Pittsburgh, Lia moved to DC in 2021 and immediately began immersing herself in the city’s art and museums. Her academic work centers on Italian Renaissance art, with a particular interest in Mary Magdalene depicted covered by her hair, but she is equally excited by vibrant, community-centered spaces like Phillips@THEARC. She’s passionate about making art accessible to broad audiences and came to The Phillips Collection to explore the intersection of museum education, public programming, and community engagement. This spring, she was the Community Engagement Intern, working under Laylaa Randera at THEARC. Lia assisted with community events, artist workshops, and gallery-based programming for all ages, supporting everything from logistics and setup to engaging directly with visitors. She also contributed to ongoing outreach efforts by researching local artists and cultural organizations for future collaborations. When she’s not in the museum, Lia teaches darkroom photography as a teaching assistant at AU and works in various arts and crafts. She’s incredibly grateful to Laylaa, Shelby, her cohort of interns, and the entire Phillips team for making this a truly transformative experience.

“Hi! My name is Chantel Bennett—a recent graduate from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Communication, Arts, & Sciences. As a native Washingtonian with a love for art, being in creative spaces, and storytelling, interning at The Phillips Collection feels like a full circle moment. As the Marketing and Communications intern under the mentorship of Renée Littleton, I helped develop strategic marketing plans, contributed to an outreach project focused on strengthening community connections through art and wellness, and interviewed comic book artist Shawn Martinbrough for a blog post on his exhibition at Phillips@THEARC. Before The Phillips, I interned abroad in Malaysia where I helped develop a virtual reality exhibit for the Perak State Museum on the Japanese Occupation of Malaya during WWII. Back on campus I was an intercultural mentor, resident assistant (Yes, I have stories), and a teaching assistant–all roles that helped me connect with people from all walks of life. Some of my favorite moments during my time here included meeting Alphonse Mucha’s great grandson during a private press tour for Timeless Mucha: The Magic of Line and shadowing a filming session with art critic Juan Carlos Flores Zúñiga. This experience sharpened my professional skills, nurtured my creativity, and reaffirmed my passion for communication.”

“I am Gregory Szwarcman, an aspiring archivist with a specialization in music, holding an MA in musicology and a BA in music performance, my instrument being the violin. During my time as the Music Intern working with Jenny Lin and Thomas Hunter, I wrote many of this season’s program notes, staffed the Sunday Concerts, and engaged in archival work with respect to the vast music and audiovisual collections. Outside of the Phillips, I am currently pursuing an MLIS degree at the University of Maryland, College Park. My musicological interests center on late 19th-century performance practice of Western Art Music, particularly through the use of early sound recordings, aspects which I strive to incorporate into my own violin playing. Through my archival work, I aspire to preserve and digitize sound recordings found on wax cylinders and gramophone records which would otherwise be lost for posterity. In my downtime I enjoy watching Stanley Kubrick films and drinking copious amounts of black coffee with my cat Henry. “

Allie Richmond is a first-year master’s student getting a degree in art history at George Washington University. She has worked with the Major and Planned Giving Team as the Advancement Intern over the past three months. Her main project has been auditing the physical and digital planned giving files. Under the guidance of Director of Major and Planned Giving Sarah Hyde and Major Gifts Officer Courtney North, she has been meticulously sorting through the advancement archives to see what kind of documentation The Phillips Collection has for donors whom we have recorded as planned giving donors. This was a very hands-on opportunity for Allie to see how The Phillips Collection has approached cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and resolution of major and planned gifts. Her academic interest lies in European and American modern art, so she has cherished her frequent opportunities to walk around the galleries whenever she has time. Her favorite pieces in the collection are The Mediterranean (1857) by Gustave Courbet and Breeze Rustling Through Fall Flowers (1968) by Alma Thomas. Allie has had an enriching and educational internship with the Phillips, and she is excited to take these experiences with her.