Since 2015, I have had the privilege to be a part of Lansing Art Gallery & Education Center. Lansing Art Gallery & Education Center’s mission is to provide public awareness, education, and enjoyment of the visual arts by promoting the works of Michigan artists. I have served in a multitude of capacities from intern, to volunteer, to staff member, to advocate and donor.
As I grew within the organization, I was given the opportunity to explore the full breath of arts management from working with artists, assisting with community programming, and developing my grant writing skills. As a donor, I actively champion the work of the LAG staff sharing their mission with others and encouraging artist friends to connect with the Director of Exhibitions & Gallery Sales.
Below are a sample of the materials and events I assisted with during my internships and staff tenure:
Project Pop Up
As a Gallery Intern, I assisted with operations of the gallery including customer service, community programming, and exhibition preparations. This allowed me to work directly with the Gallery Coordinator, artists, and visitors.
A large portion of my internship was centered around the summer series, Project Pop Up.
Myself alongside fellow intern and MSU alumni, Marcus Fields.
Grant Writing & Community Networking
As an Arts Management Intern, I worked directly with the Executive Director. Together, we focused my internship around growing my grant writing skills. I analyzed the gallery’s past grant applications for areas of improvements utilizing the grantor’s scoring criteria. As my internship progressed, I assisted the Executive Director in writing a grant proposal to the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
Through the internship, I was afforded the opportunity to engage with members of the board, community organization leaders, and MCACA grant administrators. This networking opportunity is how I was able to join MCACA as a grant reviewer.
Gallery Associate
In 2016, I was offered the opportunity to join the gallery as a part-time employee. As Gallery Associate, I was responsible for all aspects of the gallery’s retail operations during weekends on on select weekdays including gallery sales, interacting with artists and guest, and general up-keep.
My duties expanded to include researching other arts institutions to partner with to distribute advertising materials and increase the gallery’s visibility around the state in the pursuit of increased visitorship.
Assisted the Gallery Coordinator with the installation of Zahreh Resh’s exhibition, Great Escapes. 
As Gallery Associate, I often worked during artist receptions. This gave me an opportunity to hear directly from the artist the meaning behind their exhibition. I would often share these details with our visitors. 
Assisted artist Xia Gao with her installation of Dwell. 
The main duties of my role as Gallery Associate included working in the retail gallery. This photo was taken during the gallery’s annual Michigan Made Holiday Exhibition.
Michigan Collegiate Art Exhibition
In 2017, the Gallery Coordinator left to pursue expanding her small business and focus on her creative pursuits. I was given the opportunity to increase my hours as a Gallery Associate and assist with covering her duties while the gallery searched for her replacement.
In collaboration with the Executive Director and Education Coordinator, I assisted with the opening of the first annual Michigan Collegiate Art Exhibition. This including the intake of artwork, creating and installing exhibition labels, and installing text panels. Additionally, I aided in the creation of the online exhibition catalog featured below. The catalog was feature on the gallery’s website for sponsors, artists, and visitors to access.
Arielle-Creps-InDesign-Sample_MCAE-Exhibition-Catalog-2017