At the end of my first semester at Princeton, I decided to step outside of the Orange Bubble for the Spring. It was certainly not an easy, nor a common decision, but I needed to address health issues and wanted to explore my interests beyond the classroom. It was like a gap year, squeezed into three months.
I moved to New York City to not only be a short train ride from campus, but also to be in the capital of the art world. With over a thousand galleries, on the Lower East Side and Soho to Brooklyn and Queens, there is art for everyone, from the millennial influencers to historians and connoisseurs.
I found an internship in Chelsea, home to the largest gathering of galleries, with The FLAG Art Foundation. FLAG is a non-profit contemporary art institution, known for innovative exhibitions accessible to a diverse audience.
During my three months at FLAG, I assisted with two exhibitions, ON BOARD THE SHIPS AT SEA ARE WE — featuring a ten foot tall dining room table and chairs by Robert Therrien, a minimalist white sculpture pair by Rachel Whiteread, and two iconic wall-size typographic texts by Lawrence Weiner — and a survey of 120 drawings, titled Drawn Together Again.
![](https://i0.wp.com/puamsab.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/132/2019/06/image8.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1)
Images courtesy of The FLAG Art Foundation
The two simultaneous shows attracted over a thousand visitors and collectors, but I found a particular interest in the drawing show. The salon hang featured established and emerging artists, like Ellsworth Kelly and Roy Lichtenstein, next to academy art students and hobbyist cartoonists.
![](https://i0.wp.com/puamsab.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/132/2019/06/image3.jpg?resize=640%2C422&ssl=1)
Images courtesy of The FLAG Art Foundation
Subjects ranged from Einstein’s desk to E.T. smiling at Elizabeth Taylor, scribbles on restaurant receipts, flowers and landscapes, and even a meticulous drawing of a can labeled trash, to highlight just a few.
![](https://i0.wp.com/puamsab.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/132/2019/06/image7.jpg?resize=640%2C960&ssl=1)
Images courtesy of The FLAG Art Foundation
The FLAG team curated a dialogue among the artists and their drawings, while also portraying a range of themes, mediums, and practices. Each time that I explored the show, I would notice a new detail and further admire the “mosaic of delicacy and deliberateness”, as featured artist Ewan Gibbs described.
Throughout the internship, I completed a range of executive work, including loan agreements and condition reports, press releases, and checklists. I also had many hands-on experiences, from visiting artists’ studios to delivering catalogs and publications, and even returning drawings wrapped in cloth bags on the subway, (cautiously, of course). I was particularly grateful to form a genuine connection with the FLAG team, who generously let me tag along to art fairs and private openings.
I did not have much experience with the contemporary art world before my internship, in fact, I found it contorted and sometimes corrupt. Through FLAG, I learned the function of an art foundation, the relationship between a gallery and artist, the role of museums and collectors, and most of all, the power of art for the public.
As I reflect on my time away from Princeton, I feel re-energized and enthused to further explore my interests in art history back inside the bubble. But I will certainly bring my experiences in New York’s art scene with me, and hopefully bring fellow tigers along to FLAG to visit in the Fall.