Joy Kurts Hallinan ’82 wants College of Charleston students to have opportunities that weren’t available when she was a student.
“Paid internships weren’t really an option on campus,” says the art history major. “Although I volunteered at Halsey before it was Halsey, I had to go off campus for paid internships.”
While she couldn’t find a paid internship at a gallery, Hallinan secured paid internships with Spoleto Festival USA and the Gibbes Museum of Art. The summer of her senior year, she also received a competitive Georgia Governors Internship at the Telfair Academy in Savannah, Georgia. Hallinan credits these internships with her launch into graduate school and a successful career in the arts.
“I feel there’s been so much in my life that came into play because of internships,” says Hallinan, who was accepted into the unique MBA/Arts program at SUNY Binghamton upon graduation and then embarked on a career working in several leading art museums around the country, including the Corcoran Museum of Art, the Phillips Collection, the MFA/Boston and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum.
To give future students an opportunity to experience gallery management with a paid internship, Hallinan has set up a bequest intention for a planned gift for the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. She hopes students from any major/discipline will be able to work on an exhibition and perhaps develop the skill sets needed to manage a gallery. For Hallinan, different perspectives on exhibitions from departments outside of the arts can make university museum exhibits fascinating.
“Joy’s gift comes at a perfect time as it is in line with our overarching goals for the gallery,” says Lizz Biswell ’08, associate director of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. “We currently have unpaid interns who gain broad exposure to how a museum operates, but not being able to pay our interns means that many students are unable to take advantage of the opportunity. Joy’s gift gives us a bright spot in our future. Through paid internships, we will be able to expand our internship opportunities to more students.”
Hallinan’s gift stems from living amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. “I decided it was time to finalize my estate plans with a focus on non-profits that are important to me, including the College of Charleston.
“I’ve devoted my career to working for non-profits,” she adds. “My planned gift is a way of influencing the future in a positive way. I would love if my gift inspires more people to leave planned gifts to help the College.”