Internship Program
The Fujifilm/Penumbra Foundation Internship provides the opportunity to gain invaluable artistic and professional skills through experience with artists.
In 2025, the program was redesigned to support the launch of our new state-of-the-art digitization system. This enhanced iteration created a bridge between technologies, diverse generations of artists, and photographic interests, by bringing together three emerging and three established photographers to digitize never-seen, at-risk images from the 1980s and 90’s.
Given the fact that there are many artists’ archives which are at risk of being lost, this internship is an opportunity for interns to play a part in photographic preservation that is invaluable to artists’ careers as well as provide a historical record.
In addition to digitizing the artists projects, interns are given time and resources to advance their own practices.
2025 Program Participants
In 2025, 3 artists were paired with 3 interns to digitize and organize their bodies of work. Interns were selected by an external juror and worked between May and September 2025.
Clara Kraus digitized Nina Berman’s project Return to Vietnam from 1987. Vivien KS digitized Lola Flash’s AIDS/ACT UP work among other projects from the 1980s and 90s. Assane Sy digitized Katsu Naito’s Harlem project from the 1980s and 90s.
Read below to learn more about the interns, artists, and projects.
Return to Vietnam | Nina Berman
AIDS/ ACT UP | Lola Flash
Harlem | Katsu Naito
Intern Seminars
Before working on these projects, interns had the opportunity to learn directly from industry professionals in educational seminars that went over each aspect of the process including:
Introduction to Operating Fujifilm Cameras (led by Jarrett Esaw, artist and Penumbra Foundation instructor)
Assessment & Cataloguing (led by Emily Dunne, Archivist at New York Public Library)
Introduction to Copystand System (led by Jon Slessinger, Digital Sales Integrator at Fotocare)
Introduction to Capture One (led by Festa, Digital Imaging Consultant)
File Management & Metadata (led by David Lurvey, Digital Imaging Specialist at Museum of the City of New York)
The Process
Interns began by making an initial assessment of the materials and cataloguing in detail how the projects were delivered, creating a record of its condition and contents before beginning the process of digitization. Projects ranged from 750 to 1,350 images, including 35mm, 120, and 4x5 black-and-white film, 35mm color slides, silver gelatin prints, and contact sheets. Working closely with the artist, interns entered metadata into each image file to make the projects searchable and accessible. The physical materials were then rehoused in archival binders for long-term preservation and labeled to correspond with the digital files. All digital files were organized according to program protocols and exported in three formats: RAW, TIFF, and JPEG. At the conclusion of the program, the completed projects, both the physical archives and newly digitized files, were returned to the artists.
Public Programming
In July, the participating artists shared insights into their projects in a series of online lectures, inviting the public into the background, development, and legacy of these bodies of work.
Lola Flash | AIDS/ ACT UP | July 9, 7 - 8 PM
Katsu Naito | Harlem | July 16, 7 - 8 PM
Nina Berman | Return to Vietnam | July 23, 7 - 8 PM
This program is possible thanks to the vision and support of Fujifilm.
Our Digitization System was made possible by a 2024 Capital Grant by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
