Name: Purnima Palawat
Class Year: 2024
Major: Anthropology
Minor: Visual Studies
Hometown: Millburn, New Jersey
Internship Organization: Artillery AG Ceramics Studio
Job Title: Summer Intern
Location: San Francisco, CA
What's happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
Hi, I鈥檓 Purnima! I鈥檓 a rising Senior at Bryn Mawr and participating in the Beyond Bryn Mawr Summer Internship Program, working at Artillery Ceramics in San Francisco, California. Artillery is a Latinx-owned, AAPI and Queer-led community art space centered in three core values: connecting to and honoring our Indigenous Cultures; activating our connection with the Earth and preserving nature; and growing and empowering our BIPOC Community through the arts. A usual day in the studio for me begins with watering our beautiful medicinal herb garden and plants in the studio. I do a mix of technical studio work, like cleaning, recycling clay, loading and unloading the kiln, member engagement, and computer work, which is centered around community enrichment, planning events, and making social media and newsletter posts. We try to partner and collaborate with other community organizations and groups that are in alignment with our beliefs. Pottery Practivism (practicing activism), making pottery with intention, and connecting to broader causes, is something we are activating in the space. We鈥檙e currently working on a fundraiser and art auction for our Ceramics Scholarship and Apprenticeship Programs, where folks make bowls and plates to eat from, gather as a community to eat, tell/hear stories, and see local artists auction their work.
Why did you apply for this internship?
My interest in applying here intertwines with my major and minor in anthropology and visual studies because I am interested in art, social movements, liberation and decolonization. I believe community and collaborative art in particular are transformative and exploratory spaces to imagine liberatory futures. It鈥檚 been wonderful to meet and work with so many new people, hear what inspires and motivates them, and have moments where we share in our creative processes together. The fact that the studio is a community space is a big reason why I applied here as well.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
It鈥檚 amazing to work in a creative arts space that values liberation, decolonization, radical world-making and sees art as a vital catalyst for social awareness, wellness, and change. The studio offers clay foraging outings, and I had the experience to go on one at a local beach. This was a profound experience. I got to see clay and make it throughout its entire process, be present with the wind, ocean, fire, earth, people, and animals we encountered. Working with clay is an extremely grounding and connective process, making it also deeply healing. I鈥檝e really enjoyed sharing clay-filled experiences with others, getting to make pieces collaboratively. For example, in one of the pictures, we鈥檙e carving bowls that someone else made for our fundraiser event, and someone else might glaze them! For a carving workshop, someone made cups and I got to glaze and carve them to show as examples.
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
I鈥檓 learning how to run an art space (it involves a lot more write-ups and computer work than I realized), how to specifically run a ceramics studio, and getting a lot of practice and experience in community facilitation and engagement, and working with people. These are important skills because I am interested in staying involved with radical art spaces, community building, organizing, and activism throughout my life.
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.