Art and Design Internships in Berlin

Around forty years of welcoming school-year interns

For around forty years, students from Wilhelm-Ostwald-Schule have spent their practical year with us. You do not need a complete career plan to enquire. Curiosity about pictures, a willingness to listen and an interest in making things are useful starting points.

At our gallery in Berlin-Charlottenburg, seeing a print beside frame samples helps you understand how a border, a surface or a change of scale affects the image. You learn from the actual artwork and the decisions around it.

Work with pictures, materials and printing processes

This is an opportunity to take part under guidance. Your tasks depend on the work in progress, your experience and your school's learning requirements. We introduce you to practical activities rather than promising a complete course in every artistic technique.

• Gallery presentation: Explore how colour, proportion and the space around a picture affect its presentation.
• Framing and materials: Become familiar with frame profiles, papers and mounts, and assist with suitable stages of picture preparation and framing.
• Hands-on printing: Join supervised work in the intaglio printing workshop, with practical exposure to plates, ink, paper and the production of prints.
• Looking at art: Paintings, drawings, etchings and copper engravings offer starting points for discussing composition, line and different ways of making an image.

Our picture framing service shows how visual choices connect with making and handling. You can also read about original etchings and intaglio printing before contacting us. You are not expected to know the processes already; the point is to learn how the work is approached.

How a Fachoberschule placement fits your education

A Fachoberschule, often shortened to FOS, is a vocational upper-secondary school, not a university. In relevant two-year courses, practical experience runs alongside classroom teaching during the first year. The schools below offer routes worth discussing with us. They do not all have the same requirements, and inclusion here does not mean that each school has approved every activity we offer.

• Wilhelm-Ostwald-Schule

  Its FOS course includes colour technology and spatial design, with workplace practice during the first year. Students from this school have undertaken practical years with us over many years.

• Max-Bill-Schule

  The design route of its two-year FOS includes a placement alongside school. Share the course requirements with us so that we can compare them with suitable gallery and workshop tasks.

• Ernst-Litfaß-Schule

  Media design is central to this course. We therefore need to check carefully whether the proposed printing and design activities meet your particular educational requirements.

• Rackow-Schulen Berlin

  The two-year FOS in design includes workplace experience in the first school year. Prospective interns can contact us with their school guidance and intended placement dates.

Agreeing the placement with you and your school

A school-year placement is not simply twelve months of full-time work. We need to understand how your teaching days and workplace days fit together, the hours your course requires and how your progress will be recorded. Bring or send your school's guidance so that we can discuss tasks, practical days, reports and supervision before you commit.

Care matters when working around original pictures. You will be asked to listen to instructions, check before using unfamiliar tools and speak up when something is unclear. Preparation and keeping a workspace organised are part of the experience, alongside the creative activities. Being dependable helps us involve you in ongoing work and build on what you have learned.

Short placements and university internships

If you are looking for a shorter school placement, a work-experience placement to explore your options, or a compulsory internship during your studies, you are welcome to enquire. Our main focus remains the FOS practical year. Other arrangements depend on the time available, the learning objectives and the supervision we can provide.

For a university placement, tell us what your department needs you to cover. An interest in art or design does not automatically make every gallery activity suitable for academic credit. Your institution must confirm that the agreed placement meets its requirements. We cannot promise recognition or an available place before discussing the details.

Start with a conversation, not a large application file

Call or email with your school or course, proposed dates, required attendance and interests. These might include colour and spatial design, framing or learning a printing process through practice. A portfolio or formal application folder is not needed for this first enquiry.

Enquiries are welcome throughout the year. Starts, capacity and any further documents are agreed individually. When we arrange a visit, our contact and directions page will help you find us.