Meet a VC Summer Intern: Shoop Rozario

Learn about one of our 2019 VC Summer Interns, Shoop Rozario (Sarah), the Getty MUI Exhibitions Program Intern.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m Sarah but friends call me Shoop! I attend Scripps College (‘21) where I’m majoring in Legal Studies, concentrating in social movements. I love working in community and often use my art as space to facilitate storytelling and connection. I am most interested in stories that center healing and celebration.

How did you hear about VC and what drew you to apply?

I remember trying to get a better understanding of organizations that existed in LA while also looking for a place to intern over the summer. I somehow ended up on VC’s website and started to read on what they were all about. I had no idea an organization dedicated to Asian American media existed! I was like, this is so me!! I knew I had to work there and bookmarked their site to apply for the following summer. I think I had such a strong reaction because as a queer mixed Asian kid raised by refugees and immigrants, it’s difficult to find these stories and community in the mainstream. Before VC I worked with folks to create spaces for these stories with Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network where I facilitated summits focused on queer Asian American narratives. I knew I wanted to continue doing this kind of community forward work.

What do you do at VC? Which part do you find most interesting?

I’m the Exhibitions Program Intern here at VC. Right now I am working on researching, updating, and keeping in touch with our community partnerships. What I most enjoy about this work is learning about what organizations and efforts are out there and the very cool work people are doing hyper-locally.

I am also helping to coordinate a program of ours that will come to life on August 15th concerning historical displacement in Little Tokyo and the risk of losing the historic community of First Street North today. The event will be informative but will hopefully also be a step towards obtaining self-determination in LT.

What is your favorite thing about working here? Any memorable moments?

My favorite part of working at VC would be the community built here between staff but also in the greater Little Tokyo and beyond. VC supports Asian American filmmakers and media artists through the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Armed With A Camera program, and Digital Histories program. These resources play a impactful role in creating and empowering communities in LA. And because of VC I’ve had the chance to fall in love with Little Tokyo! Through the work of VC in collaboration with the greater surrounding community, I’ve had the privilege of learning about LT’s unique history of resistance and seeing hopefulness in building its future.

What’s your go-to karaoke song and why?

My go-to karaoke song would have to be Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa. It says my name a bunch of times, so it kinda feels like it was made for me! I also have the memory of my high school basketball team adding it to our warm-up playlist. So it hypes me up instantly! I have to admit though, I still don’t know all the words to it.

My Experience at the Getty Arts Summit

By Shoop Rozario

When I arrived to the Getty Museum, I met and had breakfast with other Getty interns. We all made our way to a lecture hall where we heard from a keynote speaker, Raquel Gutiérrez, who talked about her life and career. She humorously talked about her journey through different visual arts organizations, her appreciation for these spaces, and how it informs her poetry and essays dedicated to her queer and Latina identity. 

Later we heard from 10 other speakers working in museums or the visual arts. It was great to hear from people working in very different fields, who had different career paths, and hearing about what they feel they get out of their work. We heard from a CSUN professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies, Denise Sandoval, who talked about her exhibitions on lowrider culture, and Betty Ávila from Self Help Graphics & Art, on her role in creating People for Mobility Justice. This part of the day was especially helpful for me as I am continuing to explore careers for myself.

After hearing from all our speakers we had lunch and went off to our tours. I got to attend an exhibition tour of Bauhaus Beginnings. Research Assistant Gary Fox and Curatorial Assistant Johnny Tran led the tour, which explores the interaction between masters and students at the Bauhaus, an influential school of arts design. The materials on display included course exercises, teaching aids, drawings, and photographs, all showing the founding principles of the institution. 

It was great to hear from so many amazing speakers who welcomed our questions. I really appreciated learning about all the different career possibilities, as well as meeting the other 119 interns!