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Arts for Learning/Miami (A4L)’s ArtWorks Internship in the Arts for High School students hired 53 teen interns to work alongside professional Teaching Artists in five artistic disciplines at the program’s new home, Miami-Dade College’s Koubek Center in Little Havana.
Celebrating its 10th year as an A4L program, ArtWorks is a paid internship, wherein A4L hires high school students (9th-12th graders) to work with professional visual or performing artists for six weeks, to make art, as well as attend workforce skill development workshops including interpersonal skill building, professionalism in the workplace, financial literacy, networking, resume writing, and public speaking among other topics. Interns also receive individual and group college advisement.
Arts experience is not a requirement for employment and all students who apply are interviewed in an effort to impart moments for professional skill development onto as many teens as possible. The program’s mission is to give teens access to the arts and help prepare them for any career path they may choose.
Historically, ArtWorks Internships have taken place in Wynwood and Coconut Grove, primarily serving teens from area schools. The 2022 move to Little Havana expands A4L’s reach for its work with teens, an important area of growth for the organization which works with professional artists to provide arts education programs to students ages 0-18 across South Florida.
“ArtWorks is more important now than ever. I believe that young people are looking for ways to connect in general, coming off of the pandemic and virtual classes. Having the benefit of meeting other high school students from across South Florida is an added bonus.
Students leave with lifelong friends whom they may not have ever met had it not been for this program,” said Ivy Bennett, A4L program director who has overseen the ArtWorks program since its inception in 2012. “Housing the program at The Koubek Center is giving second year interns the chance to work with teens from a different part of the region, creating even more opportunities for collaboration.”
This Summer, ArtWorks interns are working with professional Teaching Artists in five cohorts: Animation (with animator, graphic designer and film producer Milly Cohen), Creative Writing (with writer and poet Neil De La Flor), Music Production (with producer and percussionist Juseph Ballestero); Visual Arts (with with acclaimed local artist Yanira Collado), and Dance & Theater (with former ArtWorks intern Nickeisha Bailey).
Interns hail from 25 different high schools across Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The ArtWorks Internship program is generously funded by The Jonathan D. Lewis Foundation, which also supports A4L’s Lewis Arts Studio in Coconut Grove, a visual arts intensive program for Middle School students. The Summer 2022 ArtWorks Internship culminated in a public performance and exhibition at the Koubek Center on July 28.
Arts for Learning (A4L) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing teaching and learning through the arts. As a leading source of arts programs in Miami, A4L provides traditional and arts-integrated instruction, student studio programs, after-school and summer programs, high school internships, and teacher and artist professional development. A4L’s programs augment cognitive, social, and emotional development in children and youth. The programs also develop creativity, critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills, as well as promote positive peer relations and cultivate self-efficacy.
A4L partners with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, and Young Audiences – A4L’s national affiliate. A4L also serves as the South Florida Wolf Trap, a regional program of Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning. A4L’s services are delivered to more than 5,000 children and youth in approximately 50 schools, preschools, after-school programs, and summer camps throughout Miami-Dade and Broward.
