The LA County Arts Internship Program supports and strengthens the cultural sector of LA County by providing access to high-quality opportunities for college students of all backgrounds to gain experience, understanding, and transferable skills relevant to careers in the arts, the creative economy, and engagement in public life. In addition to receiving ten weeks of paid work experience at their organizations, interns participated in group learning opportunities during the 2018 Arts Summit in Little Tokyo, and meetings with their regional Peer Groups which ranged from areas including downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach/San Pedro, Hollywood, Glendale/Atwater Village, and East LA. The 2018 program continued a nearly two-decade partnership with The Getty Foundation, which supports multicultural internships in museums and visual arts organizations and provides funding for the educational components of the County’s program. Combined, the Getty and County programs continue to provide the largest paid arts internship program in the United States, employing more than 250 undergraduate interns in arts organizations across LA County this past summer. To date, more than 2,200 students have been through the County’s program alone.
The mission of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture is to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout LA County. We fulfill our mission by providing services and support in areas including grants and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations; professional development opportunities; commissioning civic artworks and managing the County’s civic art collection; implementing countywide arts education initiatives; research and evaluation; career pathways in the creative economy; free community programs; and cross sector creative strategies that address civic issues. This work is framed by the County’s Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative and a longstanding commitment to fostering access to the arts.
