Connecticut: Arts Workforce Initiative

The Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) recently launched an Arts Workforce Initiative to support career development for emerging professionals. The initiative is designed to expand professional opportunities in the creative industries for applicants from diverse and traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. COA selected 12 individuals specializing in arts administration, curation, media arts, performing arts, visual arts, arts education and literary arts and matched them with 11 Connecticut organizations seeking those skills. This highly competitive pilot program selected interns and partner organizations based on their alignment with the agency’s READI framework, which COA uses to promote relevance, equity, access, diversity and inclusion in all of its programs. Organizations selected for intern placement were granted $3,750 per intern to cover the intern’s wages ($15/hour) for 10 weeks. Interns are being placed at museums, community arts organizations and performing arts centers and will work alongside seasoned arts professionals to gain hands-on experience in their chosen specialty. For more information, contact COA Arts Program Associate & Special Programs Coordinator Adriane Jefferson.