Bloomberg Arts Interns Finish Their Summer of Cultural Immersion and Professional Development

This Friday, the Cultural Alliance will celebrate the conclusion of the 2021 Bloomberg Arts Internship (“BAI”) with presentations by interns in a special closing ceremony. Since 2015, the Cultural Alliance has partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies to deliver this one-of-a-kind program, matching exceptional high school students from across the city with paid internships at dozens of area arts and culture organizations.

In 2021, 50 young people from eighteen schools spent the summer supporting 22 organizations across Philadelphia with marketing and communications, exhibitions and programming, and in-depth research projects. This year, as many of our worksite partners opened their doors, Bloomberg interns were placed in remote, in-person and hybrid positions. At the Barnes Foundation, remote intern Ivanna created educator resources and content for virtual and in-person programs. Charlie and Aminah, hybrid interns at Main Line Art Center, were instrumental in the planning of the end of summer art festival, Community Patterns. And Alex and Layla worked in-person with dance/physical theater company, Brian Sanders’ JUNK to build life sized art installations as part of their upcoming production, Dragonbutter.

Through BAI, the Cultural Alliance immerses young people in Greater Philadelphia’s vibrant arts and culture community. Beyond that, the internship represents an investment in the future of the sector by creating early-career opportunities to do real-world work at an arts organization. By developing and delivering programs like BAI with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Cultural Alliance is committed to developing a diverse workforce pipeline that will fuel the next generation of arts leaders.

To get a glimpse of just some of the incredible work done by the BAI21 cohort, check out @bai.philadelphia on Instagram. To learn more about the Bloomberg program, visit philaculture.org/bloomberg-arts-internship.