KINGSTON – The City of Kingston’s ARPA Arts & Culture Internship Grant Program, which is made possible with funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act is set to go, Mayor Steven Noble announced on Monday.
This program is intended to respond to the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency by focusing on youth arts and culture workforce development.
Per the City of Kingston’s Economic Recovery Plan, the Arts & Culture Internship Grant Program will use ARPA funding to aid the creative economy by encouraging young people to develop an interest in, and the skills needed, to participate in the arts industry. The program will support both nonprofit and for-profit arts and culture organizations that experienced losses due to the pandemic.
“We want to ensure that both artists and arts businesses and non-profit organizations can continue to thrive here. We hope this program will help two-fold – by encouraging young people to enter the arts, and to assist the organizations in getting back on their feet.”
Creative industries can include advertising, architecture, arts and crafts, fine arts, design, fashion, film/video, photography, music, performing arts, publishing, computer games, and TV/radio. The creative economy, as defined by this program, can include trade, labor, and production aspects of the arts.
Eligible institutions may apply for cash assistance to hire interns at their business or organization for one semester: summer 2023, fall 2023, spring 2024, or summer 2024. Interns must be a high school, undergraduate, or graduate student or individual who graduated from high school, college, or graduate school in 2023 or 2024.
To be eligible for an award, an entity must:
- Be a nonprofit or for-profit business contributing to the creative economy based in Kingston
- Have been operating in the City of Kingston prior to October 1, 2021
The application opens Monday, March 6. The deadline for application submission is Friday, April 14, 2023. More program information and the application can be found at www.engagekingston.com/arpa-arts-culture-internship-program.
