The equinox has passed and we find ourselves speeding down the leaf-lined highway that is fall, with the sixth summer of the Diversity in the Arts (DITA) internship in our rearview mirror.
And oh what a summer it was! This year we welcomed thirteen interns at thirteen host-sites across the Front Range. We had seven returning and six new host sites. Our interns hailed from six different schools throughout the state and one international school! We also partnered for the first time with the Bee Vradenburg Foundation to offer two internships in Colorado Springs. This partnership allowed DITA to stretch farther across the state than we ever have before.
Other highlights of the summer include:
a panel discussion moderated by DITA alum keandra hunt with Rick Griffith of Shop at Matter, Jacob Mora of Moraporvida Contemporary Dance, Dr. Ellamaria Ray of Metropolitan State University, and printmaker Kim Rivera
a networking event at Molly Brown House that explored the importance of civic engagement and hard-won voting rights
a graduation ceremony hosted at Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop where each intern had the chance to share what they had learned from the summer
DITA internships provide real-life job experience to diverse young creatives who face barriers to participating in the arts: people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, and those who inhabit multiple of these identities and many more (because none of us can be described in just one word). In addition, DITA weaves a network of support between talented young people and the cultural leaders who have the power to employ them. Today's DITA interns are tomorrow's social media managers, grant writers, program directors, and more. We're proud of the past six summers and all the friendships and job offers gained along the way.
Stick around, as we're aiming to make our seventh year even better!
With gratitude to the 2024 cohort
Ariel Sophabmisay — Union Hall
Grace Arnold — Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region
Joseph Reyes — Mexican Cultural Center
Kanara Pittman — Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Kat Siegel — Dairy Arts Center
Keown Taylor — Denver Botanic Gardens
Lily Copeland — Molly Brown House
Marisa Diaz Bonacquisti — Museo de las Americas
Nylah Walker — Lakewood Cultural Center
Rachel Duran — Levitt Pavilion
Seneca Ramirez — Center for Visual Arts - MSU Denver
True Smith — Su Teatro
Olivia Azadmanesh — Green Box Arts
and our funders the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, the SCFD, Denver Arts and Venues, the Indigo Oak Fund, and the Bee Vradenburg Foundation
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