PHOTO BY DEREK HANCHI

The 2011 class of Los Angeles County Arts Interns at Arts Summit

Internship positions close as soon as they are filled during the April 3 to May 16 recruitment period. Students should act fast.

Summer job opportunities for 74 college students are now available through the L.A. County Arts Internship Program. Interested students should act as soon as positions are posted as there is stiff competition for a limited number of internships. Students apply directly to the organization offering the internship, not the Arts Commission. The organizations make final candidate selections quickly as internships begin on June 1.

Graduating seniors who complete their undergraduate degrees by Sept. 1, are eligible, as well as undergraduates. Applicants must have completed at least one semester of college by June 2012, and be currently enrolled in a community college or a four-year university. Applicants must be a resident of and/or attending school in Los Angeles County. Students who have previously participated in the Los Angeles County Arts Internship Program are not eligible to participate a second time.

The positions are for 10 weeks and pay $350 per week. Interns also take part in educational and arts networking activities generously funded by The Getty Foundation. Through the program, interns gain real work experience to strengthen their resumes and develop business skills that can be put to use in their future careers.

To support the internships, Los Angeles County, through its Arts Commission, has given grants totaling $250,000 to 74 arts organizations throughout the County.

Through the program, interns gain a deeper understanding of the work involved in nonprofit arts administration and the role of the arts in a community and develop business skills that can be put to use in their future careers. Internship host organizations help mold and shape potential new arts leaders who may go on to hold positions on staffs, boards or as volunteers.

Laura Zucker, executive director, of The Los Angeles County Arts Commission said these opportunities provide leadership in cultural services of all disciplines for the largest county in the United States, encompassing 88 municipalities. The Arts Commission, in addition to funding the largest arts internship program in the country in conjunction with the Getty Foundation, administers a grants program that funds more than 350 nonprofit arts organizations annually; provides leadership and staffing to support the regional blueprint for arts education, Arts for All; oversees the County's Civic Art Program for capital projects; programs the John Anson Ford Theatres and supports the Los Angeles County Cultural Calendar on ExperienceLA.com and SpacefinderLA.org, a site connecting creative people with creative spaces. The Commission also produces free community programs, including the L.A. Holiday Celebration broadcast nationally, and a year-round music program that funds more than 70 free concerts each year in public sites.