What is ArtsWork?

ArtsWork is St. Paul's summer jobs program that offers youth ages 14 to 21 on-the-job training in the visual, literary and performing arts. Started in the summer of 2001 as a collaboration among the City of Saint Paul, Center for Employment and Training (CET) of the Saint Paul Public Schools, COMPAS and many other partners and sponsors, the program addresses three major challenges facing youth:

• Unemployment and lack of preparation for the workplace
• Drastic reduction of arts education in schools
• Limited opportunities for positive mentoring relationships with adults.

Our goals are to: provide meaningful employment; provide professional mentoring; create visibility; build community outreach; and promote integration.

This year we are looking to hire about 70 “Apprentice Artists” in programs designed by arts organizations and “Lead Artists” and "Teaching Artists" from the Twin Cities. ArtsWork youth learn to create works of art in a variety of media while developing cognitive skills vital to the workplace, such as problem-solving, reasoning, and decision-making. The artwork is sold at the ArtsWork Retail Store or commissioned by local businesses. Apprentices take away a lasting set of experiences, as well as a hard-earned paycheck!