Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship Program is accepting applications

The 2021 Quad City Arts Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship Program is accepting applications through Wednesday, March 31.

Since the summer of 2000, Metro Arts has provided area youth 15-21 years old with paid summer apprenticeships in various arts disciplines. The program provides opportunities for youth and enhances the community through the arts. For five weeks, area youth work together in groups to complete art projects under the supervision and mentorship of professional artists. Participants learn the creative techniques and applications of their genre while developing personally and professionally.

As Quad City Arts continues to focus on equity and accessibility, it became clear that the Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship needed options that did not require pre-existing artistic talents, like those required to design and paint a mural in five-weeks. The program will still offer mural painting, but also include projects that are designed to be accessible to more entry-level artists, including graphic design, poetry, and film.

“We are excited to offer more accessible options for our paid arts apprenticeship program,” says Executive Director, Kevin Maynard.

This year’s Metro Arts program will start on Monday, June 7, and end on Thursday, July 8. Apprentices will meet for up to four hours Monday through Thursday. Apprentices receive a stipend of $500, and Senior Apprentices (project leaders) receive a stipend of $750.

The program is highly rewarding for apprentices as expressed by a 2020 Metro Arts Apprentice, Maggie Pope:

"Last year was my first year doing the Summer Mural Painting, and I can confidently say I developed so many skills just within the month and a half of working for Metro Arts. In that short amount of time, I found myself wishing to go to work every day— which is almost an impossible task when you’re required to work in the one-hundred-degree heat with a mask on. Being with the artists around me helped me learn so many new strategies and techniques in painting. They also gave me a whole new perspective on the process of how large-scale projects are made. Most of all, though, the artists around me turned me into a better person. I literally felt myself being more happy and successful in my work, which is a dream everyone wants."

 
More project details will be available closer to the start of Metro Arts, but we are excited to share more information on some of our talented Lead Artists:

Aubrey Barnes, Poetry Lead Artist
Aubrey Barnes is an emcee, poet, educator, and author of "Unfin-" and "I'm Not Anti-Love, I Swear." With six years and hundreds of poems and songs under his belt, Aubrey's work encapsulates his unique experience as a black male living in a small region in the Midwest called the Quad Cities; from being a product of rap, to social divides that played a part in shaping his worldview. Aubrey has performed and taught workshops all over; from Chicago, Atlanta, to regions outside the country such as Haiti. He was also ranked number three best slam poet in the state of Iowa in June of 2019 by the Iowa Writers Organization. His poetry workshops consist of teaching the art from the context of rap and battle rap, exposing students to the lyrical and social richness that is within these arts. Being an individual who wears many creative hats, Aubrey aims to provoke ears with his lyrical, battle rap-influenced penmanship, as well as provoke thought, with content that reflects all that he has journeyed through or is journeying through.
 

Jonathan Burnett, Film Lead Artist
Independent filmmaker and Educator Jonathan Burnett is a native of Rock Island, Illinois. Jonathan studied and received his training in film production and visual media, obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA, and a Master of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University. He has written, directed, produced, and filmed several projects during his tenure. Jonathan worked on professional films in France, Algeria, and Atlanta, Georgia. He is also the Creator, Director, and Lead Instructor of the Urban Exposure Independent Film Program, a ten-week intensive program that teaches the basics of filmmaking to youth in the Midwest. Jonathan’s thesis film “Smoke & Mirrors” completed its festival tour. It has been shown in nine different festivals across the United States and has won 2 awards for Best Short Film and Best Student Film at the Alternating Currents Film Festival in Davenport, Iowa. Jonathan is now an adjunct professor at Loyola Marymount University and is also working with his father, Honorary Oscar Recipient, Charles Burnett to produce feature films and television content.
 

Sarah Robb, Mural Design Lead Artist
Sarah Jean Robb was raised in Davenport, Iowa. She received her BFA in Illustration with a minor in Graphic Design from Laguna College of Art & Design in Laguna Beach, CA. Sarah devoted nine years to her art career in California entering a variety of exhibits, creating murals, and commissioned jobs. Still, the desire to rediscover her roots resulted in moving back to Davenport, fifteen years ago where she continues to pursue her passion and career as an artist.

Since returning in 2006, she has been the Lead Artist for Mural Design with the QC Arts Metro Arts Summer Youth Program, a position she has been proud to occupy since 2007. Her love for large scale public art murals and working with the community has led to commissioned projects with The City of Moline, Rock Island, and Davenport, Palmer College of Chiropractic, Child Abuse Council, Augustana College, Dress for Success, Boys & Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley, Schuetzen Park with German Heritage, and many more.

Quad City Arts' Metro Arts Apprenticeship program allows young adults to develop new career and artistic skills, build self-confidence, and creates a sense of accomplishment as they work under the supervision and mentorship of professional artists. Their mentors are accomplished, local artists who are passionate about teaching and encouraging creativity. Let's encourage the next generation of creatives!
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become a Metro Arts apprentice