Summer Arts Apprenticeship program

SAAP 2008 - New Deadline for Youth Applicants May 23, 2008!

The Summer Arts Apprenticeship Program (SAAP) is an 8-week internship program that challenges youth ages 14 to 19 to push their artistic boundaries and engage in an intensive course of individual and collaborative art making.  Throughout the session, youth will be exposed to new ideas and processes while building on their current skills in media art production.  The program utilizes a combination of classroom learning, media lab time, individual projects, field trips, and one-on-one mentoring sessions with working artists. 

The curriculum for SAAP is focused on the investigation of issues relevant to the lives of young people, in addition to lessons that teach technical skills for video production, audio production, graphic design, performance art, and the installation process.  The annual SAAP topic, which may address political, cultural, and social issues, serves as the source of inspiration for media projects and the unifying theme for the group exhibition.  For 2008, SAAP will be looking at the formation of individual and group cultural identity, particularly how personal history and public cultures shape our conception of self and the world around us.  Special attention will be made to understand the way society and mass media influence our identities. Through their media art work, youth apprentices will be asked to critically analyze and construct a view of the meaning of culture and self.

For the duration of the SAAP program, youth apprentices are paired with artist mentors who currently work in the youths' chosen medium.  The process of working side by side with more experienced artists gives SAAP apprentices a unique opportunity to learn new skills and techniques while also meeting role models from the media art community.  Through this collaborative model we hope to foster a relationship of mutual creative exchange between the youth and their mentors.   

If you are a working artist interested in becoming a SAAP mentor, you can download the official announcement here. Email cover letter and resume by May 14th to: SAAPMentor@street-level.org

If you are a YOUTH interested in being a part of SAAP 2008 you can download the full job description and an application here. Save completed applications to your computer and email it as an attachement by May 23rd to: SAAPYouth@street-level.org