Overview

Community-based arts programs can offer young people opportunities to develop artistic skills, build supportive relationships, and explore potential career paths. Some programs also include paid work experiences, giving young people exposure to work in the arts and creative industries. However, less is known about the range of program models that combine arts learning with paid workforce opportunities for high school–aged people.

With support from The Wallace Foundation, MDRC and the University of California, Los Angeles’s Visual and Performing Arts Education Program are conducting a national study of programs that provide arts-based opportunities for learning and development and offer paid workplace experiences for people 14 to 18 years old. The study will have two phases. In the first phase, the study will identify and describe programs across the United States, focusing on their design features, partnership structures, and intended outcomes. The second phase will involve in-depth case studies of selected programs to examine how they integrate arts learning and workforce development, and to identify lessons and promising practices for the field.