Arts for Learning Maryland’s Bloomberg Arts Internship Program (BAI) is expanding to reach more students in Baltimore City thanks to a generous grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The Bloomberg Arts Internship Program offers Baltimore City Public Schools rising seniors full-time, paid internships at leading arts institutions and college and career mentorship. The program is running this summer from June 24 to August 14.

Thanks to this grant, the program will continue through June 2026 and expand to include 50 interns and 25 worksites each summer. The grant also funds a new “sneak peak” initiative to help with future recruitment efforts: 10 City Schools sophomores will “shadow” the program this summer while earning a stipend. Arts for Learning Maryland has also hired a full-time Bloomberg Arts Internship Associate to manage the program. This is the eighth year of the program in Baltimore City. To-date, BAI has served 284 students in Baltimore.

The Bloomberg Arts Internship helps students develop skills, including communication, problem-solving, and team building, that are essential for any professional field while encouraging awareness of culture as an industry and a civic resource. Arts for Learning Maryland manages all aspects of the Baltimore Bloomberg Arts Internship program, such as coordinating with high schools to recruit potential interns; securing worksite placements at cultural organizations; and coordinating workshops, mentoring, and field trips. By partnering with public schools and paying a living wage, the Bloomberg Arts Internship program reaches students from all backgrounds and helps them secure workforce experience that is crucial to accessing future education and career opportunities. Students who could benefit from the program are identified by public school districts, teachers, citywide youth employment programs, and affiliated nonprofits that work with youth.

“Year after year, the Bloomberg Arts Internship Program gives Baltimore City students amazingly powerful learning and work experiences focused on the arts,” explained Stacie Sanders Evans, Arts for Learning Maryland President & CEO. “This grant reflects Bloomberg Philanthropies’ recognition of this program’s huge impact and success, and of the importance of the arts in student development. We’re so grateful.”

This year’s Bloomberg Arts Internship worksites include: AREA 405 under Central Baltimore Partnership, Art with a Heart, Artscentric, Ascend through Music (Living Classrooms), Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore Jewelry Center, Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, Baltimore Public Media, Baltimore Rock Opera Society, Baltimore Youth Arts, BrickRose Exchange, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Creative Alliance, Creative Nomads, Dance & Bmore, Everyman Theatre, Johns Hopkins University Museums, Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center, Maryland Center for History and Culture, Peabody Preparatory, Port Discovery, Sankofa Children’s Museum of African Cultures, The Baltimore Museum of Art, and Yele Stitches LLC.

Since 2012, the program has supported over 1,700 internships at more than 250 cultural organizations across seven cities including Baltimore. For more information about the program, click here.

About Arts for Learning Maryland
Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) is devoted to enriching the lives and education of Maryland’s youth through educational and culturally diverse arts programs. Through Arts for Learning, professional teaching artists from all disciplines partner with educators, schools, and school districts to provide — on average — over 500,000 hours of learning in, through, and about the arts to more than 155,000 Maryland students annually. Arts for Learning is a mission-driven organization that values community, innovation, and passion. The staff, board, and teaching artists have a shared commitment to advance equity in the field of education by generating opportunities for students to imagine, create, and realize their full potential through the arts.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and X.