Starting them early: Artisphere Teen Work Experience

Do you work in the arts? Were you encouraged to do so? Not many of us were. Two DC area women are helping to change this. Sasha Lord and Lisa Marie Thalhammer developed the Artisphere Teen Work Experience and are showing students that working in the arts is possible. This program is giving work experience to high school seniors, allowing them to produce events for their peers, and encouraging them to join the arts community early. All the while increasing visibility for Artisphere. This month long immersive work experience gives teens a glimpse into many different aspects of the art world from curation and booking shows to promoting events. Four teens from the DC metro area are mentored by Sasha of Sasha Lord Presents as she guides them through all aspects of arts management by allowing them to see many different types of jobs in the art world through a series of field trips and workshops with staff at Artisphere and other DC art institutions.

In addition to this, they have worked directly with Lord to help run the shows that she books at Comet Ping Pong which was said to be a highlight. They worked the door, sold merchandise, and assisted the bands. The culmination of their internship will take place on Saturday, June 16th at Artisphere. The Battle of the Bands was entirely organized and promoted by the interns and will start at 6pm on Saturday. The competition began with the students evaluating local high school bands for their merit and will end with the audience selecting a winner who will receive an award of 32 hours of recording studio time at 4Mile Studios in Arlington.

Stay tuned to find out the winner or attend the show and find out for yourself.