How did Vermont become one of the most creative states in the nation? 

Join fellow students in discovering the ins and outs of the "creative economy." Vermont's creative sector comprises of organizations, individuals, and businesses who root their work and products in the artistic or creative realm. This sector can include many types of enterprises, ranging from independent theatres to furniture makers; from large companies to individual artists; from art suppliers to service providers. 

Interns in this Community of Practice will work closely with an entity working somewhere within the creative economy. While the types of day-to-day work will vary, all students will come away with a greater sense of the type of jobs available within this sector and a strong sense of the systems within. 

This program is closely linked to UVM's School of the Arts.

Students: Enroll in CAS 2920 E

 

The Student Experience:

Students will have the opportunity to work with a wide range of entities to support the creative economy - including performance spaces, regional planning entities, local cultural nonprofits, and statewide creative sector organizations (such as the Vermont Arts Council and Creative Network). This course is a fantastic opportunity to get connected to the hundreds of arts organizations across Vermont. If you're hoping to build a career in the arts while supporting local communities this Community of Practice Course is for you.

Time commitment: Students are expected to complete 120 hours of work for their community partner project (which is arouns 8-10 hours per week). This program is designed to match the amount of work required of a typical academic course.

Internships may include the following types of tasks or work:

  • Arts Event Planning and Logistics
  • Community Outreach and Engagement
  • Communications, Marketing, and Social Media
  • Economic Development Research
  • Fundraising, Grant Writing, Financial Management 

Interns will be contacted by the faculty instructor after registration to begin the matching process. Make sure to keep an eye out for an email!

Faculty Mentor:

Johanna de Graffenreid (she/her)

Johanna de Graffenreid has worked for nearly 20 years as a community organizer, advocate, lobbyist, campaign director, and popular education trainer with grassroots, regional and national organizations. She found her professional roots in the environmental justice movement while working for Greenpeace after graduating with a dual undergraduate degree in Political Science and Women's & Gender Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2008. She left the frontlines fighting mountain-top removal in West Virginia as the C.A.R.E. Campaign Coordinator for Coal River Mountain Watch to earn a Masters of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School, and graduated in 2015. She has since worked in the Gulf region on climate justice & oil and gas accountability campaigns. Johanna moved back to Vermont in 2017 to advance state-based policy supporting rural communities and crucial infrastructure. She then ran a coalition of over 37 organizations supporting small farmers across New England and the Hudson Valley. Currently she runs the Vermont state arts agency network, the Vermont Creative Network, which supports hundreds of arts and cultural organizations and economic development in the creative sector for the Vermont Arts Council. Johanna's passion is championing rural communities as places of powerful change and opportunity for all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

QUICK HELP:

Contact the College of Arts & Sciences Internship Team with questions.

Credit information:

The Arts & Creative Economy Community of Practice counts as elective internship credit.

If students' internship placements are related to their major or minor, they can request that the credit count toward their major or minor by contacting their department chairperson.