Arts Intern College provides the unique opportunity for interns to create lasting relationships with their host organizations. These relationships sometimes turn into job opportunities.
Three 2026 Arts Interns share their experiences moving from intern to employee.
Eliza Colby
Programs + Graphic Design Assistant at Art House
Tell us about your Arts Internship:
What stuck with me the most was working as an assistant teacher in the summer camps…I was able to see the effects of the work Art House does firsthand through how the children we served benefitted from our programming. As an artist trained in children’s book illustration, it was also extremely rewarding and inspirational for my personal process.
Tell us about your new role:
The role of Programs + Graphic Design Assistant was created for me when I was hired on, and so needed to be shaped as I worked. It has taken a lot of resilience and persistence to begin to feel comfortable and confident in the work that I do, especially in my first official position as a working professional.
I am also thrilled to be working closely with many artists within the Cleveland community through event organization and art classes, getting to carve out a place for myself within this vibrant culture.
How did Studio in a School impact your journey?:
My time as an Arts Intern through Studio trained me to feel like a professional among professionals, even when I am still learning everyday. I learned how to carry myself within the workplace, balance my many new responsibilities, and prioritize myself while still valuing the work I get to do.
Quinn misterka
Programs Contract media designer at chargin documentary film festival
Tell us about your Arts Internship:
Arts Intern was such a wonderful experience all together. Not only did it introduce me to my team and allow me to work for the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, but it also helped me to understand a lot more about the artistic sector of Cleveland and the Greater Cleveland area.
Tell us about your new role:
Everyone at the festival puts a lot of trust into my hands, which is both very exciting and a little terrifying. They give me so much freedom to go out of my comfort zone and allow me to create something meaningful to them and fresh for a younger audience. I’m excited to have the ability to bring a new perspective to the design side of the festival.
How did Studio in a School impact your journey?:
All this wouldn’t be possible without Arts Intern, but it also wouldn’t have been possible without our Cleveland Cohort Project Manager, Chey Jeffries. Chey provided us mentorship, guidance, and an open space of discussion between all of us interns. Chey truly made our Friday professional development days special, and I owe a lot of my confidence in my work to them and the encouragement they gave all of us over the summer.
Aleena Kazmi
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program
Tell us about your Arts Internship:
Because my earlier education began in the sciences and my professional background has largely been in social impact, this was my first sustained professional experience in the arts. The archival work was especially meaningful because it connected directly to questions emerging in my thesis and showed me how thoughtful archiving practices can preserve context, make artists’ contributions more visible, and create connections across a larger body of work.
Tell us about your new role:
I have the freedom to follow a question through different forms of making and see how each medium changes my thinking. I’m currently experimenting with printmaking, sound, animation, and participatory role-play, to name a few. With role-play, I’m developing a two-part game in which one group’s actions shape the world inherited by a later group, allowing me to explore through play how knowledge, history, and consequences are carried forward.
How did Studio in a School impact your journey?:
Through the foundation, I strengthened my research, project management and communication skills, while the workshops, cohort conversations and site visits through Arts Intern helped demystify the many roles and structures that sustain creative work. All of these experiences have given me greater confidence in approaching my thesis, speaking about my practice, and seeing myself in the arts.