7 Great High School Internships in the Visual Arts

If you’re a high school student interested in the visual arts, let Lateenz help you find an internship that feeds your creativity!

Internships are an increasingly important part of high school life; a high-quality internship will give you the opportunity to experience the professional work world while also receiving special education and training appropriate to your abilities as a young person. If you’re interested in exploring a career in the visual arts, you definitely should try to find an internship with a company or organization that focuses on the visual arts space. Examples of companies and organizations that offer visual arts internships for high school students include museums, community art organizations, and art academies.

What’s the best way to find an internship? First, make sure you understand how high school internships work (pun intended!) Then, use our free, searchable list of high school internships to help narrow down your choices.

Here are just some of the visual arts internships for high school students that are featured in the Lateenz Internships database:

1. Arts for Learning – Artworks: Internships in the Arts

ArtWorks: Internships in the Arts is an internship program in the arts for Miami-area (Florida) high school students (9th – 12th grade). Each year, Arts for Learning hires student interns to work in co-ops to flex their creative muscles and learn essential career skills while making and producing works of art. Currently, Arts for Learning offers high school internships in visual and performing arts, including in disciplines such as music, film, design, animation, and architecture.

Category: High School Internship
Location: Florida (Miami)
When Offered: Summer
Duration: 6 Weeks
Ages: 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Attendance: Commuter (must provide your own housing and transportation)
Payment: Hourly wage

2. ArtWorks Public Art Youth Apprentices

ArtWorks Public Art Youth Apprentices is an award-winning Greater Cincinnati nonprofit that hires young people between the ages of 14 – 21 who are eager to create art, make a difference in the city, work in diverse teams, and build new skills. As part of an Artworks internship, high school students can work as “Apprentices” in teams with professional artists who mentor and inspire them. Over the past 25 years, past teams have completed more than 14,000 public and private works of art, including more than 200 permanent outdoor murals. Projects can include painting, drawing, photography, design, sewing, and community engagement. Beyond art making, ArtWorks also offers its Apprentices creative professional development training in communication, collaboration, problem-solving, creative thinking, goal management, and social capital.

Category: High School Internship
Location: Ohio (Cincinnati)
When Offered: Contact Sponsor
Duration: Contact Sponsor
Ages: 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Grades: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Attendance: Commuter (must provide your own housing and transportation)
Payment: Hourly wage

3. Bloomberg Arts Internship

The Bloomberg Arts Internship is a summer internship for rising high school seniors attending a Philadelphia public school or public charter school. During this eight-week, paid internship, high school students work at Philadelphia’s leading arts organizations, attend rigorous professional development workshops, and tour cultural sites in the Philadephia area. High school students develop vital professional skills while working with organizations such as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Asian Arts Initiative, Taller Puertorriqueno, InLiquid Art & Design, and many others. As part of the internship, high school students redesign websites, run social media campaigns, conduct research, build art installations, and much more! High school interns also work on teamwork and public speaking, build a professional resume, and receive professional help writing a college essay.

Category: High School Internship
Location: Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
When Offered: Summer
Duration: 8 Weeks
Ages: Not specified
Grades: 11
Attendance: Commuter (must provide your own housing and transportation)
Payment: Hourly wage, transportation stipend, museum access

4. Brooklyn Museum: Creative Practice Internship

In the Brooklyn Museum: Creative Internship, New York City high school students help the museum’s teaching artists give art lessons to students of all ages. This paid internship is open to all New York City teens, ages 15–19, who are enrolled in high school as a sophomore, junior, or senior as of the fall. The internship takes place from September through May. As part of this internship, students also: meet artists, educators, and Brooklyn Museum staff; work on creative projects relating to museum exhibitions with other teens; get training on how to work with audiences of all ages and abilities; make art interpreting fashion, design, and social justice; and much more. Interns get paid $15 per hour and work up to 120 hours for the year. Metrocards are provided for weekend work.

Category: High School Internship
Location: NY (New York City)
When Offered: Spring (Feb. – May)
Duration: 4 Months
Ages: 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Grades: 10, 11, 12
Attendance: Commuter (must provide your own housing)
Payment: Hourly wage + Metrocard

5. Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum: Design Hive

The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum: Design Hive is a paid, youth-led initiative at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. Students ages 16-22 develop their own collaborative projects based on an annual design theme. Design Hive takes place on Thursdays from 4:30-6:30 pm at the museum. Students must be based in the New York City area to apply. The internship begins in November and ends in May. Students will receive a stipend of $2,000 for their participation.

Category: High School Internship
Location: New York (New York City Metro Area)
When Offered: Academic Year, Summer
Duration: 7 Months (Nov. – May)
Ages: 16, 17, 18, 19
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Attendance: Commuter (must provide your own housing and transportation)
Payment: Stipend

6. Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Teen Programs

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Teen Programs offers internships for Boston-area high school students in its vibrant and engaging museum environment. These internships give high school students the opportunity to: develop leadership skills and learn about museum professions; help Museum visitors as Visitor Aides and Program Assistants; attend studio art classes and workshops; and coordinate events to help Boston-area teens enjoy and engage with the Museum’s global collections. All opportunities are paid $14.25/hour. The MFA offers three internships in the following specialized focused areas:

STEAM Team – In the STEAM Team internship, high school students explore museum careers in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM).

Curatorial Study Hall – In the Curatorial Study Hall internship, high school students work on a specialized project in order to explore and delve deeper into exhibition creation, interpretation, and design.

Teen Arts Council – The Teen Arts Council (TAC) is the MFA’s leadership development internship that offers high school students the opportunity to engage with art, develop workplace skills, and learn about museum career paths.

Category: High School Internship
Location: MA (Boston)
When Offered: Academic Year, Summer
Duration: 1 Year
Ages: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Attendance: Commuter (must provide your own housing and transportation)
Payment: Hourly wage

7. Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery: Teen Museum Council

The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery Teen Museum Council is an intensive internship for D.C. area high school students (grades 9-12) who are interested in developing leadership skills, learning about themselves through portraiture and art, and making the Portrait Gallery an engaging place for other teenagers. Teen Museum Council interns work on a variety of activities such as creating teen-centered events, and participating in workshops and training sessions with museum professionals. Interns gain experience at the museum while developing creative and critical thinking skills. Teen Museum Council is a year-long commitment that meets once a week on Wednesdays during the school year.

Category: High School Internship
Location: DC (Metro Area)
When Offered: Academic Year
Duration: 1 Year
Ages: Not specified
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Attendance: Commuter (Must provide your own housing and transportation)
Payment: Volunteer