Internship focus: Supporting local artists and community-based arts programs
Public Space 1 logo

Public Space One is an artist-led, community-driven, nonprofit contemporary arts organization in downtown Iowa City, that creates and maintains inclusive and critical platforms and spaces to support artists and community creativity. We invite you to work with us this summer to work on a project that supports the development of one of these platforms. Interns will be supported and mentored by PS1 staff and organizers in our highly collaborative work environment and recognized as an integral part of the PS1 team.

  visit PS1 Website

Project Description: 

The HPG intern will select one of the projects below as their primary focus, but will also have the opportunity to observe and contribute to activities including: 

  • grant writing 

  • daily operations of a community event space and nonprofit arts organization 

  • long-term project planning 

  • communication and marketing 

  • community outreach events 

  • arts writing and documentation 

  • program assessment 

For all projects, helpful attributes include the ability to be self-directed, curious, flexible, and responsive and an interest in supporting community access to creative resources. 

Project 1: Media Arts Co-op 

The HPG intern will work with our community-access media arts studio, the Media Arts Co-op, to support and develop resources for diverse community storytellers using digital tools. 

Activities include: 

  • Assessing past MAC programming and using that assessment to co-write National Endowment for the Arts grant (due in July) to support this program 

  • Developing community storytelling and documentation access and trainings (potentially including: podcast studio, livestreaming setup) 

  • Developing strategies for publicly sharing archival and new material developed through this program 

Skills/interests: 

  • Basic digital skills (video, audio, or web-based media) or the strong desire to quickly learn in a self-directed fashion 

  • Interest in working with community members with diverse goals and backgrounds, from artists to entrepreneurs to culture bearers and storytellers 

Project 2: Research & Development for “Artists Thriving” Program 

The HPG intern will work on fleshing out and drawing together PS1’s current ideas and conversations around an emerging initiative to support local artists in thriving, including a public art incubator, professional development training, arts workshop teacher training, artist registries, artist affinity groups, and other possibilities. 


Activities include: 

  • Research on potential models from other communities, local/regional/national funding avenues/opportunities, and current local offerings 

  • Speaking with stakeholders (potential collaborators and community members) to assess needs, imaginings, and resources  

  • Drafting a proposed plan for a near-future program that brings together multiple local organizations in robust support of livelihoods for local artists.  

Helpful skills/interests:  

  • Enjoy talking to diverse community members including artists, business and nonprofit leaders, city staff, etc. 

  • Experience with program/service research and assessment 

  • Enjoy/adept with finding connections and drawing complex topics together coherently 

Project 3: Center for Afrofuturist Studies 

The Center for Afrofuturist Studies (CAS) is an artist residency and program initiative that aims to create a world where Black artists thrive. Its main physical site is the CAS Reading Room, a community library and space at PS1’s Close House location. The HPG intern would work with the CAS team to develop a plan for further activating this space and developing materials and curricula for informal education around Afrofuturism (broadly construed). 

Activities include: 

  • Talking with community stakeholders (local and national) who have engaged with the CAS reading room to gauge interests/desires/visions for how it can support their projects and goals 

  • Working with visiting CAS artists to document their resources and inspiration and share that with the CAS audience virtually and in-person 

  • Developing displays, handouts, zines, mini-workshops and/or other engagement materials that can be used to activate the CAS reading room’s resources year-round 

  • Exploring the interface between the CAS reading room and other areas of PS1 (gardens, print studio, media arts studio, etc.) 

Helpful skills/interests:  

  • Experience with adult education in the arts/humanities 

  • Experience with community libraries/archives 

  • Knowledge of/interest in Afrofuturism 

Supervisor: Kalmia Strong, Program Director

Location: PS1 Close House, 538 S. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA 52240

Apply!