Summer Youth Employment in the Arts Grant Program

The IACA Summer Youth Employment in the Arts (SYEA) program is designed to offer meaningful summer employment opportunities for high school students within not-for-profit arts organizations across Illinois. The program supports a range of administrative and artistic duties for students to engage in, aiming to accomplish several key goals:

• Providing positive experiences and training in the arts for personal development.
• Offering specific skill development for career preparation.
• Creating a deeper and more extensive connection to the community through the arts.
• Enhancing awareness and understanding of the arts' impact and value in both personal and public spheres.
• Offering staffing support to arts organizations to help them further their mission and goals.

Eligibility for the program includes the possibility to support up to four high school students or recent graduates who have not yet entered college, for up to 20 hours per week per student during the summer.