For the past year, we at Epicenter have been developing a way to further contribute to our community using our experience, education, and talents. For example, some of our experience includes working at a multi-disciplinary design office, acting as an architecture teaching assistant in college, and taking art classes through-out life. Our education includes college degrees in architecture, fine arts, sociology, and literature. Our talents span from the visual arts to creative writing to building construction. Really, though, the resources we can offer are not limited to our in-house staff, but instead are dependent upon our regional partnerships (the University of Utah, for example) and our visiting Frontier Fellows. These resources need to be made more readily available for Green River residents. On that note, we’re proud to announce an Epicenter internship program for local teens!!!

This program is generously funded through United Way of Eastern Utah and Dr. Steven & Juanita Sykes, and is supported by Green River High School and Green River’s CHEER Coalition.

What are the details of these internships?
Internships will focus on nurturing design and arts based skills, applying “design thinking” to school studies, problem solving, and gaining self-understanding, self-confidence, and interpersonal skills. During their internship, interns will co-lead community-wide workshops, visit regional art museums, interact with artists (local, regional, and visiting Frontier Fellows), attend out-of-town workshops & arts programs, and visit regional higher education institutions.

Who can be an intern?
Epicenter’s internship program is open to young adults (ages 15-20) who live in Green River, Utah and are interested in design and the arts. Interns are selected on an application basis and will pay a fee for their one-on-one training. The application takes into consideration the applicant’s GPA, ability to attend the program regularly, and their interests. The internship’s fees are based on a sliding-scale system and will be discussed upon an applicant’s acceptance into the program. Stop by the Epicenter for more details.

Why is Epicenter offering this program and these internships?
Outside of the art classes at school, current high school students and recent graduates do not have a concentrated opportunity to develop artistic skills in town. This marginalization causes some young adults to to not see their own potential in developing their future options. The nearest artist development programs are sixty miles away (Moab or Price) or over 100 miles away in Grand Junction and on the Wasatch Front. The distance to these programs prevents most locals from participating. Extracurricular arts programs in Green River for any age are virtually non-existent. Epicenter has the opportunity to apply our skills, professional connections, and experience to develop an after school arts internship, and we’re doing it with local support!

What about those not between the ages of 15-20?
For youth under the age of 15, we recommend participating in the Community Center’s after school program where there are weekly arts and crafts projects along with one-on-one homework help. Details on that program can be found here. For those between the ages of 12-15 and over the age of 20, you’re welcome to attend our future workshops. The dates and topics are yet to be determined by our staff, our Frontier Fellows, and our interns. Workshops will focus on topics such as making pin-hole cameras, illustration, wildlife studies, knitting, and much more!!! If you’re interested, please contact us with your ideas or interests.