“The internship has pushed me to new heights that were unreachable on my own but thanks to the wonderful team’s support I am able to take charge of my career and shape my artistic future in the manner of the great creative titans before me.”
– James Shreeve, Blast Theory Paid Intern 2019
“You easily notice Blast Theory’s long standing experience with volunteer development programmes; every day I felt unconditional support, reassuring encouragement, and willingness to accommodate my needs and talents in the best possible way. There has been a lot of educational/ instructional blocks and unique opportunities for learning, and even simply spending time surrounded by Blast Theory’s beautiful team, associate artists, and rich archive of work taught me new experiences and ideas.”
– Violeta Marchenkova, Blast Theory Paid Intern 2018
“Interning at Blast Theory was an immensely rewarding experience, and one I will always remember. Through the internship I was able to meet a lot of people who share similar interests to me and make contacts within the film industry. I would recommend this internship for anybody who wants to gain a fresh perspective, be tossed out of their comfort zone and be pushed to achieve more than they thought they could. I’m considering applying again next year using a fake name and wearing a disguise.”
– Teddy Freeman, Blast Theory Paid Intern 2018
“During my time at Blast Theory, I was given numerous opportunities to work on projects, take on many responsibilities and gain new skills. My confidence has grown tremendously and I truly believe that my time there has helped set me up for a career in the future.”
- Mairead Garland, Blast Theory volunteer

Support our paid internships

We want to give young people first-hand experience of working with artists. We want to share our skills and help to build confidence. We believe in fair pay for all and we want to focus our effort on someone who might otherwise be excluded. The coronavirus pandemic has hit young people’s career prospects very hard so this is more important now than ever.

Our ambition is to create a year-round paid internship programme to replace our volunteer programme, breaking down barriers to the arts. The weekly Real Living Wage is currently £375 and we are aiming to fund 48 weeks a year by 2023. It is no small feat, but we do love ambition.

With support from the government’s Kickstart scheme we are able to offer four six-month placements in 2021. And with generous support from our donors, we are able to top up wages to the Real Living Wage.

We are now working to raise £6,500 to fund a four-month paid internship in 2022.

In 2019 – with the support of our donors – we were thrilled to host James Shreeve, an emerging neuro-diverse artist.

The internship has pushed me to new heights that were unreachable on my own but thanks to the wonderful team’s support I am able to take charge of my career and shape my artistic future in the manner of the great creative titans before me.
– James Shreeve, 2019 Intern

 

At WorkAid we support people with learning difficulties, autism and Asperger’s to explore the world of work and, hopefully, find meaningful employment. I would like to express my gratitude to you as a company and as individuals. The way that you have treated James and adapted your work practices within the workplace to suit him and his style has been an example to other employers. I have seen James grow in confidence as he realises that he is not just an autistic person who happens to be good at all things art based, but also as an individual who is accepted in the workplace as an equal and a colleague.
– Dave Laycock, Aldingbourne Trust

We can’t afford to offer more paid placements to people like James without your support. Every single pound you give will make a huge difference and help us to create a scheme that sets an industry standard. As a small group of artists – and a charity – your support means the world to us.

Blast Theory is a registered charity (1053343).

Fan

Your generous support will make a valuable regular contribution to our internship programme.

We’ll drop you a line to let you know how our interns are getting on, and display your name on our website (unless you don’t want us to!).

Supporter

Your generous support will make a valuable regular contribution to our internship programme.

We’ll keep in touch to let you know how our interns are getting on, and display your name on our website (unless you don’t want us to!).

We will also invite you to special Blast Theory events, previews and more.

Patron

Your generous support will make a valuable regular contribution to our internship programme.

We’ll keep in touch to let you know how our interns are getting on, and display your name on our website (unless you don’t want us to!).

We will also invite you to special Blast Theory events, previews and more.

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