Galway International Arts Festival and NUI Galway have announced the expansion of the joint internship programme SELECTED.
It is the partners’ professional development programme for emerging artists, theatre makers, curators and producers studying at NUI Galway.
Now in its 12th year, the internship programme was previously open to NUI Galway students with an interest in the arts, including drama, film, music, writing and is now being expanded to students interested in business, including management, social media marketing and communications.
Professor Patrick Lonergan, Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at NUI Galway, said: “What we are seeing through the SELECTED programme are real, high-quality opportunities for students to be part of a renowned and globally recognised arts festival. It opens doors, it offers invaluable experience and it demonstrates how our university partnerships can develop to offer students on-the-ground experiences and learning of what it takes to make the GIAF such a huge success.”
John Crumlish, chief executive of the Galway International Arts Festival, said: “Our aim for the SELECTED programme was to make a contribution to the development of the next generation of arts professionals in the West of Ireland and, through the partnership with NUI Galway, that desire is now being realised, as more and more of the SELECTED alumni appear in festival programmes each year both onstage and backstage.”
The SELECTED programme is particularly suited to students with an interest in producing and creative arts management. Graduates have gone on to work within the arts industry, with more than half the shows at the 2021 GIAF featuring former NUI Galway students.
SELECTED offers a limited number of students an opportunity to see how the festival is put together. Opportunities involve attending intimate meetings with GIAF staff, international and Irish producers and creative entrepreneurs and artists; Festival Ambassador roles within the GIAF Volunteers’ Programme, based in Galway city centre, immersed in all aspects of the festival to advise audiences in choosing the right shows for them; theoretical, practical, and GIAF-specific social media training to generate content delivery packages prior to the start of GIAF22.
