Design Studio Internship

Epacenter; East Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

EPACENTER, located in East Palo Alto, invites emerging artists, designers, and creative producers to join the Immersive Environments Design Studio internship. You will collaborate with the Director of Visual Arts and a lead artist to conceptualize and fabricate immersive environments for EPACENTER and partner institutions, applying community identity to design concepts.

You will learn to run client meetings, develop concepts rooted in local identity, fabricate installations, and assess outcomes

Qualifications

• Desire to learn through doing and grow within a pedagogy of community engagement.
• Interest in community-centric design and immersive exhibition design.
• Comfort collaborating across disciplines and adapting to real-world constraints.
• Ability to present the organization professionally to clients without arts background.
• Willingness to engage in hands-on fabrication and site installation work.
• Openness to giving and receiving feedback in a studio setting.
• Experience working with both children and adults in arts environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead Designer: develops the spatial/visual concept from client brief through schematic design.
• Client Liaison/Project Manager: runs intake meetings, manages timeline and budget.
• Materials Researcher: sources materials and fabrication methods per site constraints.
• Fabrication: builds installation components in-studio.
• Installation Technician: leads on-site install and site prep.
• Documentation & Assessment: photographs, documents process, compiles case study.
• Community Engagement: gathers stakeholder input during conception and reveals.
• Classroom Assistant: assists arts teachers across media.

Skills

Growth mindset

Community-centric design

Team collaboration

Professional representation

Hands-on fabrication

Feedback culture

Arts education experience

Tools

Sketching

Illustration

Digital software

Basic fabrication tools

Job description

Design Studio Internship

Job Type: Paid Temporary, Internship, Non-Exempt

Reports to: Director of Visual Arts

Organizational Overview

EPACENTER is a vibrant hub for creativity and cultural engagement headquartered in East Palo Alto. We are dedicated to inspiring imagination and activating the creative potential of all who seek greater access to artistic opportunities in San Mateo County. EPACENTER unites individuals of every age through artistic expression, supports career pathways in creative fields, and celebrates the rich cultural heritage of our community.

EPACENTER presents a dynamic range of public programs, including captivating live performances, thought-provoking exhibitions and installations, stimulating lectures, curated film screenings, and spirited community events. Our comprehensive array of classes in digital, visual, culinary, and performing arts offers abundant opportunities for personal growth, skill development, and the discovery of lifelong passions. Additionally, fellowship and training programs open doors to rewarding high-wage careers within the creative industries.

Designed as an inviting and accessible 25,000-square-foot space, EPACENTER is a welcoming gathering spot where people of all abilities explore their talents, engage with inspiring ideas, and flourish creatively.

Position Overview

The inaugural Immersive Environments Design Studio is a design-build internship housed within EPACENTER's Creative Enterprise initiative. Interns work with the Director of Visual Arts and a lead artist to conceptualize, and eventually create, an immersive environment, first for EPACENTER and eventually for institutions that serve the public through cultivating relationships with local government arts councils, community centers, schools, libraries, and hospitals, with room to expand into, transit hubs, and corporate developments.

Interns will learn the skills to eventually function as a working design studio-for-hire: scouting clients, running consultation meetings, reading a site, developing a concept rooted in that community's identity, fabricating the work, installing it on location, and assessing how it performs for key stakeholders.

The studio model draws on a socially engaged, materials-based approach to public art, treating a wall, hallway, or waiting room as a canvas for participatory, site‑specific storytelling, treating that sensibility into a repeatable, commissionable service line. The goal of the inaugural year is to build and prove a working prototype hosted at EPACENTER, positioning the studio as both a design‑build practice and a Creative Workforce pipeline into careers in immersive exhibition design, environmental design, and public art among others.

In addition to the key component of immersive exhibition design, interns will learn the principles and best practices of arts education, incorporating student art into the final design.

Key Roles

• Lead Designer: Develops the spatial/visual concept from client brief and site visit through schematic design
• Client Liaison / Project Manager: Runs intake meetings, manages timeline and budget, is the studio's point of contact with the institution
• Materials Researcher: Sources materials and fabrication methods appropriate to each site's constraints (durability, safety, budget)
• Fabrication: Builds installation components in-studio
• Installation Technician: Leads on‑site install, site prep, and safe handling in occupied public spaces
• Documentation & Assessment: Photographs and documents the process and finished work, runs the post‑installation user‑response tool, and compiles the case study
• Community Engagement: Gathers stakeholder and community input during conception, and coordinates any public‑facing reveal or walkthrough
• Classroom Assistant: Assistant classroom arts teachers across a variety of media including digital art, photography, sculpture, and filmmaking.

Qualifications

• Desire to learn through doing, with a commitment to a growth mindset
• Interest in community‑centric design, immersive exhibition design, environmental design, or a related creative field
• Comfort working collaboratively and adapting to real‑world constraints
• Ability to represent the organization professionally in front of clients who may or may not have an arts background
• Willingness to engage in hands‑on fabrication and site installation work
• Openness to giving and receiving feedback
• Experience working with children and adults in an arts environment

Desired Qualifications

• Spanish speaking, or multilingual a plus
• Entrepreneurial mindset and solution‑oriented approach
• Prior experience with a studio‑based, community‑facing, or client‑facing creative project (student or professional)
• Familiarity with sketching, illustration, digital software, basic fabrication tools and materials handling
• Experience gathering or synthesizing community/stakeholder input
• Interest in pursuing a career in the arts, environmental design, exhibition design, museum or hospital art programs, or public art administration

Physical Requirements

• Ability to alternate between sitting and standing throughout the workday.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 10 pounds frequently and up to 50 pounds occasionally.
• Frequent use of hands for typing, writing, and handling materials.
• Ability to communicate effectively in person, by telephone, and by email..
• Ability to read printed materials and computer screens for extended periods.

What Interns Will Gain

• Work closely with artists, design professionals and administrators in an apprenticeship capacity
• Learn fundamentals of program design and engagement
• Read a client brief and translate community input into a design concept
• Budget and fabricate to a real, non‑negotiable constraint
• Install work safely in an occupied public space
• Formal evaluation and assessment process
• Portfolio design examples

Who Should Apply

This program is for emerging artists, designers, and creative producers aged 18 - 25, who want hands‑on experience in an emerging field, and are ready to take on this challenge!