Media Arts Apprenticeships start September

W2 has been working for more than one year with Bladerunners developing a media arts apprenticeship program. Are you interested in mobile technology, locative media, web 2.0, social media, web sites, VJing, telepresence, live screens, and open source. If you are between 19 and 30 years old, meet the project criteria, and are eager to train and work hard, then this could be for you! Honorariums are paid to participants, daily lunch is provided, and Aboriginal youth, women, and youth of colour are encouraged to apply.

Consider being involved with our youth apprenticeship program and play a role in W2 at this seminal period in our emergence as a world-class crossmedia centre. Following this challenging five month apprenticeship program, participants will receive regular employment with W2 or our partner employers from the local digital media/ Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.

We open at Woodwards in January 2010, but in the meantime we are actively developing and launching programs from our Incubator Program Office (#205 - 163 W Hastings) and Flack Block Gallery (157 W Hastings) in the Tides/Renewal Centre.

W2's initial media arts program was Fearless City Mobile, a major collaboration with New Media BC, Mobile Muse 3, DTES Community Arts Network and Gallery Gachet. The innovative program confronts the digital divide with marginalized inner-city residents accessing and using mobile technology. Fearless City Mobile is now being operated as a W2 social enterprise, and will function as one of many creative technology streams available to the participants.

Our W2 Bladerunners program features mentors and artists-in-residence from Vancouver and internationally. Antoni Abad will be one of our mobile media mentors with Mobile*Native, during November 2009.

The development of training, apprenticeship/employment placement programs for the digital media sector has been identified as a priority amongst governments, industry, and the community. Bladerunners is an internationally recognized, award winning employment program assisting multi-barrier and disadvantaged youth in gaining on the job construction training and apprenticeships. W2 is delivering Bladerunner's first non-construction trade apprenticeship program, with funding by Bell and the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. W2 is also collaborating with Building Opportunities with Business Inner-City Society (BOB) new ICT Cluster, and this will be a connection point for participants to the local sector.

Check back for an upcoming blog post detailing the application process, or pick up an info sheet at W2's table at the Under the Volcano Festival, Aug 9 in Whey-ah-Wichen.