As a Community Engagement Intern at Urban Arts Space (UAS), I have spent my spring semester learning about the arts scene in Columbus and how Ohio State as a university supports it through UAS. This includes how we—not just as interns, but as people—can do more to serve the community and ensure that we celebrate the experiences that shaped us into who we are today. 

Personally, I have worked on photo documentation of the events that we had in the space, not just to showcase our efforts as an organization but to show how the community learns, appreciates, and interacts with the work that we do with our programs. In addition, I developed my skills in event planning, community engagement, teamwork, and graphic design. Eventually, as interns, we reach the most exciting and stressful part of the program: being matched with a community placement site. The program, funded by the Mellon Foundation, requires interns to spend their second semester as externs at a community site other than UAS to apply the skills we learned to a new part of the art or nonprofit community.

In April, Urban Arts Space hosted its second Open House event, alongside several community partners across Columbus. The event brought current UAS interns and externs together for the externs to share their experiences with community partners and the work they have done in the surrounding communities. The event gave all the interns a chance to socialize and get to know each other better, as well as to draw and be creative. 

Numerous community partners came together to support the UAS Open House:

• Open Door Studios
• We Amplify Voices
• Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services
• Ohio History Connection
• Fort Hayes High School
• Art Possible
• Roy G. Biv Gallery
• Neighborhood Design Center
• Hilltop Arts Collective
• All People Arts
• Thurber House
• MORE, Inc.
• Southside Family Farms

Each partner made a presentation to showcase their spaces and goals, encouraging interns to extern at their spaces and support their mission.

As an intern myself, I felt that the event gave me the opportunity to engage with the community that we have already established here in the space on a deeper level. I got the chance to listen to my peers’ various interests in growing and supporting the arts community in Columbus, all while sharing my interests as well. Furthermore, I got to know many of the community partners who are as ambitious and passionate about the community as UAS. I felt surrounded by people who genuinely wanted to give back to the community as much as they can. 

UAS’s effort and time in organizing this event—serving as the connecting line between the community partners and the interns—paid off, as I didn’t feel any pressure going into the Open House and felt confident in my skills and abilities. I saw myself aligning with several partners’ missions and organizations. For instance, Thurber House’s presentation was simple and attention-catching, and its mission of educating the public through writing and reading programs was one that I related to. Their space isn’t big, but their dedication and ambition were, and that’s what made them initially one of my top choices among the partners. 

After the event, I was moved by how much effort and thought each space put into supporting communities, as well as UAS’s dedication and determination not just to connect us with those spaces but to ensure that we are placed in the best place possible for our long-term career and personal goals. 

I learned a lot during my time as an intern at UAS, both as a person and a professional. I learned what it means to be in an environment that supports and celebrates a person’s creativity, thoughts, and background, and how much that can impact the quality of the work I have done around the space. Furthermore, UAS taught me what it means to do something and come up with ideas not because they were required, but because I was passionate about supporting the art community. I built a family that I wouldn’t have been able to find if it weren’t for UAS’s efforts, programs, events, and tours. 

I will move on to the externship site with a lot to learn but also a lot to teach and give back to arts communities, hopefully not just in Columbus but also wherever life might take me. I strive to be a voice for people who lack one, to share their stories and dreams, and to be their platform in a world where platforms are hard to build and reach. UAS taught me how to do that through documentation, writing, filming, and presenting people’s art. 

It is important to mention that many people at UAS guided me to be where I am today, but Internship Program Coordinator Ashley Martin helped me the most. This is not Ashley’s first time organizing and hosting the Open House but definitely the one that she put the most effort into. Ashley shared with me: 

"The Open House is so incredible because it is one of the few times that all of our community partners, interns, and externs are in the same place. It serves two functions: celebrating the work interns have done this past semester at their placement sites and creating an opportunity for new and returning partners to learn about the program and prepare for future placements.

It is such a pivotal part of the program because it helps establish a shared understanding of what is possible moving forward while also honoring everything that has been accomplished. It gives partners the opportunity to see the work being done across Columbus’s arts ecosystem, find ways to support one another, and strengthen our community as a whole.

I am always thankful to sit and break bread with people who are doing similar work and choosing to pour into the communities around them. And I am always happy to cheer on our interns and support them as young leaders and community members."

The Urban Arts Space Open House experience opens doors for interns and connects them to community partners around Columbus. Having developed skills in the first part of the program, the second part is where we are tested and polished in order for us to prepare to enter the job market as we graduate from college. For all of us, the Open House is a chance to connect and build relationships with like-minded people from different backgrounds who are all passionate about making a difference through the arts. 

Fall 2026 Externship Placements 

• Addison Barks – Ohio History Connection
• Shekinah Buabua – Student Stakeholder
• Miles Dobson – Neighborhood Design Center
• Morgan Fightmaster – Thurber House
• Kira Hassan – South Side Family Farms
• Haadia Hyder – Neighborhood Design Center
• Ethiopia Jegol – Student Stakeholder
• Grace Masterson – Fort Hayes
• Ricky Minniti – Neighborhood Design Center
• Alexia Young – Fort Hayes
• Kyle Zaklan – South Side Family Farms
• Drea Chalfan – Thurber House
• Amelia Boles – Student Stakeholder (continuation)
• Carley Gonzalez – Open Door Studios (continuation)
• Andrew Wong – Neighborhood Design Center (continuation)
• Katie Green – Urban Arts Space
• Tiffany Guo – Urban Arts Space
• Maddie Hassan – Urban Arts Space
• Ukheon Jeong – Urban Arts Space
• Ethan Pangrac – Urban Arts Space
• Sefanit Reddae – Urban Arts Space