Apple announced today that it is bringing its training program, “Today at Apple Creative Studios,” to photographers and writers in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The creative program is aimed at young adults, providing up to 12 weeks of training alongside artists.
Originally launched in Los Angeles and Beijing in June, 2021, the program expanded to Bangkok and London in August. It will now begin in Chicago, and Washington, D.C., on September, 2021.
Since the program’s launch in June, Today at Apple has brought Creative Studios to Los Angeles, Beijing, Bangkok, and London, linking 24 nonprofits and community partners with 80 teaching artists, mentors, and industry experts. Apple works intimately with nonprofit partners on multi-year plans to ensure that support continues in these communities and for these participants long after their Creative Studios programs come to an end. Additionally, people around the world have joined online sessions with the program’s accomplished mentors, including photographer Bethany Mollenkof; Ebro Darden, Apple Music’s global editorial head of Hip-Hop and R&B; and iPhone photographer Eric Zhang.
“We’re so excited to be able to connect young people from underrepresented communities with artists and mentors to guide and inspire them in Washington and Chicago,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People. “In each city where we’ve launched Today at Apple Creative Studios, our partnerships with incredible community organizations have enabled us to bring creative arts education to those who need it most, and we look forward to bringing Creative Studios to even more cities.”
The Chicago program will run for five weeks from September 18. In collaboration with community partners Yollocalli Arts Reach, Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy, and Chicago Architecture Biennial, Apple will provide free arts and cultural programming across five weeks to aspiring artists and photographers, offering the tools they need to embark on their creative journey.
Today at Apple Creative Studios – D.C. will give aspiring authors and illustrators an opportunity to hone their creative and professional skills while expanding their ability to tell their stories in their own words. The program, which officially begins September 20, aims to diversify the landscape of children’s and youth literature, and is presented in collaboration with local nonprofit Shout Mouse Press — a writing workshop and publishing house with a mission to amplify marginalized voices — and students from the Latin American Youth Center. Through Shout Mouse Press’s authorship program, students from the LAYC have authored a collection of four bilingual children’s books. Over the six weeks of programming, the students will take these stories through illustration and audio production to reach new audiences and expand their capacity for storytelling.