Meet Adrianna Long, North Carolina Arts Council summer intern

Author: Andie Freeman

This summer, we welcomed Adrianna Long, a student intern from Durham and a recent graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She participated in a 10-week paid summer internship administered by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources for students from the state’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions of Higher Education (MIHEs). Adrianna graduated from the visual arts program and has a special interest in arts administration. We asked her a few questions about her time with us at the North Carolina Arts Council.

Tell us a little about your school program:

I am a visual arts student with a concentration in media design, which means I've been trained across various types of media. I didn’t originally start my college career as an art student. I began as a political science student and considered becoming a foreign ambassador to help people in different places. When I changed majors, I wanted to find a way to still help people, using art.

What did you do during your time with the Arts Council?

During my 10 weeks, my main project was understanding the impact of the LEAD Conference (Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disabilities) on organizations and individuals who received scholarships to attend. I worked to understand how organizations that attended LEAD increased accessibility in their programs and locations, and how those programs ultimately help the community. Issues around accessibility are especially interesting to me, so I am currently learning American Sign Language.

Infographic titled "We Are Sew Intertwined: Learning Arts Accessibility" with felt sewing theme and colorful sections. Shows that 1 in 4 people has a disability, explains person-first vs. identity-first language preferences, highlights key disability rights laws (Section 504 in 1973, ADA in 1990), and features accessibility resources including the Kennedy Center's LEAD Conference, Arts Access North Carolina, the NC Arts Council's Learning Cohort, and the Alliance of Disability Advocates. — An infographic titled "We Are Sew Intertwined: Learning Arts Accessibility" with felt sewing theme and colorful sections created by Adrianna Long.

What did you learn through the experience?

I learned that listening is very important—listening and asking good questions to get the answers you need. I also learned to take every day as a new experience, because tomorrow will not be the same as today, and today wasn't the same as yesterday. I loved learning about the Arts Council and how it helps so many people. There are so many branches to it. The work isn’t just about grants; the Arts Council does many different things.

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