By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com
Joe’s Movement Emporium, a hub for creatives in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area, was awarded a three million dollar grant from the United States Department of Labor by Congressman Glenn Ivey (MD-04) on Nov. 18.
The grant will enable the organization to expand its current 22-week pre-apprenticeship program and introduce the innovative CreativeWorks Digital Media Apprenticeship Program, a registered apprenticeship program with the Department of Labor.
It is designed for youth ages 17-24 and will offer a comprehensive, hands-on experience in the digital media space over the course of a year. Participants will gain unique insights into the industry and receive training in digital video editing, multimedia production, content creation, graphic design and more.They will also have the opportunity to meet and network with field professionals and build their portfolios. After the year-long apprenticeship, students will achieve job placement within the industry.
“For the first time, our organization has become the recipient of a multi-year federal grant from the Department of Labor,” said Brooke Kidd, the founder and executive director of Joe’s Movement Emporium. “This is such a powerful opportunity for us to impact more young people on a great job trajectory – we’re honored here today to have our long-time supporter, Congressman Glenn Ivy and all of his staff,” Kidd said.
Joe’s Movement Emporium, a community cornerstone, was founded in 1995. Since its inception, the organization has offered a wide array of community resources such as arts education, performances, workforce development, mentorship and more.
August Love is a current Digital Media Pre-Apprenticeship member and a Washington. D.C. native shared that when joining CreativeWorks, they were nervous, but shortly after, Love knew they were in the right place.
“I feel like my growth has exploded,” Love said. “I’ve learned so many things that people don’t learn until they’re well into their careers or typically have to teach themselves – like learning the anatomy of a camera and its function to the proper format for a graphic design project.”
“Now I really feel like I could be a director or a graphic designer – I’ve considered those things before, but I never really saw myself going anywhere in life until now,” said Love. “Being in the arts has shown me that art is more than just being a painter or a photographer; but art is the foundation of society. Without the arts, we would have nothing to build up off of.”
Congressman Glenn Ivey expressed that the grant was competitive but shared that Joe’s Movement Emporium is more than deserving due to the amount of work they pour into the community. The grant will also allow innovation and inclusion of the arts within the workforce development space.
“There’s a whole world behind that a lot of folks don’t know anything about,” said Congressman Ivey. “You go to the play or to the show, or you go watch the movie – but all the thousands of things that are behind that you don’t really think about sometimes until you get a moment like this. I’m thankful to Joe’s Movement Emporium – I’m looking forward to the great things that you all are going to accomplish.”
To learn more about the CreativeWorks Digital Media Apprenticeship Program and Joe’s Movement Emporium , visit Joesmovement.org. Applications for the CreativeWorks Digital Media Apprenticeship Program cohort are open until Jan. 2025; the apprenticeship will begin in March.
