Arts Career Exploration Spotlight (ACES)

Overture's Arts Career Exploration Spotlight (ACES) program is intended for Madison-area middle and high-school students of color to explore local arts organizations and career possibilities through hands-on experiences. As the anchor of downtown Madison’s cultural arts district and the largest nonprofit arts organization in Wisconsin, Overture is committed to creating new opportunities for Madison-area young people who have been systemically left out of the arts.

ACES offers activities customized to the needs, interests and abilities of participating students. Overture has partnered with organizations throughout the community and beyond to offer various perspectives on working in the expansive range of visual and performing arts. Students are encouraged to engage in various arts forms, from painting and drawing to music, dance and theater, and gain exposure to varied arts careers, from administration to technical careers and art creation. Students also engage in experiential field trips connected to the arts.

Middle school students who are rising seventh graders through recent high school seniors are welcome to apply. Students who complete the entire three-week program receive a stipend dependent on attendance and program participation.

Key elements of ACES include arts careers exploration, literacy, financial literacy and health and social-emotional wellbeing. Arts experiences will include administrative, artistic and technical careers.

2024 Program Photos

  • students dancing in a studio facing a large mirror. Their arms are up in the air.

  • students sitting at a wooden table

  • Students posing for a photo together in front of a bucky statue.

  • students sitting at individual electric pianos in a classroom.

  • students wearing colorful masks posing for a photo together.

  • Students in Capitol Theater on stage with the red hall seating in the backgorund.

  • Students sitting in an outdoor theater with blue and cream colored seating.

  • Students outside on a sidewalk creating art with spraypaint.

  • Students walking through an art museum.

Program Dates 2025

Session 1

June 16 – July 3*; 8:30am – 3pm

(light breakfast and lunch provided each day)

Session 2

July 14 – 31*; 8:30am – 3pm

(light breakfast and lunch provided each day)

End-of-Program Celebration

For all participants and guests. Friday, August 1, at Overture Center for the Arts 

*Please note: The program runs Mondays through Thursdays. There will be no program on Thursday, June 19 to observe Juneteenth nor Thursday, July 17 to mirror the program. 

Special field trips may extend program hours into the afternoon or evening, beyond regular program hours. Parent/guardian permission will be required for these activities. 

There will be a mandatory participant and parent/guardian orientation for all cohorts on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 5:30pm. Dinner will be provided, and ACES students, along with a limited number of guests, will be invited to attend “Clue” following the orientation. If participants and a parent/guardian are not able to attend, they are able to work with the ACES program manager to make alternative arrangements. 

 

Want to Learn More?

The application for the 2025 ACES Program is now closed. Please fill out the interest form below to be informed when applications open next year!

LEARN MORE

What careers are in the arts?

Check out just a sampling of career options in our Careers in the Arts document.

VIEW THE DOCUMENT

Overture Blog

ACES opens doors to arts careers for 28 local students

Read the Article

ACES 2024 Report

End of Program Celebration

  • Students sitting at tables in a large room with a wooden floor. A woman on the right speaks into a microphone.

  • A student accepts a piece of paper from an older woman in a teal top.

  • students posing for a photo, holding colorful pieces of painted art.

  • Two men laughing together. The man on the left has medium complexion and is older than the man on the right. He is wearing a suit jacket. The younger man on the right has medium complexion, brown hair and green jacket.

  • A young woman with dark complexion and long brown hair in a blue outfit singing into a microphone.

  • A man with medium complexion, short brown hair, and facial hair in a striped button up shirt playing flute.

  • A group of people smiling together for a photo.

  • A woman with medium complexion and long brown hair playing piano.

Contact us!

For questions and/or more information, please reach out

Overture Center Equity & Innovation Team

aces@overture.org

ACES is generously supported by: Old National Bank, Nelnet and contributions to Overture Center for the Arts.

  • Old National Bank
  • Nelnet