AIC Mentoring Award

The AIC Scheme Mentoring Award sits within a suite of offerings under the Artist in the Community (AIC) Scheme. It aims to offer capacity building and arts practice development for collaborative socially engaged artists. Through the Mentoring Award, artists from the Artist Mentor Panel will be available as mentors to emerging practitioners, artists with a strong interested in/transitioning into collaborative socially engaged arts, artists who find themselves on the margins and feel they are underrepresented in the field of collaborative socially engaged arts, for example due to displacement or migration, and artists facing particular challenges in developing their collaborative socially engaged arts practice. There will be five artist mentors and five artist mentees.

This opportunity is for collaborative socially engaged artists at any career stage who identify with the above and are seeking support from a critical friend/guide as they develop their projects. For the five selected artists, the award offers a six-month period of capacity building and arts practice development through dialogue with an experienced collaborative socially engaged artist mentor.

About the Artist Mentor Panel

The Artist Mentor Panel is made up of experienced collaborative socially engaged practitioners who specialise in a range of artforms, and who have worked with diverse communities from across Ireland and beyond. Each brings in-depth knowledge of the field, and a deep awareness of key considerations when working with communities, including in sensitive settings and where projects are addressing significant social issues.

What the award offers

The award offers a mentorship pairing with one of the Panel’s collaborative socially engaged Artist Mentors.

The mentorship will be driven by you as the artist mentee, following identification of key needs and areas for development. This may be a combination of technical and practical elements related to developing your collaborative socially engaged arts practice, such as a deeper exploration of collaborative methodologies, and support in the following: developing your project ideas, leading projects, managing dynamics with diverse stakeholders, ethical considerations around working collaboratively with communities, approaches to evaluation, navigating professional networks, identifying and preparing for funding opportunities, as well as advice and recommendations around deepening one’s practice and strategically advancing one’s career.

• Selected artists will work with a core mentor over five to six meetings
• Artists will have the option to avail of up to two additional tailored mentoring supports with other practitioners, offering exposure to diverse perspectives and skillsets
• Other offerings may include a session with a guest speaker and/or an informal networking/peer support event in response to the interests of the five participating artists
• This award sits within a suite of offerings under the AIC Scheme, and Create will work with artists to offer support in navigating and engaging in other opportunities such as the AIC Scheme Awards, CPD workshops, etc

A stipend of €500 is offered to cover expenses associated with participation.

Who is this award for?

Artists at any stage of their career. Perhaps you:

• are an emerging practitioner,
• have an established individual arts practice and have a strong interested in, or are, transitioning into collaborative socially engaged arts,
• are artists who find themselves on the margins and feel they are underrepresented in the field of collaborative socially engaged arts, for example due to displacement or migration,
• are an artist who faces a particular challenge in developing your collaborative socially engaged arts practice.