AIC Mentoring Award
2019 AIC Scheme Summer School on Cultural Diversity and Collaborative Practice. Photo: Joseph Carr
The AIC Scheme Artist Mentor Panel (piloted in 2022) aims to offer capacity building and arts practice development for collaborative socially engaged artists. Artist mentors will be available to emerging practitioners, ethnic minority artists, artists with first-hand experience of displacement and/or who are shaped by histories of intergenerational migration, as well as to other artists, including those seeking to engage with the AIC scheme.
Create’s 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. 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.
This opportunity is for collaborative socially engaged artists at any career stage who are seeking support from a critical friend/guide as they develop their projects. This opportunity is also for artists interested in or transitioning into collaborative, socially engaged artistic practice. For selected artists, the award offers a three-month period of capacity building and arts practice development through dialogue with an experienced collaborative socially engaged artist mentor.
What the Mentoring 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, 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 four to five 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 support them in navigating and engaging in other opportunities such as the AIC Scheme Awards
A stipend of €500 is offered to cover expenses associated with participation. The successful applicants will take part in an orientation session with Create in advance of being paired with their artist mentor. This session will outline programme offerings and provide space to discuss in more detail how the opportunity can be best tailored to each artist’s needs.
