Mentoring Award 2023

Create invites expressions of interest from collaborative socially engaged artists, or artists interested in/transitioning into collaborative socially engaged arts, who wish to avail of a focused period of mentorship to develop and consolidate their practice. The closing date for Expressions of Interest is 5pm, Monday 8^th May 2023.

The Mentoring Award is funded through the Artist in the Community Scheme (AIC), managed by Create on a devolved basis for The Arts Council. The AIC Scheme is a primary vehicle for collaborative socially engaged arts practice in Ireland.

Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council says

“We are delighted to support the Artist in the Community Scheme Mentoring Award, following its successful pilot in 2022. Peer mentorship is a key element of artistic development for artists, and we are confident that the artists awarded this opportunity will benefit greatly and see real impact on their work as a result of their contact and valuable support from a critical friend/ mentor.”

About the Mentoring Award

The 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. The successful applicants will take part in an orientation session online with Create on 14 June, 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 best be tailored to each artist’s needs.

Information session

There will be an information session happening online, on Wednesday 5^th April. Here you will learn more about the Mentoring Award, and an Artist mentor will join the session and explore some of the principles of collaborative socially engaged arts practice. We strongly advise potential applicants to attend this session. You will find out more here – please note that additional places have been added due to demand.

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.

What is the time commitment?

Participating artists are required to commit to: an orientation session, five to six meetings with their mentor and participation in one evaluation meeting/focus group. The programme will run over a six-month period from June – December 2023. Mentoring sessions can take place online, by telephone, or face-to-face. This can be shaped by the mentor and mentee according to individual needs and availability.

What are the expectations?

There are no specific expected outputs. The aim of this programme is to afford artists the opportunity to work with an artist mentor on developing their collaborative socially engaged practice.

Making an Expression of Interest

See Guidelines for Create Artist Mentor Panel Awards 2023, linked on this page.

Applications will only be accepted through the online form and all supporting material must be submitted online. Applicants must read the guidelines prior to submission. Those new to using online forms should familiarise themselves with the online form, and apply early. If an error or issue occurs, try our troubleshooting tips. You may contact us and report errors if the suggestions do not help. Please note that it may take up to two working days to resolve issues. The closing date for Expressions of Interest is 5pm, Monday 8^th May 2023. Applications received after this time will not be processed, as invalid.