CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: 2015 NYFA IMMIGRANT ARTIST MENTORING PROGRAM

Apply by Tuesday, May 26 to participate!

NYC is a huge metropolis, full with different perspectives, that made my hometown Tel Aviv look like a small village. In the Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program (IAP) I met people from different backgrounds but with the exact same situation: trying to find there their way as immigrants in the big apple. The program gave me the tools to build bridges, improve skills and develop my social network. – Ido Michaeli, Multimedia artist

Applications are open for NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program! A vital component of our Immigrant Artist Program (IAP), the Mentoring Program pairs immigrant artists working in all disciplines with artist mentors who provide one-on-one support, guiding mentees to achieve specific goals. From June 2015 – September 2015, mentors will provide their mentees with broader access to the New York cultural landscape by sharing ideas, advice, resources, and experiences. 

Additionally, the Mentoring Program aims to foster a community, providing opportunities to connect with other immigrant artists through group meetings, peer learning, and informal gatherings that include alumni from 2007 to the present. Through access to other artists, arts professionals, and organizations, the program offers immigrant artists the opportunity to focus on their creative practice, and gain support and exposure for their work, while upholding their distinct identities.

Mentors will include past alumni of the program, whose experience through previous participation in the program will inform their interaction and commitment to their mentee. Additionally, many of the mentors are immigrant artists themselves, and understand the challenges of sustaining one’s art practice while navigating different cultural perspectives in the art world. Since 2007, the program has served 150 immigrant artists. Each cycle has proven to be an invaluable experience for mentees and mentors alike, and artists often remain connected well beyond the program. NYFA nurtures this community with an alumni mixer during the program. NYFA recently highlighted this type of alumni engagement in our current exhibition Face to Place, which features mentees from 2007 – 2014.

This is a competitive program open to artists from all disciplines (performing, literary, visual, multidisciplinary, folk and traditional arts), and provided free of charge to accepted participants. Program runs June – September 2015.

Deadline: Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Eligibility Requirements:

• Live within the New York Tri-State metropolitan area, NY, NJ, and CT, (within commuting distance of New York City)
• Were born outside of the United States. (Those born in United States territories i.e. Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, may apply).
• Have been pursuing a career as an artist within the range of 1-10 years in the United States.
• Are NOT currently enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate degree program.

Expectations for Mentees: To set realistic goals and objectives that are achievable within a short-term program. To be available to communicate and meet with your mentor. To attend group meetings at NYFA’s offices in Brooklyn or host organizations based in New York City.

Before applying, please check you are available for these dates, as attendance is mandatory with the exception of August 11, 2015. 

Mentoring Program Group Meeting Dates:

• Introductions: Friday, June 19, 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Meet the Mentors: Tuesday, June 30, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
• Alumni Mixer: Tuesday, July 14, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
• Check In: Tuesday, August 11, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
• Final Celebration: Tuesday, September 1, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

The deadline for submitting this application is Tuesday, May 26, 2015. All applicants will receive notification of final decisions on or before Monday, June 8, 2015.

Click here to go to the application. For more information about the program, please visit: https://www.nyfa.org/Content/Show/Mentorship.

Questions?
Contact Senior Program Officer Felicity Hogan at [email protected] or call (212) 366-6900, ext. 242

Funding Support
The 2015 NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program is made possible by the generous support of Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation.

Image:

Mersiha Mesihovic, I am, completed May 2012. Performance, February 20, 2015. Face to Place, NYFA. Photo: Hai Zhang