By Feliks Garcia, Offsite Editor
A mentor can be a valuable guide to young artists navigating their way through early careers. As ideas bud and ultimately materialize on the page, film, stage, or canvas, a dialogue between mentor and mentee creates a support system for the emerging artist, while fostering community among artists across generational boundaries.
With understanding of the role of the mentor in the life of emerging artists, Queer/Art/Mentorship brings the two together in its yearly program for LGBTQ-identifying artists in New York City:
Honoring the differences between the generations within the queer artistic community and the diversity of choices, values, aesthetics, and opportunities in artists’ lives, the program supports a rich communion, working against a natural segregation between generations and disciplines. Its goal is to build an interconnected web of queer artists of all generations and mediums who know each other and each other’s work.
Applications for the 2015-2016 cycle open Monday, June 1st. Artists must work in one of the following disciplines: “literary, film, visual arts, performing arts (including dance and music), and curatorial arts (any medium; e.g. galleries books, etc.).”
Before they can receive an application, prospective fellows must email a letter of intent to the organization by July 1, 2015. Final applications are due July 31st. A full list of program requirements, including letter of intent and application requirements, can be found here.
Queer/Art/Mentorship grew out of the Queer/Art/Film monthly series presented at the IFC Center in downtown Manhattan. The program aims to bring more visibility to the queer arts community in New York, provide a platform for emerging queer artists, and “amplify the queer artistic experience.”
Learn about the mentors and past fellows, follow updates on Facebook and Twitter, check out the requirements, and give it a shot! This is your year!
