A Distant Soil by Colleen Doran

We are excited to announce the fourth year of New York Foundation for the Arts’ Mentoring Program for Immigrant Artists.

The 2010 Mentoring Program will pair 12-15 emerging foreign-born artists with established artists who received a NYFA Fellowship in 2009. The Fellows will act as one-on-one mentors to their immigrant artist mentees for a period of six months from January to June 2010, assisting them in gaining broader access to the New York art world by sharing opportunities to exchange ideas, resources and experiences. Mentors will also guide mentees in achieving a specific goal, such as composing an artist statement, creating a marketing brochure, or completing a grant application. The program’s objectives are to foster supportive relationships between artists at different career stages, and help emerging immigrant artists build some of the skills necessary to fairly compete and ultimately succeed as professional artists in New York.

This is a selective program that is free of charge to accepted participants. The first three cycles of the Mentoring Program were tremendous successes, and we look forward to seeing what new partnerships will take form through this year’s program.

We ask that you kindly forward this information to your colleagues, constituents and others who can take advantage of this opportunity.
Mentee applications are due Tuesday, October 13, 2009, with work samples postmarked by that date. For a full program description and detailed information on how to apply, please visit the Mentoring Program page on the NYFA website. To access the online application directly, click here. Please read carefully the information in this mailing and on the Mentoring Program page before filling out the application.

We are accepting applications from mentees who:
Live within the New York Tri-State metropolitan area (NY, NJ, and CT), and are available to meet their mentor personally for a total of at least six hours and attend three group meetings in New York City over the course of the six month cycle, January–June 2010.
Were born outside of the U.S. (Those born in Puerto Rico, Guam, and U.S territories may apply).
Attended at least K – 8 schooling outside the U.S.
Are actively working and pursuing a career as an artist for at least the past year.
Identify one or more clear goals to accomplish over the course of the six-month mentorship. Please see the Mentoring Program page for details.
Submit three work samples of recent work produced in the past two years (exceptions can be made on a case to case basis).
Are not currently enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate degree program.
Expectations for Mentee:
To set realistic goals achievable within a short term program.
To be responsible and take initiative in regards to your experience; “you will get out of the program what you put into it.”
To participate fully in a one-to-one relationship designed to facilitate personal and professional growth as a working artist.

Please contact the Immigrant Artist Project via email at i.outreach@nyfa.org or telephone at (212) 366-6900 ext. 249, with any questions.

Sincerely,

Andreia Davies, Immigrant Outreach Coordinator

Jessica Vosburgh, Immigrant Artist Project Assistant