Call Detail
2021 Immigrant Artists Mentoring Program- Call for Artists
Visit Organization Website
Contact Email: etsogo@platteforum.org

Entry Deadline: 1/19/21
Application Closed
Work Sample Requirements
Images | Minimum:Min. 4, Maximum:Max. 8
Audio | Minimum:Min. 0, Maximum:Max. 3
Video | Minimum:Min. 0, Maximum:Max. 3
Total Samples | Minimum:Min. 4, Maximum:Max. 14
Call Type: Unspecified
Eligibility: Local
State: Colorado

Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program: Denver

 

PlatteForum is pleased to announce the Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program: Denver, in partnership with the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), through the support of the Arts in Society,  SCFD Denver County, Rose Community Foundation, SCFD Adams County and the Imagine 2020 Fund.

 

The program’s goal is to foster a local community of artists sharing the immigrant experience and provide resources through entrepreneurial training, access to other artists, arts professionals, and organizations. Conducted in a supportive environment with a goal that all voices are heard, the program offers immigrant artists the opportunity to focus on their creative practice, gain support and exposure for their work, while upholding their distinct cultural identities.

 

Since 2017, NYFA has worked in partnership with established arts and cultural organizations in partner cities to implement its Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program and tailor it to the needs of each individual community in Oakland, Detroit, Newark, and San Antonio. The network continues to connect via virtual roundtables, supported by NYFA and organized by Oakland artists and alum Jason Wyman and Rupy C. Tut. The program provides access to artist mentors, art professionals via panels and workshops, and the fundamental principles of sustainability in the arts. Featured topics will include strategic planning, finance, law, marketing, and fundraising.

 

In collaboration with Denver-based partners, the program will have two weekend entrepreneurial training sessions, access to one-on-one mentoring, with an informal gathering between weekends. 

Details and criteria

This is a competitive program open to Denver artists from all disciplines (performing, literary, visual, multidisciplinary, video/film, folk and traditional arts) based in Denver, CO and provided free of charge to accepted participants. Program will run from February 2021 to June 2021, and will bring together Denver artists to nurture a productive environment for collaboration. 

 

The program includes a final exhibition with presenting opportunities for all selected applicants, organized by Platteforum. 

 

 

Eligibility

  • Live within the seven county, Denver metro area. (Within commuting distance of Denver)**

  • Either you and your parents were born outside of the United States. (This includes the United States territories i.e. Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands) 

  • Refugees are welcome to apply

  • Are NOT currently enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate degree program***

 

**Priority will be given to artists living and working in Denver; however the program is open to artists within commuting distance of Denver.

*** The applicants need to be 18 or older; Students who will graduate college before the program starts are welcome to apply.

 

Selection Process: The selection has several phases. First, with the support of local partners, Platteforum will identify established professional artists from a variety of disciplines—whose backgrounds reflect the applicant pool—to serve as mentors. Once selected, mentors will review the applications mainly focusing on the applicants' artistic vision, resources they are looking for, and career goals. The mentors ability to offer the necessary resources and information that the applicant is seeking is taken into consideration. Then both NYFA and PlatteForum will work together to identify the pool of mentees, with the awareness of the cohort makeup as a whole while aligning advantageous pairings of mentor and mentee.

Notification: Wednesday, February 3, 2021.

Mandatory Sessions*:

First Weekend Intensive:

Saturday, February 27, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Sunday, February 28, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Mid-program Check in: Wednesday, April 7, 6:00 - 8:30 PM

Second Weekend Intensive:

Saturday, May 22, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Sunday, May 23, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM


Topics to be featured include strategic planning, finance, law, marketing, and fundraising. Additional material will be drawn from NYFA’s popular textbook The Profitable Artist, Second Edition (Allworth Press, 2018). Content is provided with the cohort’s needs in mind.

 

*Attendance is mandatory to all sessions, so please check your calendar before applying.

* Denver based partners will host meetings.

* All the meetings are planned to take place in person, which may convert to online, according to local and state health guidelines at the time of the program. 

Application Deadline: January 19, 2021 11:59pm MST
 

Fees: None

Application Materials:

For the application we ask you to provide:

  • Your long terms goals and why you are interested in applying to this program

  • A narrative bio of your professional career

  • A link to your website or online presence

  • Work samples

For more information or questions, please email our Program Facilitator: Eriko Tsogo etsogo@platteforum.org or Creative Programming Manager, Esther Hernandez: ehernandez@platteforum.org

This program is made possible with the support of Arts in Society, a collaborative grant-making program that fosters cross-sector work through the arts by supporting the integration of arts and culture into multiple disciplines critical to the health and well-being of Coloradans. Additional support has been provided by Rose Community Foundation, SCFD Denver and Adams Counties, and the Imagine 2020 Fund. 

 

Testimonials:

 

"I applied for the Immigrant Artist Program to find a creative community locally in Oakland since I felt really isolated in my studio as a traditional painter. During the program, It was the most incredible experience to receive the amazing amounts of knowledge ranging from copyright to artist statements, grant writing and so many other topics during the different programming components NYFA had lined up. The most significant relationship during the entire program was ofcourse with my mentor, having very honest conversations, receiving uninhibited feedback on my work and also being able to see the art world from her perspective. The icebreaker for my very nervous self was the first day during the “speed dating” format of meeting every single mentor and speaking about my work and what I hope to learn to do during my time in the program in under 3 minutes. I soon realized that there was a total lack of hierarchy in the program between mentors and mentees which made it even easier to interact and open up with other mentees and mentors. 

 

"Even after the program, I was able to stay in touch with about half of my cohort and mentors through different work opportunities, collaborations and mutual interests. A significant collaboration that emerged for me from IAP is working with Jason Wyman, who was not even my own mentor, but has now become a dear friend and also a collaborator on NYFA programs like the video roundtables and the IAP Virtual Art Salon. I would highly recommend the IAP experience and would even advise to take full advantage of the time an artist gets with the variety of minds in the room. You meet so many artists who are willing to speak about their experiences, the lessons learned and also as willing to make creative bonds with other local artists."

 

Rupy C. Tut, Visual artist, Oakland, CA, IAP alumni from 2019

 

"We are Thaad and Eden Sabolboro, and together we are the co- founders of Reel Clever Films, a boutique film and video production company specializing in the documentary style, cinematic approach for film and video. We each had the wonderful opportunity to be selected for NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Program in Detroit within one year of each other. It was a formative and life-changing experience that we are most grateful to have been a part of. Having just arrived from the Philippines in 2014, and having to start over from the ground up, we often felt alone and lacked confidence in trying to establish our professional and artistic identity in the United States. In joining the NYFA IAP program, we realized that we weren’t alone, and that there was a vast network of other diverse artists like us that were also in need of support. The NYFA IAP program sets itself apart with its unique thrust to advancing and supporting artists like us, being the first program of its kind in the art world. We got to form incredible relationships and future collaborations with our, as well as received valuable support and professional development from some incredible and award-winning professional artists and mentors. From creating visibility around our work, to accounting and budgeting, to professionally structuring our practice, we received valuable workshops whose teachings have been critical in our growth. It truly was an incomparable experience- we could not recommend it enough."

 

-- Thaad and Eden Sabolboro, IAP Denver alumni

Filmmakers, Reel Clever Films

 

About PlatteForum 

PlatteForum is an award-winning and innovative arts, youth-development, and artist-in residence program founded in Denver, Colorado in 2002. As a 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization, PlatteForum teams youth (K-12) from historically marginalized communities with professional artists in intensive, structured, and long-term creative learning environments. Youth work side by side with resident artists to collaboratively plan, produce, and exhibit a body of work in an environment in which artistic excellence is highly valued. Youth in PlatteForum’s programs delve into a variety of art forms and social justice topics, confronting challenges and obstacles and making life-changing discoveries about who they are, what they are capable of achieving, and where they belong in the world. 

 

About New York Foundation for the Arts 

The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) was established in 1971 to empower artists at critical stages in their creative lives. Today, the nonprofit organization’s programs and services are far-reaching and are rooted in a wealth of physical and online resources. Each year, NYFA awards $3 million in cash grants to individual visual, performing, and literary artists based in New York State. NYFA’s Fiscal Sponsorship program, one of the oldest and most reputable in the country, helps national artists and arts organizations raise and manage an average of $4 million annually. NYFA’s Learning programs, including its Artist as Entrepreneur and Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, provide thousands of artists, creatives, and arts administrators with professional development training and support. NYFA’s website, NYFA.org, is used by more than 1 million people and features more than 20,000 opportunities and resources available to artists in all disciplines. 

 

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria