NEXT! Mentorship Program
Program Participants to be announced September 15th, 2024
NEXT! Mentorship program 2024/25
Each year, the NEXT! Mentorship offers artists support and opportunities based on their needs; this includes guidance in production, creative design, grant writing, and project budgeting. The program nurtures the development of 4 artists through exchange, monthly meetings, discussions, workshops, and presentations for a period of 12-18 months. Artists will receive the opportunity to publicly present their work through our existing curated series and annual festival. Each artist will receive $1,500-2,500 in compensation for presenting their artistic work in our twice-annual CROSSROADS series or the yearly Out-FRONT! Festival, as well as video documentation of their work for their portfolios.
Through an investment of resources and one-on-one mentorship sessions, Pioneers Go East Collective ensures artists find the time and focus to cultivate exciting and innovative new work. Artists may also receive free space to develop and rehearse their work when available through our partner organizations. Additional opportunities to work with the collective as an assistant teaching artist are available if the artist shows interest in arts education. Occasionally, we are able to offer free or discounted tickets to see and support our peer organizations’ work.
The Mentorship is a unique meeting ground for interdisciplinary artists developing distinct artistic voices and experimenting with new approaches that expand the aesthetic and performance modes. The mentorship intends to address a compelling need in the field — providing artistic, administrative, and financial support for emerging underrepresented artists who are recognized in their field for their groundbreaking work and creative process. Participants will have the opportunity to network with other artists, their communities, industry professionals, and funders as their performances and film projects are presented through Pioneers Go East Collective’s curated series.
Applications will be received through our application portal through June 9th and the mentorship will begin in September 2024. Due to our dedicated and small panel of reviewers, only the first 40 applicants will be considered. This mentorship program takes place in NYC, and participants must plan to be located within the NYC Metropolitan area for the duration of the program.
Pioneers Go East Collective’s NEXT! Mentorship program is made possible in part thanks to funding from the Jerome Foundation.