Whether you are starting off in your career, or have an established career but need a different perspective, mentoring can be incredibly beneficial. There are mutually inclusive advantages to mentorship, for both the mentee and mentor such as skill and network building, personal and professional development and more, which I will explain further in this article. There are many different mentorship programmes for corporate organisations and networking groups available; however, for those who are starting off in the creative industry, it might be a bit more tricky.
You don’t necessarily need to join a paid networking membership to become a mentee, but I’ll also give some examples of these mentorship platforms that you can join online or in person. I am covering the benefits of both being a mentee and a mentor, whilst giving some tips on finding a mentor or even jumpstarting into mentoring.
With the pandemic, in most industries, important initiatives such as workforce development, creating an inclusive work environment, and attracting a more diverse talent base have become more important than ever. We have faced more professional and personal pressures working from our confined homes, not knowing how to deal with modes of production and creativity. Emerging professionals have been thrown into a workforce in flux, where the only constant is that no one has all the answers. It is never easy to handle these pressures and start something exciting, creative, and brainstorm on your own. That’s where a mentor or someone you look up to can be convenient, especially in the context of gender, race, and social class, where there is inequality.
The challenge: Finding the right person for you.
The Advantage: It can take some time to find the right mentor depending on your needs. Professional mentorship programmes for little money can help you find the perfect contact. I personally reached out to my mentor through the previous organisation I was working for. He was on the advisory board and from his experience and knowledge in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors, he seemed like the perfect fit.
The challenge: Find a mentor that is willing to volunteer to do the mentoring.
The advantage: Even though mentorship seems like a monetary exchange, I find that it best works when there are no commercial expectations. It is important to find someone who is willing to mentor in their goodwill, as a mentee you can always offer to take them out for lunch or coffee as a symbol to say thank you after. The mentor-mentee relationship should not be based on just expectations.
How to start mentoring?
If you want to start mentoring, this doesn’t have to be formal. The mentoring process can grow organically. The most important thing in mentoring is to know that you’ll be committed with your time and knowledge sharing. The more you build on your problem-solving and communication skills, potential mentees will get in touch with you organically. Word of mouth also helps.
The challenge: Start mentoring without any prior experience.
The Advantage: It can be daunting to jumpstart into mentoring right away, especially if you are doing it for the first time. It is vital to remember that this is not a teaching experience but more of a mutual exchange and sharing platform. Being generous with your knowledge sharing and time is the first step to mentorship, you don’t need to add more pressure or stress to it by feeling like you need to deliver in a certain way or see immediate progress from the mentee.
Tips on finding a mentor
Whilst there are many useful platforms, networks, and memberships that you can join to find the most suitable mentor for you, you can always reach out to someone more informally as well. Sometimes universities or schools also provide mentorship programmes connecting alumni students together. I would not be shy to approach someone you look up to on LinkedIn or even Instagram to start an initial conversation. Even though mentorship can be flexible, it works best when it is done over a period of time and when it is consistent. From my very little experience, what I have seen is that what works best is to meet up once a month over a period of 6 months to get the most out of the mentorship. For those in the .Art community who might be interested in joining a mentorship programme, here is a list of places to start your search.
Mentoring Platforms in the Creative Industry
Arts Emergency
A-n – The Artist Information Company
Association Women In The Arts (AWITA)
I Like Networking
Open Space – you can always get in touch with me directly for a mentoring session or initial conversation go on www.openspacecontemporary.art and email me
Visual Art Passage
Benefits for the Mentees
Some SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) can help you use a specific set of criteria to ensure that objectives are clearly defined and attainable within a certain timeframe. An example of a SMART- goal statement might look like this: The exhibition titled ______ aims to [objectives and references] by [timeframe or deadline]. [The artist(s) or curator] will accomplish this goal by examining [what steps you’ll take to achieve the goal]. Accomplishing this goal will [result or benefit]. Implementing these SMART goals can help you work towards what needs to be done leading up to your creative project, eg: an exhibition coming up in four months’ time. Whilst working on an exhibition, these goals can help you work on tasks such as; production, work description, scheduling, planning transportation and insurance and writing the exhibition text. What would not be realistic is waiting for an immediate outcome right after one mentorship session, it is always nice to have time to brainstorm and exchange ideas.
Benefits of Mentoring
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