Apply now to be a mentor in Southern Exposure's 2017-18 One-On-One Mentorship Program.

Deadline to submit application: Friday, September 8, 2017
Program Dates: Weekly, October 2017 through May 2018 with an exhibition in May 2018

The One-On-One Mentorship Program offers youth ages 16–21 the opportunity to engage with an individual professional visual artist. One-on-one pairs of professional and youth artists work together weekly at SoEx for an entire school year. This program aims to develop artistic, educational and life skills by combining the benefits of mentoring relationships with art education. Mentors provide guidance and support for youth artists at a critical time in their artistic, intellectual and emotional development. This program not only seeks to support and foster the growth of youth artists as active members of the Bay Area arts community, but also provides professional artists practical and meaningful work experience as mentors and art educators.

About the Job: All mentors and mentees meet together as one group regularly at Southern Exposure with the AIE Program Director, bringing their work for and participating in critiques. Pairs work together and learn from each other, creating a final collaborative project decided on by each pair to be presented in May 2018 as a group show or project. Additionally mandatory meetings and mentor training sessions will be provided throughout the program. This is an unpaid, volunteer position.

Mentor Qualifications:

• A practicing visual artist
• Experience with installation, site-specific work, social practices, photography, video, and other forms of visual art
• Experience displaying work for public viewing
• Good communication skills
• Experience working collaboratively
• Spanish and/or Chinese language proficiency a plus

Mentor Duties and Responsibilities:

• Meet with your mentee at Southern Exposure for two hours per week
• Be open and willing to have a nurturing relationship with a youth artist
• Share your skills and experiences and be willing to learn from your mentee
• Work together to produce a project for a group exhibition at Southern Exposure
• Attend training and professional development workshops including pre-program training sessions and monthly check-in meetings

To Apply: Submit the following materials as a single PDF attachment to Maya Gomez, AIE Program Director, at [email protected]:

• A cover letter: Please indicate your interest in becoming a mentor for a youth artist. Discuss your background in art and the role art played in your life as a teenager. Additionally, list any experiences and strengths you can offer a young artist.
• Resume
• Work samples: Up to 15 digital images hosted online with a link for viewing (flickr, personal website, or any appropriate image hosting website) or a link of no more than five minutes of video hosted on website (Vimeo, Youtube, your own website, or any applicable video hosting domain). Please include a descriptive list explaining each sample.

Please contact Maya Gomez at [email protected] or 415-863-2141 with any questions or to learn more about the opportunity.

Southern Exposure is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity. Persons with diverse backgrounds and experiences are strongly encouraged to apply.