IAM: Indigenous Arts Mentorship

Arts Northern Rivers is calling for Indigenous young people from the Northern Rivers who want to be part of an exciting arts mentorship program, IAM (Indigenous Arts Mentorship) to kickstart their creative careers.

IAM Mentorship

The six month mentorship aims to create solid pathways into the creative industries by matching 10 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous arts and creative industry professionals who can assist them in taking their passion to the next level.

The Northern Rivers is home to the largest number of arts and creative industry practitioners outside of the capital cities and as such provides a rich menu from which to draw potential mentors for the program.

IAM project collaborator, Dusty McOnie has a background in youth arts mentorships and engaging Indigenous young people through his role as arts mentor for Youth Connections.

McOnie said, ‘I am particularly keen to support this project. To be able to help link Indigenous youth with established arts and creative industry professionals will really develop their passion and skills’.

‘Creative youth make creative communities and IAM is a significant opportunity to build meaningful and sustainable career pathways for Indigenous young people as well as developing collaborative relationships that support young people,’ McOnie said.

After the success of the Connect Music Mentorship program last year, Arts Northern Rivers wanted to continue to employ the mentorship model, which is ideal for offering a rich, one-on-one development opportunity.

Arts Northern Rivers CEO Peter Wood said ‘the IAM program is another important evolution of the successful mentorship model. In this instance we are developing a dynamic mentorship program matching Indigenous young people with industry professionals to nurture their artistic passion and to help them along the path towards a career in the arts and creative industries’.

Wood added, ‘with funding from Arts NSW and support from education partners such as SAE Qantm (Byron Bay) and Southern Cross University the project is positioned to deliver some important outcomes for our region’s aspiring young Indigenous creatives’.

Applications to be part of the IAM mentorship program can be found on the Arts Northern Rivers website or by calling them on 6628 8120

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