Mentorship Residency Program [Local/Regional Artist]

The Mentorship Residency Program is a pioneering residency concept that serves as an arts incubator with generous workspace and modern facilities that enables the creative work of artists across disciplines. We foster mentorship by pairing two artists together during a residency period to cultivate rich conversation, collaboration, and exchange experiences, knowledge, art industry information and technical skills. We encourage our two paired artists to work independently in their practice, however we ask each to dedicate a minimum of 8-10 hours a week to work together. This commitment often looks like:

• An equal exchange of creative practices while increasing awareness of the skill and thought leadership of diverse talent; and an opportunity to advance skills outside of traditional mediums. 
• Joint community engagement connecting the artists to the general public.
• Joint projects; artistic collaborations; conceptual exchange.

The artist-pairing consists of a Visiting Artist who is traveling to the state of Maine from their respective homes to be in residence. Their artist pair is a Local/Regional artist who is primarily based in the Maine/New England region. The goal of the pairing is to build positive relationships that enhance the individual artists as human beings and thought leaders. We want to create healthy relationships for artists of color who are navigating their art practice and create avenues of success that build networks.

PLEASE NOTE: We define "Visiting Artist" as an individual who primarily resides outside of the state of Maine and/or the New England region (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island). This individual would be traveling from their respective homes to participate in the residency program.

We define "Local/Regional Artist" as an individual who primarily resides in Maine and/or in the New England region (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island). This person should have a strong relationship with Maine’s creative ecosystem. 

We are currently accepting rolling applications from artists based in the Northeastern region (also known as Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island).   - The application window will be open year round. Submission of an application does not guarantee selection as an artist in residence. Your name will go directly into our Local/Regional artist pool which we will pull from as the right Mentorship opportunity arises. There is no need to re-apply every year, unless you'd like update your application materials.

Residency Terms:

Our residency season spans across Spring, Summer and Fall, and hosts 4-5 artist pairings each year.

National Visiting artists: One Month

International Visiting artists: One or Two Months, schedule depending. 

Housing

Indigo Arts Alliance studios does not have on-site housing. We provide a private one bedroom apartment conveniently located within walking distance of the studio for our Visiting Artist in Residence. We do not provide housing for Maine/Regional artists. IAA Staff will assist as best we can to support the search for housing. However, ultimately it is the responsibility of the candidate to finance and book their housing accommodations should they need it.

Artist Eligibility:
  - Applicants must be a descendent from any of the African nations, African-American, Afro-Latin, Caribbean, i.e., the communities inhabiting the geographic breadth of all the places where Africans were displaced as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, Indigenous Peoples, Latinx, Southeast Asian (i.e African/Indian oceanic world), the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim. It is important to our mission to serve communities that have been impacted by colonialism and cultural erasure.
  - Applicants must be 21+ at the time of the proposed residency.
  - Artists of all disciplines are encouraged (Painting, sculpture, illustration, writing, dance, music, theater/performance, photography, fiber/textiles, etc).
  - Applicants cannot be enrolled in a full-time academic program at the time of the residency.
  - Applicants must have the most up to date COVID-19 vaccination at least 3 months prior to the start of their proposed residency. You may learn more about our COVID-19 policy here.

  Please visit our Artist Residency FAQ page for more information. Should you have any direct questions please email ashley@indigoartsalliance.me. 

The Studio and Programming Administration Intern provides support to Indigo Arts Alliance by executing day to day tasks and representing Indigo in a positive manner to the community. Our interns play a valuable role in implementing our programming and utilizing skill sets such as program planning, event set up & breakdown, archive management, and more! They get hands-on learning in nonprofit management and are exposed to a wide range of artists, creative professionals, and project management tools that help fuel an exciting career in the arts. This position is available to currently enrolled students pursuing an undergraduate, or graduate degree as well as recent graduates who graduated within a year of the application period and offers a hybrid internship model (virtual and in-person), dependent on COVID-19 and CDC guidelines.

Roles and Responsibilities:
- Research relevant studio facilities to better inform the IAA print/studio community workshop
- Regularly audit and populate studio supplies inventory documents
- Assist in researching and setting up new studio furniture/equipment
- Maintain the general organization and cleanliness of all Indigo Arts Alliance facilities
- Maintain and organize internal IAA Google Drive
- Assist in internal/external communication document creation (Information Templates, Studio Guidelines, Artist in Residence Handbook, etc)

Qualifications:
- Currently enrolled, or recently graduated from a college or university
- Positive attitude and strong work ethic
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Strong technical skills in computer literacy
- Aptitude in digital/social media and all its platforms
- Good organization skills with attention to detail
- Ability to receive feedback and critique with humility, modesty, and respect
- Exceptional attention to detail
- Desire to find creative solutions to all challenges and problems
- Personal qualities of kindness, integrity, credibility, and commitment to the mission
- Art education and/or experience (painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking experience preferred but not required)
- Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to follow specific step-by-step instructions
- Must be able to lift 50-75 lbs.

Staffing
IAA is currently being led by co-founder and Executive Director, Marcia Minter; co-founder Daniel Minter, Artist Director; Deputy Director, Jordia Benjamin; Studio and Programs Coordinator, Ashley Page and Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Aminata Conteh. Indigo Arts Alliance is also supported by a robust community of partners, sponsors and funders.

Compensation and Hours
Spanning 135 hours, this internship accounts for 3 credits and has also been funded a total of $1500. For students of Maine College of Art, this stipend is administered by MECA and funded through the Crewe Foundation. For non-MECA students, funding for this internship is provided by The David Driskell Foundation, and will be administered by Indigo Arts Alliance. This internship is possible through the generous philanthropy of our community organizations to help foster and grow young brown and black artists that are emerging within their careers. While introducing young students to established, mid-career and budding POC artists in the local Portland community, and hosting space for talking about work from a different perspective, this opportunity allows for artists of all kinds to learn and grow. This internship is now available for recent graduates who graduated within a year of applying. The rate of compensation does not change with graduate status.

The Communication and Marketing Administration Intern provides support to Indigo Arts Alliance through the creation, implementation and support of internal and external communication efforts. The selected interns are given projects that span across the organization, and grow transferable skills such as project management, copywriting, graphic design, and more. They play a valuable role by creating new ways and assisting in maintaining methods for our audiences to remain engaged through social media efforts, newsletters, and printed materials. 

Roles and Responsibilities:
- Assist Marketing and Communications Coordinator in streamlining internal/external communications software
- Assist in researching and setting up new communications
- Assist communications team in maintaining active social media presence for the organization with guidance from Executive Director (utilizing guidelines and branding elements provided).
- Assist in the design and creation of various printed materials
- Maintain and organize internal IAA Google Drive
- Assist in internal/external communication document creation (Information Templates, Studio Guidelines, Artist in Residence Handbook, etc)
- Sourcing, researching, and creating content to be used for our various social media platforms
- Maintaining the IAA content archives
- Assist in writing social media post copy, and keeping all communication tools consistent and up to date

Qualifications:
- Currently enrolled, or recently graduated from a college or university - Positive attitude and strong work ethic
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Strong technical skills in computer literacy
- Aptitude in digital/social media and all its platforms
- Good organization skills with attention to detail
- Ability to receive feedback and critique with humility, modesty, and respect - Exceptional attention to detail
- Desire to find creative solutions to all challenges and problems
- Personal qualities of kindness, integrity, credibility, and commitment to the mission - Art education or experience (painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking experience preferred but not required)
- Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to follow specific step-by-step instructions

Staffing
IAA is currently being led by co-founder and Executive Director, Marcia Minter; co-founder Daniel Minter, Artist Director; Deputy Director, Jordia Benjamin; Studio and Programs Coordinator, Ashley Page and Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Aminata Conteh. Indigo Arts Alliance is also supported by a robust community of partners, sponsors and funders.

Compensation and Hours
Spanning 135 hours, this internship accounts for 3 credits and has also been funded a total of $1500. For students of Maine College of Art, this stipend is administered by MECA and funded through the Crewe Foundation. For non-MECA students, funding for this internship is provided by The David Driskell Foundation, and will be administered by Indigo Arts Alliance. This internship is possible through the generous philanthropy of our community organizations to help foster and grow young brown and black artists that are emerging within their careers. While introducing young students to established, mid-career and budding POC artists in the local Portland community, and hosting space for talking about work from a different perspective, this opportunity allows for artists of all kinds to learn and grow. This internship is now available for recent graduates who graduated within a year of applying. The rate of compensation does not change with graduate status.