A few years ago, I was invited to guest lecture in the United States on the intersection of music education and social justice in the international arena. Whilst each student recalled those who made a significant impact on their lives, a faculty member remarked about how our teachers live through our hands.
Read moreMODERN MENTORSHIP: So You Want a Rewarding Mentorship Relationship
Now that I hold a director-level position within Creative Generation and own a small business, I find myself serving as a mentor and mentee in equal turns. Ultimately, I find I learn the most from people who are, themselves, willing to learn through an on-going, mutual dialogue. Taking a meta look at this, I’ve narrowed my criteria for rewarding mentorships to three traits.
Read moreMODERN MENTORSHIP: Reflecting on Mentorship as a Twenty Something Year Old with No Answers
“I hope someone takes a chance on you.”
Carole G. Dodson called out to us by way of virtual graduation commencement. Her story stirred me and invoked in me a gratitude for every person who had taken that chance on me.
Read moreMODERN MENTORSHIP: Thinking about mentorship in a horizontal way
While this may not be the only way to consider what mentorship typically looks like, I feel safe to assume that we typically think of mentors as people who are above us. Mentorship is often based on a one-way stream of experience, or in other words knowledge that is not openly available, from the mentor to the mentee.
Read moreAn Alternative Guide for Young Creatives Planning a Career in the Arts
In May 2021, just a few weeks before joining Creative Generation, I completed work on ‘Make or Break: Race and Ethnicity in Entry-Level Compensation for Arts Administrators in Los Angeles County’ a study focused on the relationship between entry-level earnings and the diversity of Los Angeles-based entry-level arts administrators. Personally, this was an attempt to put a spotlight on one barrier in the arts that I had rarely noticed being addressed in literature, policy, or even conversations between colleagues. No one likes to talk about money, however, the lack of transparency about the value of our work, as the study went on to show, has detrimental effects on the working conditions and experiences of all arts administrators, and especially those who are BIPOC.
Read more