CALL FOR EMERGING ARTISTS
KRE-A-TIV U-TURN MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
A Milkweed Collective & Cultural Hotspot Signature Partnership Project

« PROJECT OVERVIEW:
Milkweed Collective will run KRE-A-TIV U-TURN from May through September 2015 in the Cultural Hotspot (West) neighbourhoods of Etobicoke. We are seeking eight (8) emerging artists (all disciplines), 18 to 25 years of age, who will learn to facilitate Milkweed’s Exploring Creativity in Depth® (ECiD) program for children and youth. Participants in this mentorship program will design and direct summer arts programming for children in local community centres and libraries. Participants will also design, direct and produce a multimedia exhibition and performance incorporating children’s artwork during Culture Days.

For background on the ECiD program visit our website at exploringcreativity.org

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

• Artists from all artistic disciplines are welcome to apply
• Fill out the application form and submit via e-mail to ina.puchala@gmail.com with the subject heading “Kre-a-tiv U-turn Application”
• Provide links to audio and/or visual samples of your work
• Provide contact info for 1-2 references

Deadline to apply: Friday, March 13, 2015 by 5 p.m.
Applicants will be notified by Tuesday, March 17, 2015
QUESTIONS: Please contact Ina Puchala, Assistant Director at ina.puchala@gmail.com

MENTORSHIP OUTCOMES:
Participants will:

• Be qualified facilitators of Milkweed’s ECiD program learning the core concepts and techniques: warm-up activities, focusing exercises, leadership of small group discussions applying such interpretive techniques as dramatizing, soundscapes and storytelling
• Learn leadership, management and communication skills
• Collaborate in designing and producing an exhibition and performance of multimedia artwork
• Maintain a blog to document and discuss the project

HONORARIUM & COURSE CREDIT:
Honorarium: Participants each receive an honorarium of $1,200 paid in two installments of $600 each.
Course Credit: Participants may apply to their respective institutions for academic credit for a course of Independent Study toward their undergraduate or graduate programs. The project provides 90 contact hours with the staff. This does not include the rehearsal and presentation of the final exhibition and performance.

SCHEDULE:

ABOUT MILKWEED:

Based in the Greater Toronto Area, the members of the MILKWEED COLLECTIVE are dedicated to practicing the arts and promoting personal growth and well-being in an inclusive and accessible community context. The membership includes painters and poets, installation artists and photographers, dancers, authors, therapists and educators. Since 1999 the Milkweed art shows, workshops and school programs have inspired children, youth and adults to discover their authentic creative potential and celebrate their gifts through the joy of making, appreciating and sharing their art with each other and with their communities.

ABOUT CULTURAL HOTSPOT:
From May through October 2015, the Cultural Hotspot shines a spotlight on arts, culture and the community in Etobicoke, inspiring new ideas about where culture thrives in Toronto. This City of Toronto and partner-produced initiative features a series of signature projects that include a theatre festival, a travelling, interactive art installation, a contemporary, community senior’s dance project, youth mural project, art exhibitions, youth mentorship and employment, local festivals and more. This project, and the legacy Cultural Loops Guide, will enable the local community and visitors to discover Hotspot neighbourhoods and the wonderful places within to experience arts, culture, fantastic food, heritage and parkland. »

-submitted by Amy Capern, Milkweed Collective