We’re excited to announce the sixth year of our mentorship program, the Community Arts Incubator presented by Wild Goose Creative. This program seeks to bring mentorship and career development to the next generation of Columbus creatives.

We are looking for established visual artists to mentor emerging artists who are at varying levels of their creative practice. 

As a mentor, you will work with a mentee to accomplish the following:

1. Provide guidance, direction and support for goals set by mentee
2. Meet 1:1 with mentee once a month for one hour
3. Assist mentee in writing a grant proposal to be considered at the end of the program to support their continued work

Application deadline: Sunday, March 8th, 2026

Questions? Email Aaron at sheldonimagedesign@gmail.com 

 

Mentor Benefits

• $200 stipend 
• Monthly workshops led by industry leaders to support you and your mentee's creative career
• Opportunity to help support the next generation of Columbus creatives (ages 18+)

Program Dates

1. Kick-off Meet & Greet

Saturday April 18th, 2-4pm at Wild Goose Creative (188 McDowell Street, Columbus OH)

Meet your mentee and the other members of the program!

2. Monthly Workshops 

2-4pm at Wild Goose Creative (188 McDowell Street, Columbus OH) on the following dates:

April 18th
May 9th
June 13th
July 11th
August 8th
September 12th
October 10th
November 14th
December 9th
December 11th

3. Monthly Mentor/Mentee Check-ins 

Schedule to be determined with your mentee 

4. Community Arts Incubator Exhibition

December 11th, 6-9pm at Wild Goose Creative

Program Expectations

If chosen as a mentor, you will be asked to commit to the following expectations:

• Attend the monthly workshops, check-ins and end of the year showcase listed above 
• Provide your mentee with resources and support throughout the duration of the program 
• Help your mentee develop career goals and a plan of action to be executed short and long term
• Support mentees in creating a piece of work to be featured in the end-of-the year showcase
• Work with mentee to write a mini grant application for additional funding

Demographic information

In an effort to better understand and serve the creatives that participate in our programs, we've included a few demographic questions. Answering these questions is not required and will not effect the consideration of your submission.