In 2024, The Arts Fund hosted 2 mentorships featuring students from 4 Santa Barbara County High Schools, with 12 participating students.
The 2 mentorships offered during Fall 2024 were Creative Expression with Typewriters and Expressive Figure Drawing. Mentorship participants also exhibited their work during the Teen Arts Mentorship Exhibition in The Arts Fund Community Gallery from November 2024 through January 2025.
FALL MENTORSHIPS
Creative Expression with Typewriters
South County Mentorship with Simon Kiefer
During this fall mentorship with local spontaneous typewriter poet and multimedia artist Simon Kiefer, teens used vintage typewriters to express themselves with poetry and creative writing, as well as elaborate by incorporating visual elements. Students explored the interplay of word and image, and studied other writers and styles to find their own voice.
Expressive Figure Drawing
South County Mentorship with Austin Raymond & Chiara Corbo
With artists Austin Raymond and Chiara Corbo, students learned fundamentals of drawing the human figure and formed an understanding of anatomy. With a combination of studies and drawing from life, participants explored what makes a compelling piece by utilizing line weight, composition, and shading to elevate the figure into a work of art.
Your contribution supports the future of our Teen Arts Mentorship Program!
Visit our Community Gallery to see the annual Teen Arts Mentorship Exhibition, our annual show featuring work from the emerging high school artists of Santa Barbara County! The opening reception will take place during the bimonthly La Cumbre Art Walk.
The exhibition will feature multimedia work from the 12 young South County artists that participated in The Arts Fund’s 2024 fall Teen Arts Mentorship Program workshops, including “Creative Expression with Typewriters” with Simon Kiefer and “Expressive Figure Drawing” with Austin Raymond & Chiara Corbo. Students represent a range of schools throughout South Santa Barbara County, including Dos Pueblos High, Santa Barbara High, Goleta Valley Junior High, and Harvest School.
Following the reception, the Gallery will be open to the community during regular hours Wed-Sun 11AM-5PM until the end of January 2025.
In 2023, The Arts Fund hosted 6 mentorships featuring students from 7 Santa Barbara County High Schools, serving over 60 students.
The mentorships included All Levels Hip-Hop Dance, Self Expression Through Painting, Musical Theater Ensemble, Page to Stage Poetry, Introduction to Music Production, and Traditional/Digital Art Mash-Up.
All Levels Hip-Hop Dance Mentorship with Paris Davidson
Award winning dancer & choreographer Paris Davison mentored 10 students in an All Levels Dance program. These teens showcased their final performance at Center Stage Theater, where friends, family, and supporters were invited to cheer them on.
Introduction to Music Production Mentorship with Talitha Blackwell
Sound engineer and music producer, Talitha Blackwell, led Music Production Fundamentals: Composition and Mixing. This mentorship taught students tools to create music compositions that can be used in collaborations or personal music projects.
The students had their creations on display at from November-January at The Arts Fund Community Gallery.
Musical Theatre Ensemble Mentorship with Chad Ruyle
Musician & educator Chad Ruyle led a North County mentorship over the summer. Students learned the appropriate technical and artistic process of singing as a soloist.
This workshop concluded with a live in-person concert at the Allan Hancock Fine Arts Recital Hall.
Self-Expression Through Painting
South County Mentorship with Demi Boelsterli
Under the guidance of multidisciplinary artist Demi Boelsterli in her Funk Zone studio, students were provided with the tools and freedom to create. They also learned the basic elements and principles of design. As the finale, students created artist statements, and had the opportunity to showcase and sell their work through The Arts Fund Community Gallery.
Traditional/Digital Mash-Up
North County Mentorship with Laura-Susan Thomas
Educator and professional artist Laura-Susan Thomas led a mentorship hosted by Allan Hancock College. Featuring written word collectively created by the student artists, participants then created traditionally drawn portraits – that speak and move and show emotions by utilizing accessible motion-capture software. These pieces and their animations were run through an Augmented Reality application, and the work was ready to hang together as an installation in the Community Gallery.
POETRY OUT LOUD
Page to Stage
North County Mentorship
This year we had the opportunity to partner with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture to administer the Poetry Out Loud (POL) Program. POL is made possible through partnership with the National Endowment for Arts, the California Arts Council and the Poetry Foundation. Allan Hancock College, hosted the Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition in their new Fine Arts building. We congratulate Anna Matthews, a Page to Stage mentorship participant, for winning the Regional Champion title! She represented us in the State Competition in March 2024.
The Arts Fund is honored to showcase a youth centered show from teens in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Santa Maria, and Lompoc. Join us in celebrating the 12 local student artists during the upcoming La Cumbre Art Walk. Our thanks to the mentors for their intentional and inspirational mentorship to these emerging artists.
Following the reception, the Gallery will be open to the community during regular hours Wed-Sun 11AM-5PM until the end of January 2025.
Over the last 10 weeks, professional choreographer and award winning dancer PARIS has been mentor for our Teen Arts Mentorship Program. She worked with 10 local students ages 14-17, representing 3 schools, to prepare a multiple genre showcase in beautiful downtown Santa Barbara.
Our Teen Arts Mentorship program is turning 30 this year, and is tuition-free to all students in Santa Barbara County. This showcase is free to the community! Just RSVP to reserve your spot.
In 2022, The Arts Fund hosted the recurring What’s Next? mentorship, providing guidance to 3 Santa Barbara County High Schools, with 13 students participating.
Teen Arts Mentorship
What’s Next? Mentorship with Jamie Dufek
Students in the mentorship focused in on researching potential programs and creating strong applications, including a portfolio of work and an artist statement. They learned ‘the business side’ of being an artist, such as applying for grants, scholarships, and fellowships to support their art, branding, and marketing.
In addition to group discussion and one-on-one feedback, students met with a variety of guest speakers to provide more perspectives, experiences, and advice.
The What’s Next? program with mentor and board member Jamie Dufek differs from most mentorships we offer. Students who participate help define the direction of their final project. They are encouraged to reflect on their short and long term career and life goals, envisioning their creative passion as a sustainable practice.
We often offer this mentorship in the fall, and many junior and senior high school students have found it to be an invaluable resource as they look towards the future after graduation.
Your contribution supports the future of our Teen Arts Mentorship Program!
In 2021, The Arts Fund hosted 4 e-mentorships featuring students from 12 Santa Barbara County High Schools, with 18 participating students.
Teen Arts Mentorship
Public Art: Santa Maria Oak Mural Mentorship with Oscar Pearson
With the guidance of mentor Oscar Pearson, students learned the process behind designing, painting, and installing a mural in collaboration with the City of Santa Maria.
This mentorship was a collaboration with the City of Santa Maria.
Studio to Student (S2S)
Pen and Ink Design e-Mentorship with Ruben Espinoza
Students learned fundamentals of layout and abstract design, creating an abstract grid style “self-portrait” in using micron pens and ink. Through brainstorming and mind mapping sessions, they worked with mentor guidance to adapt personal visions and stories into a final work for gallery display.
Fundamentals of Digital Photography e-Mentorship with Terra Cobian
E-mentorship students explored photography as an astounding art form and potential career. Mentor Terra Cobian taught basics such as: getting to know the camera, composing a shot, and developing a workflow.
Students focused on finding their niche and gaining the fundamental skills of the photography world, whether for personal or business use.
Fundamentals of On-Camera Acting e-Mentorship with Michael Brusasco
Returning mentor Michael Brusasco introduced students to fundamentals of working in front of a camera, such as: setting up the shot, lighting, relationship to the frame, planes of space, cross-axis focus points, and more. By the end, each student completed an edited and mastered video of their audition performance for use in college submissions, audition packets, and interviews.
“I really liked having an artistic goal to works toward as opposed to just doodling here or there . . . I really appreciate how financially accessible [this mentorship] is.”
2021 S2S Mentorship Student
Your contribution supports the future of our Teen Arts Mentorship Program!
In 2020, The Arts Fund hosted 4 mentorships featuring students from 8 Santa Barbara County High Schools, with 44 participating students.
Studio to Student (S2S)
Creating On-Camera Audition Videos for Performing Arts e-Mentorship with Michael Brusasco
This e-Mentorship introduced students to fundamentals of working in front of a camera, such as: setting up the shot, lighting, relationship to the frame, planes of space, cross-axis focus points, and more. By the end, each student completed an edited and mastered video of their audition performance for use in college submissions, audition packets, and interviews.
Writing a Way Forward e-Mentorship with Cie Gumucio
Students in this mentorship explored writing as a powerful tool to discover one’s way in the world. During the e-Mentorship, students explored and reflected on their identities through writing and learned about potential writing careers. Each week the group read and discussed poems, polished their individual writing, and were invited to share their work.
Book Cover Design: From Drawing to Oil e-Mentorship with Yulia Lennon
Learning and applying fundamentals of design, students created a cover for their favorite book.
Mentor Yulia Lennon guided them through the composition in pencil followed by a session on color theory, a sketch in color, and then their final oil painting.
Online Singer’s Stage e-Mentorship with Chad Ruyle
Students learned to sing a song in an ensemble while remote, collaborating across Santa Barbara County. Each student workshopped a musical theatre song; with encouragement to choose a song they already knew and enjoyed. This e-Mentorship concluded with a concert recorded on Acapella (app) and shared on social media.
Your contribution supports the future of our Teen Arts Mentorship Program!
Shepard Hall, Santa Maria Public Library / FREE ADMISSION
The Teen Arts Mentorship Program is a county-wide, 30+ year old arts enrichment and career development program that offers students ages 13-18 the unique opportunity to work closely with industry professionals and master artists in a studio environment. Working in small groups, students spend over 30 hours producing a portfolio of work to be exhibited and sold in The Arts Fund Community Gallery or performed in a public venue.
