Artist Teen Mentoring Project

Expose Yourself to a Future in the Visual Arts

The Artist Teen Mentoring Project (ATMP) has been a huge success since we began the program in 2004. It offers local teens a once in a lifetime experience to enjoy a hands-on, realistic look at the life of a professional artist. These aspiring young artists have the opportunity to be mentored by established artists. This unique relationship offers studio time to create work while receiving instruction in a new medium. In past years we have offered mentoring and study in painting, sculpture, photography, fine-art woodworking, illustration, oil painting, and glass blowing.

The results of this program speak for themselves – several previous ATMP projects have received media attention and community acclaim. In 2007, mentor artist Richard Jarel and two ATMP participants completed a kinetic sculpture installation in front of the county justice building. In the 2009 program, students paired with mentor Sylvia Trujillo to paint a mural in the nearby Santo Community Center. Many students who have participated in ATMP have gone on to study art in college and are pursuing art-oriented careers.

This three-phase program provides each student:

Development – artist-led demonstrations and hands-on design sessions.
Mentorship – students are paired with an artist and receive 15-20 hours of individual instruction and direction in the artist’s studio.
Exhibition – student work produced during their mentorship is exhibited in our Main Gallery.

Here are the details if you’re interested in applying for the Artist Teen Mentoring Project:

For ages 15 – 18
Program runs January – March
Partial scholarships are available to applicants
Program tuition is $250 – $350 including materials

Profile of a Young Artist – An ATMP Success Story

2009 ATMP participant Jose Rivera focused on fine-art woodworking in his mentorship with artist and fine-art furniture maker Nick Clark. Already possessing a lot of talent, Jose's graffiti-style paintings were chosen as a winner in the Best of the Best Student Art Show, a regional high school art competition, hosted at Rogue Gallery & Art Center that same year. Jose's pieces were among the most popular and many visitors to the gallery inquired about purchasing his work.

After completion of the program, Jose went on to receive a college scholarship from the Eugene Bennett Scholarship Fund (named for one of RGAC's founders). "I enjoyed my studio experience, and had such a great time working with Nick Clark, my mentor," says Jose. "This experience has opened my eyes to career possibilities in the field of art I never dreamed possible."