I often feel quite isolated in my home studio so our regular connections have felt like fresh air rushing in from opening windows.
To be a successful mentor you have to keep honing your skills and be able to reflect deeply on your own life experiences. We take a personal interest in supporting the success of our mentees.
Whether you are a curator wanting to build your confidence or you just like our approach and want some one-to-one support we are confident we can help you on your way. We are here to support you find your own solutions, not tell you what you should be doing.
Our mentoring is based on the same principles as our facilitation work. We use a coaching-style to create the conditions for the important issues to rise to the surface so they can be dealt with in a supportive environment.
Tehmina participated in and actively uses the Museums Association’s Mentoring for All framework and was an ACE Accreditation Mentor and AMA Mentor.
Mentoring for creative and leadership development
Increasingly our mentees come to us for dedicated mentoring support while undertaking a programme of funded leadership or creative development, such as Arts Council England’s DYCP programme and Clore Leadership.
As a result of her DYCP Kath Williams, musician, composer and budding curator, developed a stunning digital installation that combined her musical creativity and her growing interest in psychology, mental health and cultural memory. A six-month mentoring programme helped to support Kath make the Map of Mum and realise her next steps creating the Museum Of Musical Memory:
The support I’ve had from Tehmina has been incredibly valuable to me as I rethink my practice and record new work. I often feel quite isolated in my home studio so our regular connections have felt like fresh air rushing in from opening windows; encouraging me to bounce new ideas, hone my thoughts about how to present my music, and visualise where it might be accessed and enjoyed.I’m heading into the next phase of my career with increased confidence and excitement about where it might all take me.
Kath Williams, CRC Mentee, 2021.
Specialist support for independent, part-time workers and freelancers
We have particular expertise in, and experience of the challenges of working independently, as freelancers or as part-timers undertaking several different roles at once.
We know what it is like to feel lonely, isolated and lacking peer-support and peer interest in our work. We believe positive mentoring can change your outlook, provide you with structure and a set of goals you can focus on to take you to your next step.
Tehmina brought in tools, like the Drama Triangle, that helped me to build confidence in approaching difficult situations.
Carmen Talbot, mentoring feedback, January 2020
We recently provided mentoring for the Project Manager of Dreadnought South West’s Rebellious Sounds Archive project, Carmen Talbot. Carmen is a heritage and arts consultant with several years of experience working with social history collections, oral history projects and digital engagement strategy. Bridging curator/project manager/producer roles, Carmen has significant experience oflinking ideas and people together.
This is how the mentoring process helped Carmen with her work.
How has mentoring with me changed your perspective on your work and career?
“Tehmina’s mentoring gave me structure to self-reflect on project progress and how I could be developing certain skills in line with my career aspirations. As a freelancer, that kind of development work usually falls to the bottom of the priority pile, so to have someone actively checking in on your process was enormously helpful. Tehmina brought in tools, like the Drama Triangle, that helped me to build confidence in approaching difficult situations. Having a neutral ear and voice to reflect back the successes and challenges of the project improved my overall confidence in decision-making in future work.”
Connect with Carmen on LinkedIn. See her Walled Garden project unfold on Instagram.
