All City Mentorship Guild
January - July
Receive mentoring from an adult artist, write your own songs in a supportive community of fellow youth artists, and produce/record an original song for our annual compilation album!
Haga clic aquí para ver esta información en español.
Apply to join as a youth artist or adult volunteer artist mentor!
About the program
In the All City Mentorship Guild, participating youth artists are paired with adult artist mentors for 1-to-1 mentorship while also meeting monthly in a supportive group of peers. Mentor/mentee pairs meet twice monthly from February - July. The entire group of youth artists gathers monthly for their Writers Guild, where they share their works-in-progress within a supportive and fun creative community. To culminate the season, all participants have the opportunity to produce and record an original song for our annual compilation album in a recording studio with a professional band!
When?
The All City Mentorship Guild takes place January - May each year with a Recording session in early June and Listening Party in late July! Writers Guild meets monthly and 1-to-1 mentor meetups happen twice a month, scheduled directly with your mentor. Click the application links above for specific dates!
Where?
Writers Guilds will take place at Girls Write Nashville HQ at 3511 Gallatin Pike, Nashville, TN 37216.
1-on-1 mentors meetups are scheduled directly with your mentor. We recommend taking advantage of free meeting places in your nearest Nashville Public Library.
WHO is elligible?
youth artists in 8th - 12th grade in Davidson County
those who self-select as wanting to be a part of a program that focuses on the lived experiences of female-identifying, nonbinary and gender expansive teens
Priority enrollment
Priority Enrollment is granted based on a number of priorities with the goal of creating a cohort of youth artists representative of our entire city! Those enrollment priorities are:
BUILDING COMMUNITY: Multi-year Girls Write Nashville participant continuing in programming
ENSURING ACCESS: Students attending an MNPS Title I school
ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE: Students with prior experience and a high degree of passion for their singing/songwriting/music practice
TELLING OUR STORIES: Students who self-report one or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Who owns the recordings of youth songs?
Mentors and mentees do not cowrite in our program. All songs written by youth artists are their sole intellectual property. All master recordings made as part of our annual recording session are owned by the youth artists. For inclusion on our annual compilation album, youth artists and their parents are asked to permit a nonexclusive license to us to include their song.
Other questions?
Reach out to us at allcity@girlswritenashville.org!
Interested in mentoring?
Artist mentors are adult volunteers with expertise in songwriting and music production with a passion for fostering supportive creativity communities and facilitating positive youth development!
Time commitment
The estimated volunteer time commitment is 3-5 hours/month from January - June.
2 hrs/month — Mentors meet twice a month for hour-long 1-on-1 sessions with their mentee.
1 hr/month — Mentors schedule sessions directly with their mentee’s family with support from Girls Write Nashville.
OPTIONAL 2 hrs/month — Mentors are welcome and encouraged to join us for the cohort-wide monthly Guild meeting on one Saturday per month from 12pm-2pm at Girls Write Nashville HQ, 3511 Gallatin Pike, Nashville, TN 37216. Mentors are only required to come to our first Guild meeting and one other over the course of a season.
DIY Recording Session & Party
The program culminates with a new DIY recording session with peers and mentors. Students will get hands-on experience where they can learn the music production side of songwriting in a supportive environment where they can build new skills and grow their confidence together. Mentor attendance is optional but encouraged!
Stipend
Artist mentors are volunteer positions. Mentors will each receive a $250 stipend to offset the costs of participation such as gas to travel to meet-ups.
TRAINING & PRIOR EXPERIENCE
All artist mentors will participate in a 2 hour training prior to the start of the program covering program logistics as well as core concepts in creative youth development, tips on working with your mentee, trauma-informed education techniques, and protocols for mandated reporting.
Successful artist mentors generally have prior experience in expertise in topics such as songwriting, music production, vocal performance, and/or instrumental performance. Prior experience in some type of youth work such as teaching workshops or classes, teaching private lessons, working with students at a summer camp, nannying, etc is preferred but not required!
