44 Gaukel Mentorship Matchup program

An opportunity for emerging local artists actively working on a new project to be supported by the skills and experience of established local artists.

On this page:

Project background
Eligibility requirements
Selection process and criteria
Compensation and expectations
Project schedule and evaluation
Application details

Project background

The 44 Gaukel Mentorship Matchup program is a new initiative that pairs emerging or early career artists (mentees) with established professional artists (mentors) to address a variety of project-specific goals and gaps in the regional arts scene. The objectives of this program include:

skill development: help mentees achieve the professional goals of specific arts-based projects
knowledge sharing: provide mentors and mentees opportunities to enhance their local arts sector experiences
regional networking: expand professional interaction and collaboration between local artists at different levels

The program aims to support connections in the local arts community and new mentor-mentee relationships by providing compensation for mentors and coordination by City of Kitchener’s Arts & Creative Industries (A&CI) staff. The program is hosted and funded by 44 Gaukel Creative Workspace, a Downtown Kitchener facility that is used to support artist entrepreneurs, arts organization tenants and community groups.

The first cohort of the program, running January to May 2025, created 10 mentor-mentee pairings to collaborate on a variety of projects, including:

Ben Gorodetsky mentoring Julie Hall on movement coaching and collaboration
Tara Cooper mentoring Carol Walthers on expanding her visual arts practice
Lauren Prousky mentoring Sadie Ingle on interdisciplinary publishing experiments
Trisha Abe mentoring Evee Stanger on portfolio development as a tattoo artist
Jacob Irish mentoring Isaac Zepeda-Ayala on sculpture materials and assembly
Sam Nabi mentoring Rafik Alsamkary on music production and local presentation
Stephanie Scott mentoring Simone Cotrell on branding and career development
Heather Kocsis mentoring Mengchao Wu on branding and exhibit development
Fatima Garzan mentoring Tatiana Nikolaeva on visual language development
Faten Al Hariri mentoring Sofia Mantecon on visual arts technique and expansion

Eligibility requirements

Applications for mentees for the second cohort of the 2025 Mentorship Matchup program are open until 11:59pm on Sunday, May 4, 2025. Subscribe to this page to be notified about future opportunities to participate.

The program is open to artists who reside or work primarily in Waterloo region and can demonstrate a clear, active commitment to their practice.

Mentee applicants must:

be Canadian citizens or permanent residents
complete the mentee application and provide:
information about their artistic discipline
project-specific goal(s) and area(s) of interest
preferred availability for mentorship interactions
indication of the mentor profile that fits their goal(s)
- be able to attend an in-person orientation session and program kickoff on June 24, 2025 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the 44 Gaukel Creative Workspace (44 Gaukel St., Kitchener)
- commit to spending 20 hours of time dedicated to mentorship collaboration activities between July and November 2025

Mentors available during the second cohort include:

A professional printmaker who can offer technical knowledge about intaglio, relief and plate lithography, plus limited guidance on letterpress or screen-printing.
A mid-career visual artist working in 2D media (drawing, collage, photography) who can provide critique and advise on developing a body of work for exhibition or grant/residency proposals.
A filmmaker, media artist and screenwriter who can share knowledge about video and/or audio production, script development, cinematography and editing.
A country musician who sings and plays fiddle, mandolin and guitar, who can use their performance, touring, writing and recording experience to guide a mentee.
An artist-researcher engaged with contemporary Islamic visual culture and new media who can help a mentee to critically analyze and expand their practice within or relating to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) diaspora.
A DJ, electronic music producer and engineer who can provide insights about DJ technique and touring, or production orientation in Ableton or Cubase software.

Mentee applicants should be:

emerging artists with a confirmed project grant
recent postsecondary arts graduates
newcomer artists trying to acclimatize
individuals looking to advance their careers in the Waterloo Region arts sector

Mentee applicants must identify an arts project they are actively producing in 2025-26 with secured funds or other resources for which they would benefit from mentorship support. Alternatively, mentees can identify an entrepreneurial goal or strategic challenge they are committed to pursuing in 2025-26.

Applications that do not identify a committed project, entrepreneurial goal or strategic challenge will not be considered.

Selection process and criteria

A&CI staff will identify preferred mentee applicants using these considerations:

clear description and general viability of potential mentees’ artistic project, goal or challenge
alignment of mentees’ specific project goals with mentors’ experiences and preferences
compatibility of mentor-mentee schedules, communication and mobility profiles, etc.

Final selections and pairings will be made by the A&CI manager based on the following criteria:

strength and clarity of details provided by mentee applications
artistic merit of committed project identified by mentees seeking mentor support
feasibility of proposed support within the limitations of the program
anticipated impact of potential mentor on mentees’ current artistic development

Preference will be given to submissions from Black, Indigenous, and racialized individuals, 2SLGBTQIA+ community members, and people with disabilities or disabled people. Staff will apply this preference with the goal of improving the representation of distinct identities in City-funded arts programming. To support our efforts to create inclusive spaces and opportunities, applications from artists or teams that represent other equity-deserving groups can also self-identify.

We may find that fewer than 6 mentor-mentee pairings fulfill the project criteria. In this case, we may re-open the application process.

Compensation and expectations

All selected participants will be paid for full participation in the program, which includes:

orientation event attendance
at least 20 hours of self-directed meetings or connections
mid-program check-ins with A&CI staff
post-program recap with A&CI staff

There is no fee to apply or participate in the program. The compensation for selected program participants is $250 per person for mentees and $1000 per person for mentors. Participants receive final payment when the program is completed by invoice or honorarium; mentors will receive a partial payment at the start of the program.

Program schedule and evaluation

The selection and facilitation process for the second cohort, running from July to November 2025, will proceed as follows:

Thursday March 13, 2025: open call for program applications released via kitchener.ca
Tuesday, April 8, 2025: program information session at 44 Gaukel Creative Workspace
Sunday, May 4, 2025: deadline for receipt of applications from potential mentees
May 2025: selection and matching of mentors and mentees, including notification to all applicants
Tuesday, June 24, 2025: Mentorship Matchup orientation session and program kickoff from 6 to 9 p.m., at which we will outline program goals and expectations, and offer an opportunity for program participants to meet
July to November 2025: self-organized meetings, interactions and/or collaborations by mentors and mentees, consisting ofat least 20 hours at the discretion of mentor-mentee pairings
September 2025: mid-program check-in briefings and potential mentor-mentee troubleshooting with City staff, where participants will provide email updates about progress and experiences, or request additional meetings or interventions by the program administrator to address any issues
December 2025: post-program feedback collection for future programs and opportunities, plus a social celebration

Program evaluation and feedback will include analyzing participant surveys, emailed updates and other observations from meetings with mentor-mentee pairings and/or individual artists. A&CI staff will compile those inputs to determine and refine the program’s effectiveness and track data related to participant satisfaction, number of meetings or connections, collaborative objectives achieved, and so on.

Application

Applications for the second cohort of the Mentorship Matchup program are due at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, 2025. We will not consider incomplete or late submissions.

We are not responsible for damage to or loss of support materials.

If you have questions, please send us an email or call 519-783-8294.

Apply online

To apply online, complete the mentee application form.

Apply in-person or by mail

Online applications are preferred, but applicants can also submit a hard copy of their application if necessary. For hard copy submissions, please request a printable version of the application using the contact information below, then submit two (2) unbound copies of the application (page size 8 ½" x 11”) in an envelope either in-person or by mail.

In-person

Deliver your application to the customer service desk on the main floor of Kitchener City Hall, 200 King St. W., Kitchener. Your envelope must be addressed to:

ATTN: Eric Rumble, Coordinator, Arts & Creative Industries
City of Kitchener, Economic Development division
200 King Street West, 6^th floor
Kitchener, ON N2G 4G7

By mail

Mail your application to: