The Resilience Programme is a mentoring initiative led by Applied Arts Scotland and Craft Scotland designed to help makers based in Scotland navigate the particularly challenging circumstances resulting from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Resilience Programme is supported by Creative Scotland.

Within the Scottish craft community, there is an enormous amount of collective knowledge and experience. We also know that the pandemic has forced makers to be even more innovative, reinvent their ways of working and rapidly learn new skills.

The Resilience Programme will help makers tap into this collective wisdom to gain new perspectives. In a supportive environment, participants will be able to take time to reflect and develop the resilience required to re-energise, revitalise and sustain their practice.

The programme is suitable for makers who are keen to embrace mentoring and expand its benefits across the craft community. The overall aim of the Resilience Programme is to support and encourage a mentoring culture in the Scottish craft community.

Applied Arts Scotland and Craft Scotland will develop resources to support makers in their understanding of the principles of mentoring and how to get the most out of it. We will also share information about other mentoring programmes across Scotland and the UK. These resources will be freely available through both partners’ websites for use by the craft community.

The Resilience Programme has two strands: Peer-to-Peer Co-Mentoring and Mentor/Mentee. Makers can choose which mentoring model best supports their needs and make one application to the strand that fits their needs.

Peer-to-Peer Co-Mentoring

>>> Deadline extended: midnight, Monday 12 April. Full information and application process on Opportunities

Connecting like-minded makers who are at the same career stage, Peer-to-Peer Co-Mentoring is an accessible, self-directed form of mentoring.

Co-Mentoring will help you to develop confidence and resilience through identifying your needs and opportunities for skills and information exchange.

The programme will match up to 15 pairs of makers to form mentoring relationships. The pairs will be matched based on the priorities highlighted in the application and introductions will be facilitated through the first workshop, with 4 to 6 further meetings as a pair.

This activity is voluntary and unpaid, participants will be able to make use of free check in sessions with Applied Arts Scotland and Craft Scotland to answer any questions about the process or to resolve any practical issues. There is no application or participation fee.

Selected participants will attend a workshop in April that will introduce the key principles of co-mentoring. You will hear from experienced speakers basketmaker Sarah Paramor and accredited life coach and maker Jenny Pope.

Mentor/Mentee

For makers looking to regroup after the disruption of last year, the Mentor / Mentee Strand can support you in building ambitious future plans through new ways of working and having the time/space for reflection.

You will develop confidence and resilience in your creative and business practice through both the Mentee Workshops and the Mentor/Mentee Strand.  

This strand invites applications from makers who are interested in being mentored by a craft and/or creative industry professional. Applications will open for Mentees on Thursday 6 May 2021. The Mentor / Mentee Strand is suitable for makers who have at least 2-3 years’ experience in their craft career.  

We are additionally running two Mentee Workshops in May to help support you in developing your application:

Workshop 1: Make it Happen with Creative Edinburgh

10am – 1pm, Thursday 6 May 2021. Book your workshop place via Eventbrite.

Booking deadline: 4pm, Wednesday 5 May 2021.

Workshop 2: Evolving Ideas with Heritage Craft Association

10am – 1pm, Thursday 20 May 2021. Book your workshop place via Eventbrite.

Booking deadline: 4pm, Wednesday 19 May 2021.

The Mentee Workshops are designed to help you identify how mentoring can help you achieve your goals. During the workshops, you will work through the areas in your creative and business practice that you want to explore through mentoring. The workshop leaders will give you the tools to transform your goals into a clear plan of action, and successful participants will then work with their mentor through this plan.