The Mentor Program

Mentor Program

For Artists

The Mentor Program is a virtual educational series that offers participants access to some of the most exciting people working in art, design, and craft today. The Society presents speakers on a range of topics, from art business management to thought-provoking and inspirational presentations about the value that craft brings to the world. Join us to learn first-hand from experts who can help advance your career and to discover the incredible and diverse ways craft impacts professionals in the arts and beyond! 

Tickets are $45 with a 15% discount available to Society members.

Fee waivers are available for individuals from historically underserved backgrounds; learn more below.

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Past Mentor Program Events

What exactly is “intellectual property” and why should you care?

Gain practical, pragmatic knowledge about copyrights, common e-commerce legal issues, trademarks, and how they affect your art and business with Mentor Program Speaker Douglas Sorocco, Esq.

Considering Machine Work as New Creative Craft Medium

Learn how a self-taught machinist and metalworker created a self-sustaining career inventing a new craft medium with Mentor Program Speaker Chris Bathgate.

Curating a Collection: Ulysses Grant Dietz

Mentor Program Speaker Ulysses Grant Dietz reflects on his 37 years as Decorative arts curator at the Newark Museum and discusses his personal history, acquisition priorities, and curatorial goals.

Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History

Learn the history of the laws of fashion from Mentor Program Speakers Richard T. Ford, author and Professor at Stanford Law School, and Petra Slinkard, Fashion Curator at Peabody Essex Museum.

Considering Machine Work as New Creative Craft Medium

Learn how a self-taught machinist and metalworker created a self-sustaining career inventing a new craft medium with Mentor Program Speaker Chris Bathgate.

Craft Schools: Where We Make What We Inherit

Join Mentor Program Speaker Michelle Millar Fisher to learn about “Craft Schools”, a multi-year project encompassing public programs, artwork acquisitions to expand the MFA’s contemporary craft collection, travel to meet artists across all 48 contiguous United States, and, ultimately, a publication framing modern-day craft as expansive, inclusive, and alive—inside and outside the walls of museums.

The Mentor Program is generously supported by the Maxwell / Hanrahan Foundation and individual donors committed to furthering the future of craft artistry and creativity.