Mentor Program

The Marguerite Bierman Mentorship Grant

For female students Majoring in Studio Art, Art History, & Animated Arts

The KU College of Visual and Performing Arts welcomes proposals for Mentorship projects to be funded by the Marguerite Bierman endowment. This endowment provides funding to support female KU Studio Art, Art History, Animated Arts majors participating in mentorship projects. Grants range from $500 - $2500 and go to students to support their work with professionals (male or female) in any professional project relating to the Visual Arts. These grants do not support fpr credit internships; they are for students to work one-on-one with an individual and to encourage the development of a relationship between the mentor and student.

Female instructor and female student measuring out a length of striped fabric
Female student painting a beach on canvas, with another painting of three women holding hands in the foreground
Instructor and student smiling as they hold up a freshly finished black and white print of abstract layers with varying patterns

Become a Mentor

Kutztown University seeks proposals from artists to serve as Mentors for female Studio Art, Art History, Animated Arts students receiving Marguerite Bierman mentorship awards. Mentors initiate proposals, and students apply to a posting of open mentorship opportunities once they are selected. Students may also seek out their
own mentors and submit a proposal in the similar manner as a grant application.

KU faculty may be also be mentors for projects existing outside of credited courses. Please read the information below, and consider submitting a proposal or forwarding this to any other visual arts professional who might appreciate having access to the work, help, and expertise of our students, and/or might be interested in serving in a mentor role for its own sake.

Students seeking out their own mentors must contact the artist for an initial inquiry regarding the proposal. The potential mentor must agree to the student’s request and both parties must understand that the project is contingent upon approval.

Benefits to Mentor

Benefits to the mentor include assistance on a professional visual art project and/or the opportunity to mentor a young woman artist. The financial award is paid to the student who may use the money any way she wishes. Students may choose to use the money to pay for commuting, travel, or living expenses to work with the mentor, or to compensate for lost time at a regular job to be available to the mentor. Money paid to the student should not, in turn, be passed to the mentor.

Project Proposal Information

Proposals should be project-based (with a clear timeline and outcome) and should describe the particular work that will be carried out by the student. Mentors may utilize their student’s time and skills to enhance or complete ambitious projects, and are encouraged to also allow the student to understand something of their lives, and to allow the student to gain some sense of the relationship between an adult’s professional life and his or her full life.

Approval of Mentorship Proposals

Each mentor application will be presented to a committee of representatives from each of KU’s Visual Arts Departments (Art Education and Art & Design). Approval will be based on the feasibility of the project, funding required, and appropriateness for our students.

I AM AN ARTIST/ ARTS ADMINISTRATOR, HOW DO I BECOME A MENTOR?

To have be considered as a mentor please send this in email to Karen Stanford (stanford@kutztown.edu - may be sent in the body of an email or as attached file)

Mentor Name:
Student Name (if you have one in mind):
Date:

1) Profession/Position/Organizational Affiliation (if any):
2) Is there a specific student in mind for this mentorship? if yes, name here:
3) Please describe the nature of the project, its timeline, and any scheduled outcomes (exhibits, publications,
presentations, artwork,etc.):
4) Please list any geographical requirements – where will the work be done, and will the student need to travel
or live in a different place:
5) Please list any specific skills or experience required:
6) Please describe the plans for student mentorship:

I AM A KU STUDENT, HOW DO I APPLY?

A list of open mentorships will be emailed to you. To respond to a mentorship opportunity, email the following documents as ONE PDF to the head of the review committee Karen Stanford (stanford@kutztown.edu). Don't forget! You may seek out your own mentors!

1) letter of interest (with mentor opportunity specified)
2) resume
3) the budget for you to fulfill this mentorship

About Marguerite Bierman 

Marguerite Bierman has made a significant gift to establish an endowed fund to provide encouragement and support for women entering the field of Visual Arts. This fund enables students majoring in either Studio Art, Art History, or Animated Arts to experience working with professionals in the field and have access to a mentoring relationship, with the goal of gaining an understanding of the interplay between the art profession and fullness of life in all aspects. Bierman was a 1979 Fine Arts graduate, she passed away from cancer in 2013.

 

Closeup on Margeurite in a Sharadin art gallery, smiling and looking to the left

Our Past Mentors

Something’s Looming, Reading, PA – Textile Gallery
Lydia Panas, Kutztown, PA – Professional Photographer
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA – Ceramic studio and gallery
Larry Gottheim, Yonkers, NY – Video Artist
Sondra Perry, New York, NY – Video Artist
The Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia, PA – Assistance with Ann Hamilton installation
Neighborhood Potters, Philadelphia, PA – Ceramic Studio
Julie Choma, Registrar, Berman Museum of Art, Collegeville, PA – Permanent Art Collection
Clay on Main, Oley, PA – Ceramic Studio and Gallery
Dr. Christine Atiyeh, KU Professor – Travel to Rome, Italy Archive Project
Mark Mahosky, KU Professor – Curation of Philadelphia Painters exhibition, KU Miller Gallery
Serena Perrone, KU Professor – Studio Assistance for Printmaking Exhibition
Jenna Perfett Photography, NJ - professional wedding photographer
Sandra Corpora, Bethlehem - working artist painter
Barbara Kilpatrick, NYC & Hudson Valley - multidisciplinary artist
Tim Sheesley, Otego, NY - master printmaker
Catharine Hawks, Smithsonian, DC - archivist

 

Rebecca Ritter, Somethings Looming, Reading - textile gallery
Tracy Green, Sunbrella Fabrics,
NC - textile company
Prof Ann Lemon, KU - repair of antique press
Prof Evan Summer, KU - professional printmaker
Prof Dan Talley, KU - solo exhibition of photography
Prof Leigh Kane, KU - video exhibition
Sophia Park - professional jeweler
Michael Radyk, Philadelphia, PA - textile artist
Tim Compton, Reading, PA - Goggleworks administrator
Lauren Beauchner, Easton, PA - professional artist
Alison Chen, Los Angeles, CA - animation/video artist
Marilynn Cowgill, New Hope, PA - textile artist
Whitney Walters, Philadelphia, PA - animation artist
Lyn Godley, Philadelphia, PA - light and installation artist
Cheryl Hochberg, NJ - painter, printmaker
Next Fab, Philadelphia - professional 3D studio
Prof Liz Schneider - animation exhibition
Prof Dr. Haxall - Motherwell exhibition catalogue
Andrew Brehm, NJ - professional sculptor
Katya Popova, DE - professional painter and magazine publisher
Prof Janna Gregonis - professional jeweler