Here Now is run by Never Not Creative –a not-for-profit committed to making the design industry a better place.
Australia is a multicultural, multi-faith, and multi-racial country but our design industry does little to reflect this. Our industry is failing BIPOC creatives and BIPOC students are being hit particularly hard.
In our industry, career advancement is often propelled by who you know, how wealthy you are, where you live, and what school you went to. This system results in a ‘network gap’ that sees diverse talent, who perhaps don’t have established industry connections, working twice as hard to get their foot in the door.
Here, Now aims to address this lack of representation by tailoring an industry led mentorship course to students in their final year of study. Because when creatives feel supported, represented, and seen, they’re set to create their best work.
We’re on a mission to connect emerging BIPOC talent to BIPOC creatives in the industry.
In groups of five, creatives will come together, face-to-face or online, to share their experiences, support one another, and offer each other advice. There’ll also be a dedicated Discord channel where conversations can continue between meet-ups.
Groups are made up of:
1 x Director level
1 x Mid or Senior level
3 x Graduates
Month 1
Share experiences and expectations.
Month 2
Taking the first step, before you get a job.
Month 3
Presence/talking about your work.
Cracking your 'elevator' pitch and making a name for yourself.
Month 4
Becoming part of a team, finding your advocates, and feeling accepted.
Month 5
Progression. How to know when you’re progressing and how to ask for and process feedback.
Month 6
How to stay authentic and confident in the workplace.
How to value your background and journey, and view it as your superpower.
* The program structure is by no means finalised. We would love to collaborate on monthly topics of discussion.
We believe we have a responsibility to connect the next generation of diverse creatives with a network of people who look like them and can identify with issues they may face. For Here Now to be as authentic and effective as possible, we need leaders in the industry, like you, to support them and nurture their talent. We think you would make an incredible mentor and would like to invite you to participate in the program.
Here Now is likely to commence in late September/October 2022. Should you choose to accept, the approximate time commitment would be:
- 1 x introduction session and kick-off with other mentors prior to the program's commencement.
- 6 x 1 hour monthly meetings (face-to-face or online)
- Availability via Dischord channel
