Apple announces global creative mentoring program for 2022

Apple’s Creative Studios attempt to inspire and ignite young talent.

Apple has announced the expansion of its Today at Apple Creative Studios sessions. It will provide more of these, in more topics, across more of its retail locations. It says sessions are designed to help young creatives with mentorship, training, and other resources. You may get a sense of what these sessions are like with this collection of Today At Apple shows you can watch from home.

Training to unleash creative talent

The program offers career-building mentorship, training, and resources across a wide range of artistic disciplines. This now includes curricula in app design, podcasting, spatial audio production, and filmmaking. Apple wants to get these sessions to young creatives from underrepresented communities around the world.

This year, Creative Studios will launch in seven new cities, including: Nashville, Miami, Berlin, Milan, Taipei, Tokyo, and Sydney. It will also return for its second year in Chicago; Washington, D.C.; New York City; London; Paris; Bangkok; and Beijing.

What are Creative Studios?

If you join a Creative Studios you will meet mentors from Apple and more than 30 nonprofit community specialists in areas such as books and storytelling, app design, radio and podcasts, and photography, film, and TV

You’ll be given hands-on education, training, and feedback on your projects. You will also be encouraged to consider how your talent can encourage social change in your community.

Over 400 young people participated in Creative Studios programming in 2021. Apple Store locations in select cities will also host public Today at Apple Creative Studios sessions.

What sessions and where?

Apple also shared the following information about this year’s sessions:

App Design (New York)

New for this year, Creative Studios New York will provide mentorship, insight, and resources to women and nonbinary creatives as they conceptualize apps to drive social impact.

Books and Storytelling (Miami, Washington)

Young creatives in Washington will hone their skills in creative writing and visual storytelling as they make their own board books, audiobooks, and storyboards. In Miami, Apple joins community partner O, Miami in a program for BIPOC+ emerging artists to explore storytelling through the creation of micro audiobooks.

Music, Radio, and Podcasts (Berlin, Nashville, Chicago, Paris)

• Aspiring musicians in Berlin will learn about radio production while exploring themes of belonging with guidance from inspiring mentors, working closely with Refuge Worldwide and Open Music Lab.
• In Nashville, in collaboration with the National Museum of African American Music, the program will specialize in spatial audio recording by granting participants access to Apple Music studios.
• In Paris, participants will build skills in creative storytelling, audio engineering, and recording through new programming focused on podcasting.
• In Chicago, young creatives from the Southwest Side will amplify their own narratives and stories around the theme of belonging and identity through an experience focused on radio production and audio/video experimentation.

Art and Design (Taipei, Milan)

• In Milan, participants will have the opportunity to create an inclusive media landscape through a program that celebrates the diversity of fashion, art, and design led by Afro Fashion.
• Taipei’s program will create a safe space for young people to explore gender and identity through creativity. These programs will guide participants through production, provide mentorship and inspiration, and create access to resources and insights from the design industry.

Photography, Film, and TV (London, Sydney, Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok)

• Participants in London and Sydney will explore identity, culture, and representation as they create short documentary films and build skills in cinematography, direction, and editing, with feedback and insight from established artists.

[Also read: Steve Jobs would probably watch this Today at Apple event]

• In Beijing and Tokyo, participants will receive professional guidance to dive into photography and videography to tell their own stories.
• Bangkok, Apple joins community partner Saturday School Foundation for a second year. They will offer a chance to explore a wide range of Apple-led sessions taught by Apple’s Creative Pro team. The focus will be on photography and music creation.

What Apple said

“Our stores have long provided a platform to showcase the great talent of local artists, and our retail teams are proud to play a role in supporting creativity within their communities and creating a place where everyone is welcome,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People.

“We’re enormously grateful to our Apple Creative Pros, our retail team members, and local partners, who together make it possible for us to expand access to free arts education and mentorship to even more communities.”

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