Art as Mentorship
Empowering young people, through music, to write their own success stories.
Who We Are
Art as Mentorship is a Kansas City-based non-profit organization that takes an innovative approach to fully grasp young students’ full potential through music programs. We envision an inclusive community where under-represented artists are emboldened to raise their voices through music.
We believe the future will be made brighter by enabling the healing qualities of music to unite us and serve as a vehicle for social change.
Our team is made up of musicians, creatives and industry professionals who strive to lift the voices of our students.
What We Do
We provide our students with consistent support to propel themselves through self-discovery, emotional intelligence and the freedom of creativity. In our programs, we give students the chance to learn and grow from music industry mentors, many of whom are world-class, GRAMMY Award-winning professionals.
We work to transform young artists through access to world-class mentorship, real-world skill development and mental health support.
We give students access to resources and equipment they wouldn’t have otherwise to lift their voices and write their own stories.
Who We Work With
A diverse group of industry professional mentors are a part of Art as Mentorship. Grammy recognized artists, community organizers, and industry icons — Martin Kierszenbaum, Tim Anderson, Lili Trifilio of Beach Bunny, Kevin Morby, Ed Arenas of Chicano Batman, Jake Luppen from Hippocampus to name a few.
Students get 1-on-1 mentorship with real, working professionals. Day to day, the Art As Mentorship team directs and encourages kids along with mental health professionals.
Our Programs
Ignition Camp
The Rebel Song Academy’s Ignition Camp is our week-long songwriting bootcamp to find and ignite the creative spark within students! This camp appeals to a wide range of young artists — from seasoned musicians looking to enhance their songwriting skills, to those that have never picked up an instrument but love music. Students band together to create original songs and perform them at our Youth Summer Concert.
Recommended Ages: 11-18
Upcoming Dates: Summer 2023 Camp June 5-10
RSA Live!
In 2020, we launched RSA Live!, the supplemental sister program of our Rebel Song Academy. Operating in tandem with RSA, we give students/alumni real world opportunities to perform their music and events including Crossroads Music Fest, Plaza Art Fair, and many more!
We also connect students virtually with nationally-renown mentors to work directly with young artists of all backgrounds, empowering them, through music, to write their own success stories. Our industry-professional mentors work directly with students and answer questions in our virtual chat room.
Recommended Ages: All ages
Upcoming Dates: TBA
Rebel Song Academy
The Rebel Song Academy is at the heart of our programming. Our flagship 12-week music camp takes an innovative approach to exploring young artists’ full potential through creativity, mentorship opportunities, and fostering their inherent sense of exploration and achievement. Students work directly with industry-professional mentors to write, record, publish, and perform an original song.
Recommended Ages: 14-18
Upcoming Dates: February 1 – May 10, 2023. Signups for our Spring 2023 sessions are CLOSED.
AMERI’KANA
AMERI’KANA is a collaborative project between Art as Mentorship and Making Movies that explores America’s music– both past and present. This event highlights the contributions of Black, Indigenous, and people of color and how interwoven these individuals are in all of America’s stories through this musical festival in Kansas City. AMERI’KANA gives our students resources to learn about the origins of American music as well as performance opportunities at Celebrate AMERI’KANA Music and Arts Festival.
Recommended Ages: 11-18
Upcoming Dates: September 9, 2023 – Celebrate AMERI’KANA Music and Arts Festival
- Martha Lee Cain Tranby Music Enrichment Fund
- R.A. Long Foundation
- Tim Lyons Music Fund
- Paul & Marilyn Lyons
- Mike Lyon Foundation
- Terry Basham
Make your mark through a donation to Art as Mentorship.
Your donation goes directly to helping youth who would not receive it otherwise. Due to our small size and 1-on-1 mentality, every donation goes straight to a child’s aid. We have seen amazing outcomes. Our operation is small enough that a little bit of money goes a long way in funding young musicians’ dreams.