OFFF Academy and Adobe are giving Europe-based applicants under 30 the chance to spend seven months working on a project with a personal mentor

It’s been over six months since the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill, immeasurably altering our way of life. One sector particularly affected by the crisis is the creative industry, which has seen galleries, music venues, theatres, and more shuttered – with many still unable to open.

Without our cultural fix, and with many of us trapped inside due to lockdowns and mandatory self-isolation periods, finding creativity for our own projects is harder than ever. It’s against this backdrop that OFFF Academy is launching the 2020/21 edition of its Creative Mentorship, sponsored by Adobe, which aims to reunite you with your creative superpowers.

The Creative Mentorship – which you can apply for here – gives six Europe-based applicants under the age of 30 the chance to be mentored by leading industry experts. Winners will spend seven months bringing their personal creative project to life, with mentorships offered for disciplines including 3D work, art direction, motion, video, photography, and interaction design.

Each mentor will host monthly online sessions with their mentees, and offer email support to curate their projects. Adobe will also give the six winners an all-expenses-paid trip to visit their mentor and spend two days at their studio, as well as the opportunity to present their project on-stage at OFFF 2021 in Barcelona.

One of last year’s winners, Moscow-based aspiring 3D artist Vlad Dultsev, travelled to London to work alongside director, designer, and animator Will MacNeil, who works for video production studio The Mill. Speaking about the mentorship scheme earlier this year, Dultsev described it as “an engaging experience”. He said: “I’m constantly learning something new, doing completely new things for myself, and even conducting research. This is my first project in motion, so I’m discovering a whole new world.”

Dultsev’s concept centred on exploring the effects of urban architecture on a city’s digital portrait, and premiered on August 12 – you can watch it here.

For those interested in applying this year, all you need to do is select your discipline, and share your project or new idea with OFFF Academy. Applicants should submit a brief of the creative concept they’d like to develop – you can find more info and apply here.