This blog entry is dedicated to our mentors - both past and present. 

Alison St Ledger is one of the 2high Festival mentors for 2009.  I finally caught up with her on Friday to have a chat about the Brisbane arts community, what it is like to be actively contributing the professional development of young, emerging creative practitioners and also events in general! Alison St Ledger brings to the table (and to the 2high Festival music coordinators, Tian Zhang and Jacob Viel) years of experience in music, festivals, events and more including her experience in Brisbane Cabaret Festival.

How did Alison go from the very beginning of her practice to a position that she is in now - being a mentor figure?

Alison St Ledger sang in various live music venues in and around Brisbane until she realised or found out that she naturally fitted into an organisational and coordination type of role.  This is evident in her involvement as Program Director for the Brisbane Cabaret Festival.  However, she maintains the performer side of herself and uses this experience in her roles of programming and coordinating events.  Eventually, it had led to a conversation with Andrew Corey of Backbone Youth Arts and then finally an official role as a mentor for the two music coordinators for 2high Festival 2009 - Tian Zhang and Jacob Viel.

Throughout my conversation with Alison, I can tell that she is very much into the professional development of emerging artists and facilitators - talking about what technologies and tools that are available today and the programs running today such as the Creative Generation which is a specialised program aimed at high school students.  I asked her if she was involved in programs such as these when she first started out and she said "No, not at all!  If I had access to these programs, my pathway may have taken a completely different direction".

At the very end, I asked Alison to provide tips and advice in bite-size pieces that BCI readers can take away:

• Do not lose sight of your goals because it is easy to be distracted
• Keep the passion alive (somehow!)
• Always be prepared to change your direction
• Be philosophical about your direction
• Have the ability to adjust your goals when needed
• If you don't know...be prepared to ask!

Brisbane is in a great state of growth.  Let us look towards our emerging artists and coordinators who are making their mark.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and your thoughts on professional development (your own and others) and on the Brisbane community.  Good luck to the coordinators for this year!

2high Festival is brought to you by Backbone Youth Arts and will be at the Brisbane Powerhouse from November 13 to 14. 

Full list of mentors for the 2high Festival coordinators are:

Written by Hannah Suarez (2high Festival 2008 Online Coordinator)

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to read the following: Music Stimulants Discussion, Interview // Alanna Hankey, The Fort Arts Hub, Interview // Creative Industries and regional south-east QLD with Sarah Keating, Creative Industries & The City Pt 1, Interview // Justin Brow, Does Fashion Drive Music? Does Music Drive Fashion?, Under the Radar Forum at Metro Arts