Our Story

Mentorly is the very loved brainchild of two women artist-entrepreneurs who, through personal experience and pain points echoed by hundreds of artists, sought to make arts mentorship more intentional, accessible, and immediate. They created Mentorly to bridge the gap in education, offering artists ‘real world’ guidance and, ultimately, contributing to a more vibrant art community. As working artists, Mentorly’s co-founders united over a common pain point.

On one hand, as professional dancer, Ashley would receive hundreds of informal requests for advice that would clog up her Facebook messenger and Instagram inbox. As much as she wanted to help these aspiring dancers, the channel seemed too informal and inefficiently set up for providing thoughtful guidance. Ashley knew that “finding the right mentor can make or break a career. Access to mentors needed to be democratized. Wisdom is meant to be spread, not just stay in an inner circle.”

Katherine, however, experienced the gap from a different perspective. “Founding a video production company right out of school and building it for the following 8 years was extremely rewarding, but also isolating at times. I often felt I missed out on the opportunity to build a network of peers and more importantly, experienced and like-minded professionals that I could look up to for guidance. What I really needed was a mentor.”

Both set out to fill this gap by building a platform that would foster creative exchanges and overall unite and strengthen the art community.

Every joining member helps to build a stronger community of artists that welcomes all levels, backgrounds, and creative disciplines. Welcome to the family!