Dates:

27 Jan 2024 - Ongoing

Location:

London, United Kingdom

ICF’s Professional Development Programme provides support to emerging and early-career creative practitioners through a new Mentorship Programme, and a series of biannual Peer-led Studio Sessions and Network Gatherings.

This offering is designed to foster new strategic and supportive relationships in the arts sector, and create a forum for critical peer-led discussions and exchange. The Programme facilitates opportunities to connect, share experiences, learn from and engage with the wider ICF network – one of ICF’s greatest resources.

All elements of ICF’s Professional Development Programme are free to attend and participate in, and we aim to make our events as accessible and responsive to the needs of our network as possible.

We define emerging or early-career not in relation to age, but in relation to the level of experience or opportunity practitioners have been able to access.

Join the ICF Network

For emerging and early-career practitioners interested in engaging with ICF’s Professional Development Programme, we’ve launched ICF’s Professional Development mailing list. By subscribing to the mailing list, you’ll become part of ICF’s network and be the first to hear about ways to participate in our Professional Development Programme, including upcoming Peer-led Studio Sessions and Network Gatherings and open calls for our Mentorship Programme.

Join Mailing List

All elements of ICF’s Professional Development Programme are free to attend and participate in, and we aim to make our events as accessible and responsive to the needs of our network as possible.

We define emerging or early-career not in relation to age, but in relation to the level of experience or opportunity practitioners have been able to access.

Join Mailing List

Dates:

27 Jan 2024 - Ongoing

Location:

London, United Kingdom

Mentorship Programme

In 2026/27 ICF launched a new Mentorship Programme, formalising the mentorship work that we have been doing organically since the organisation was founded in 2007.

The pilot year of the Mentorship Programme will provide free, focused, short-term one-to-one mentorship to emerging or early-career creative and cultural practitioners of colour based in London.

ICF’s Pilot Mentorship Programme 2026/27 will be rolled out across three cohorts, each over a 4-month period:

Cohort 1 – May to August 2026
Cohort 2 – August to November 2026
Cohort 3 – November 2026 to February 2027

Applications for Cohort 3 are now live, and we are excited to confirm that our Mentors are Larry Achiampong, Dr Ajamu X, Tanya Auclair, Ain Bailey, Suzanne Dhaliwal, Anu Henriques, Daniella Rose King, Tobi Kyeremateng, Siphiwe – Nokukhanya Mnguni and Keith Piper.

The application deadline for Cohort 3 is 7 September 2026, 11.59pm.

Our Pilot Mentorship Programme launched in May 2026 and the first two cohorts have supported practitioners who are signed up to our Professional Development Newsletter. We’re delighted to share that the Mentors for Cohorts 1 and 2 are Tamar Clark-Brown, Andrew Pierre Hart, Annie Jael Kwan, Erin Li, Michael McMillan, Harold Offeh, Anjalika Sagar, Rhea Storr and Zoé Whitley.

And the Mentees for Cohorts 1 and 2 are Ayo Akingbade, Stephanie Chung, Sibahle Serpent Daniel, Bella Denise, Tyreis Holder, Niki Kohandel, Djofray Makumbu, Ngo Chun Tse and Joshua Woolford.

How the Programme works
London-based creative and cultural practitioners of colour in need of short-term, focused one-to-one mentorship are invited to apply via a short application process.

Selected via open call, Mentees will be matched with an experienced Mentor within the arts sector, based on overlapping availability, expertise, goals, needs and professional practice. Mentees will receive three one-to-one mentorship sessions and attend an in-person cohort networking session hosted by ICF. Mentees and Mentors will also have access to group training and online check-in sessions to support a successful mentorship experience.

Consultation and co-production by Isabel Sachs for the initial development and delivery.

ICF Peer-led Studio Session with Annie Jael Kwan for Brent Biennial EARTH Ritual (2025), ACAVA Studios. Images by Kataryzna Perlak.

ICF Peer-led Studio Sessions

ICF’s Peer-Led Studio Sessions are an opportunity to provide relaxed, peer-led spaces for practitioners to share their work, connect with others in the network, and exchange ideas in a supportive environment.

Previous Sessions:

ICF Peer-led Studio Session with Pelumi Odunbanjo for Ten.8 afterimage at The New Art Gallery Walsall – 11 July 2026

For this session, we are inviting a group of London-based practitioners to join us for a group visit to the exhibition Ten.8 afterimage, at The New Art Gallery Walsall. The day will include an exhibition tour by the exhibition’s curator, Pelumi Odubanjo, and an intimate peer-led session discussing Pelumi’s curatorial practice and the process of curating a photography exhibition. Train travel and light refreshments are covered by ICF and The New Art Gallery Walsall.

ICF Peer-led Studio Session with Tayo Rapoport and Rohan Ayinde – 13 August 2024

For our pilot session, we met with a group of practitioners to watch and discuss iwoyi: within the echo (2024), a film created by Tayo and Rohan in collaboration with Touching Bass. The work was commissioned by Dr Aleema Gray for Beyond the Baseline: 500 years of Black British Music (2024) at the British Museum.

ICF Peer-led Studio Session with Annie Jael Kwan for Brent Biennial EARTH Ritual – 26 July 2025

In this session, we met at ACAVA studios in Wembley for a day of programming around Brent Biennial’s EARTH Ritual and a group discussion with the Biennial’s curator, Annie Jael Kwan. The session included a guided artist walk through Barham Park, a shared picnic lunch, and a curator and artist-led tour of the exhibition. Explore the image archive for this studio session here.

ICF Peer-led Studio Session with Bernice Mulenga for LMK WHEN U REACH at Auto Italia – 20 October 2025

In this session, we met at Auto Italia for Bernice’s first institutional solo show, LMK WHEN U REACH (2025). It was an opportunity to share space, discuss the exhibition, look at previous works by Bernice and delve into themes surrounding the archive. Explore the image archive for this studio session here.

ICF Peer-led Studio Session with Bernice Mulenga for LMK WHEN U REACH (2025), Auto Italia. Image by Antonia Adomako.

Network Gatherings

ICF’s Network Gatherings bring together members of our network over food and drinks in a relaxed, informal setting. These events are designed to foster connections across the sector, creating opportunities for meaningful conversations, collaborations, and future partnerships.

Explore the image archive for our network gatherings here.

Previous Gatherings:

2025/6 Advisory Group Network Gathering – 8 July 2026

Marking the end of their year with us, our 2025/26 Advisory Group – Abbas Zahedi, Alexandrina Hemsley, Andrew Pierre Hart, Angela YT Chan and Erika Tan – are hosting a network gathering for practitioners who have contributed to our programmes.

2023/4 Advisory Group Network Gathering – 27 January 2024

For our pilot network gathering, ICF’s 2023/4 Advisory Group – Larry Achiampong, Zadie Xa, Ajamu X, Sylvia Theuri and Sunil Shah – hosted a gathering with us for all of the practitioners who have contributed to ICF’s programmes since 2020.

Practitioners Network Gathering at San Mei Gallery – 6 June 2025

We invited practitioners who had contributed to our programmes to join us for an evening of food, drinks, music and conversation.

ICF x Metroland Practitioners Network Gathering – 25 March 2026

We welcomed members of our professional development programme for an evening at Metroland Cultures. The event began with a tour of the space led by Louise and Lizzie from Metroland, followed by a Q&A exploring their work and the ideas that shape their practice.