THE NEXT TALENT INCUBATOR PROGRAM
Take your passion and purpose to new heights
Are you a young creative with work waiting to be discovered? OWN Academy is looking for 12 high-potential talents each for Soho House Hong Kong and Mumbai. You must be 18 – 30 years old and of legal drinking age in these cities at the time of application. You also have to be in the country where the program is being conducted.
You have a story worth telling. You can start here.
Apply for the 2022 cohort. Application is on a first-come, first-served basis, cutoff is on July 15, 2022.
Our Mentors
Our past mentors are Hong Kong and Mumbai’s biggest stars in architecture, film, food, technology, media, and social impact. We’ve worked with the likes of Young Global Leader CEO Gary Liu, award-winning illustrator Jonathan Jay Lee, curator and multi-talented artist Maria Wong, eminent film producer Siddarth Roy Kapur, and well-known restaurateur AD Singh just to name a few.
What you get
1
Get a sought-after year-long membership at Soho House
2
Gain access to creative leaders of the Soho House network
3
Learn business tactics through professional development workshops from the industry’s best
4
Build genuine, lifelong friendships with other Next Talent Incubator mentees
Expectations from mentees
As a mentee you must be physically available in Hong Kong or Mumbai from August 15 to November 15, 2022. At the end of the engagement, you will present the final outcome of your project through an exhibition at Soho House. During the 12-week program, you will meet with your mentor once every 2 weeks, depending on their availability.
OWN Academy will be regularly checking in to support mentees throughout the 12-week program. Mentees are expected to complete the orientation, set project goals, perform community-building exercises, attend program check-ins, create reflection videos, and participate in skills training sessions.
Stories that inspire
The world isn’t fair, but for others, the scales are tipped so unfavorably that they almost disappear. Terenia Puspita, a domestic helper in Hong Kong, knows the feeling all too well. In an effort to shine a light on her community, she created a short film called The Thin Line under the mentorship of Louise Wong, the founder and creative director of Creative City. With Louise’s guidance, Terenia captured the mental struggles of Hong Kong’s migrant workers in a profoundly poignant manner, delivering a message that doesn’t just hit home, but also resonates well beyond its intended audience. For one glorious moment, all of us were seen.
An Emerging Artist
In pursuit of art, one needs to face one’s own fears. For Natalie Ng, a Creative Media and Advertising student at the Open University of Hong Kong, said fears stemmed from feelings of self-doubt. With award-winning illustrator Jonathan Jay Lee guiding her, however, Natalie gained the confidence to draw a brighter future for herself.
Her first project: A comic book featuring Avonatie, an original character that mirrors her own curiosity about the world. In 12 weeks, Natalie didn’t just complete the challenge; she also made her formal debut as an artist in a mini exhibit at Soho House Hong Kong.
A Future Best-selling Novelist
Words have weight and Karina Lao is using that power to tell the story of an LGBTQ couple in traditional and conservative Hong Kong. Under the experienced tutelage of South China Morning Post CEO Gary Liu, Karina was able to bring to life characters she’s had inside her and a story she’s wanted to share for so long to a wider audience.
All throughout the 12 weeks, she felt constantly inspired to create and improve her storytelling skills. By the end of the program, she had a noteworthy excerpt in her hands, the pages of which might just be in tomorrow’s next best seller.
Apply for the 2022 cohort
Application is on a first-come, first-served basis, cutoff is on July 15, 2022.
