April 12, 2023

Opportunities to Build Your Art Career

By Margaret A. Keough

Poet Gustavo Adolfo Aybar, an Artist INC Live alum, explains the impact Artist INC gave his art career: It lent him a “perspective that I believe almost every kind of artist needs. So few of us had a business aspect to our education, it’s the perfect opportunity to gain that knowledge.”

Artist INC Live is one of the training programs that Mid-America Arts Alliance offers through its Artist Services division to help artists, musicians, and performers take control of their careers. Currently, across the Midwest and beyond, several opportunities are open for artists to learn how to expand their business practices and turn their art practices into sustainable art careers. Of note, opportunities have grown beyond the borders of M-AAA’s six-state region with new Artist INC programming in New Mexico.

Like all M-AAA’s artist services programming, these sessions and workshops immediately activate a network of artists in their community leading to additional peer-to-peer resource sharing and support, long after the workshop concludes.

Artist INC: Not your regular business class

Unlike other entrepreneur- and business-focused classes, Artist INC is tailored for the needs and challenges of working artists of any discipline—and are offered in different formats and time commitments. Artists learn and grow together in small groups led by peer facilitators.

Catalyze: Business training plus grant funding

For artists living in central Arkansas, a new professional development initiative called Catalyze has been made possible through the support of the Windgate Foundation.

Like Artist INC, Catalyze also connects artists of all disciplines to tools, resources, peers and opportunities necessary to develop their entrepreneurial skills and to strengthen their artistic practices. Plus, it provides up to $10,000 in practice-based grant funding.

Upcoming Sessions and Workshops

Artist INC Live, eight-week, in-person sessions

Who it’s for: Artist INC Live (AIL) is open to artists and creatives of all disciplines. AIL has a competitive application process, a substantial time commitment, and requires participants to be within a specific community. Artists should reside within a 60 mile commute from these program locations. We encourage artists who did not get accepted to AIL to attend Artist INC Express. All sessions are in person.

Gathering for one evening a week for eight weeks, participants learn strategic business skills specific to their art practice and how to apply those skills cooperatively with their peers. Using a groundbreaking class design, Artist INC Live guides artists as they learn and grow together through artist facilitator mentoring, small group application activities, as well as large group discussion and multimedia lecture.

Cost: $150

Artist INC Live – New session applications for Kansas City and St. Louis will open in early May! To learn more, we recommend attending an upcoming free What Works session.

Artist INC EXPRESS (AIX), virtual, nine- to ten-hour workshops

Who it’s for: Artist INC Express is open to artists and creatives of all disciplines and at all stages of their careers. In a non-competitive atmosphere, the goal of AIX is to make the Artist INC trainings and resources more accessible: free, virtual, open registrations, shorter time-frame, and a wider reach across region with the goal of building wider networks—beyond metropolitan areas and into to rural communities that may be underserved and under resourced.

For those who can’t yet commit or access an eight-week Artist LIVE program, Artist INC Express provides a two- to three-day, deep dive alternative. Artist INC Express is an intensive, nine-hour workshop created to address the specific professional needs and challenges that artists of all disciplines face.

Led by professional artist facilitators, the workshop is highly interactive and includes activities and discussions focused on goal setting, writing about your work, and building a personal brand—the building blocks for a sustainable art practice and a successful arts business.

Cost: Free

Artist INC Express workshops by state

Arkansas

Artist INC Express Elaine, Arkansas (May 20-21, 2023), in partnership with Arkansas Arts Council

Where: In-person, Elaine Legacy Center 313 College Avenue Elaine, AR 72333
Priority registration for Artist INC Express by May 17 at 5:00 p.m. CDT

Artist INC Express El Dorado, Arkansas (June 10-11, 2023), in partnership with Arkansas Arts Council

Where: In-person, South Arkansas Arts Center 110 East 5th Street El Dorado, AR 71730
Priority registration for Artist INC Express by June 7 at 5:00 p.m. CDT

Kansas

Artist INC Express Kansas – More info coming soon!

New Mexico

Artist INC Express New Mexico (April 18-20, 2023), in partnership with New Mexico Arts

Where: Virtual
Priority registration for Artist INC Express by April 11 at 5:00 p.m. MST

Artist INC Express New Mexico – Music (April 28-30, 2023), in partnership with New Mexico Music Commission

Where: Virtual
Priority registration for Artist INC Express by April 21 at 5:00 p.m. MST

Artist INC Express New Mexico – Native/Indigenous (May 12-13, 2023), in partnership with New Mexico Arts

Where: Virtual
Priority registration for Artist INC Express by May 2 at 5:00 p.m. MST

Missouri

Artist INC Express St. Louis SOLD OUT (April 14-16, 2023), in partnership with Regional Arts Commission

Where: Virtual
Priority registration for Artist INC Express SOLD OUT

Interested artists should register or apply quickly, as there is limited availability.

What Works, virtual or in-person, an hour and a half session

Who it’s for: What Works is open to artists and creatives of all disciplines and at all stages of their careers. In a non-competitive atmosphere, the goal of What Works is to provide an introduction to the Artist INC trainings and resources. The format includes a presentation as well as time for questions and discussions. What Works may be in-person or online.

Upcoming What Works Sessions:

Kansas City – Tuesday, May 2, 2023 – 5:30-7:00 p.m.
In-person, Charlotte Street Foundation, 3333 Wyoming St., Kansas City, MO
Presented by Artist INC Peer Facilitators, Summer Brooks and Jose Faus

Kansas City – Wednesday, June 7, 2023 – 5:30-7:00 p.m.
In-person, Charlotte Street Foundation, 3333 Wyoming St., Kansas City, MO
Presented by Artist INC Peer Facilitators, Kendell Harbin and Phil Shafer

Cost: Free

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M-AAA’s Artist Services division oversees a full suite of arts training, including Artist INC, Interchange, Artists 360, and Catalyze. Now in its twelfth year, Artist INC has been completed by more than 1,500 regional artists. Artist INC is supported in part by grants from the Windgate Foundation, the Hallmark Corporate Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Learn more about Artist INC at www.artistinc.art.

Margaret A. Keough Staff Writer

Margaret A. Keough is M-AAA's first Director of Advocacy, working to strengthen our region's arts and creativity sector through advocacy. For more than 30 years, she served in marketing and communications roles at M-AAA, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Keough holds undergraduate degrees in art history and advertising from the University of Kansas and a master’s in business administration from Rockhurst University.