Artist INC Joins Mid-America Arts Alliance
By Margaret A. Keough
Mid-America Arts Alliance Acquires Artist INC Program from UMKC
M-AAA announces that it has acquired Artist INC as the program completes ten successful years with the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) Innovation Center. Artist INC began in Kansas City as KCArtistLink, a collaborative project of ArtsKC, Charlotte Street Foundation, and the UMKC Innovation Center, and began partnering with M-AAA in 2013 to expand training to individual artists throughout the M-AAA six-state region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Artist INC empowers individual artists of all disciplines by connecting them to the tools, resources, and opportunities necessary to develop their entrepreneurial skills and strengthen their artistic practice.
“We have seen incredible results in the careers of artists and know that the transfer of the program to Mid-America Arts Alliance will allow Artist INC to greatly expand its reach,” said Maria Myers, Director of UMKC’s Innovation Center.
Todd Stein, CEO of Mid-America Arts Alliance, said, “Artist INC makes a direct impact in the lives and careers of artists while drawing artists and communities together to strengthen their creative economies. Our close partnership with the UMKC Innovation Center, the broad appeal of Artist INC throughout our region, and our shared belief that the transfer of Artist INC to M-AAA is the next logical stage in the life of the program, makes M-AAA’s acquisition a natural next step in the evolution of Artist INC.”
“Transferring Artist INC to M-AAA opens up opportunities to empower more artists to create sustainable careers and grow their arts businesses in more communities across the region and potentially across the country, while continuing to serve the Kansas City artist community that has benefited from our work since 2009,” said Cordes.
