Investing in the success of artists

When we began the Boston Creates planning process, we heard from many artists that there was a need for more professional development opportunities and educational resources in Boston for artists to be able to develop financial literacy, strong marketing skills, and other tactics that would help them succeed. There was also a strong need for more grant funding, and a larger investment in individual artists.

That’s why we were so excited to partner with Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA)’s Assets for Artists project, which provides artists in all disciplines with professional development workshops, financial and business coaching, grants, and artist residencies to strengthen their financial and business capacity and help them sustain a lifetime of creative excellence.

This is the second year that we have helped bring Assets for Artists’ Matched Savings Program to the City of Boston. The program provides participants with mini-grants to match their savings progress, and the combined amount is used by the artist toward implementing their career plan. Artists selected to receive grants also get free professional development services and free one-on-one coaching as part of the program. This year, we funded 10 slots specifically for Boston-based artists.

The 2018 Boston-based artists accepted into the Matched Savings Program are fashion designer Cassandra Cacoq, dancer Jesse Jeanne Stinnett, painter Sawool Kim, muralist Lena McCarthy, journalist Candace McDuffie, musician Andria Nicodemou, musician Sara Pajunen, sculptor Gianna Stewart, musician Billy Dean Thomas, and multimedia artist Ngoc-Tran Vu. Learn more about the artists and their work here.

By investing in individual artists in this way, we’re ensuring that they have the resources and assistance they need to stay in the City of Boston and be successful in their careers. We can’t wait to see how else we can work with organizations to support local artists in the future. One thing we have coming up is our free workshop on “How to Make the Most of Open Studios,” where artists will learn the ins an outs of arts marketing, and how to improve their outreach through social media, e-marketing, print materials, engagement, and follow-up. This is a great opportunity for artists looking for ways to sell their work and capture the interest of potential buyers, and we encourage you to join us on May 20th from 2-4 p.m. at the Central Branch of the Boston Public Library.