Artist INC Live Lawrence, a collaborative partnership between the Lawrence Arts Center, Kansas Creative Industries Commission and Mid-America Art Alliance announces the artists selected for the 2017 Lawrence session of the Artist INC Live seminar. With this roster of 21 area artists, the nationally recognized Artist INC program now includes Lawrence within the pioneering arts entrepreneurship program that has reached more than 500 artists in the region since 2009. Artist INC Live is designed to give artists from all disciplines the business training and support needed to strengthen their art practice and grow their arts business.
Area artists selected for the 8-week session that begins March 28 include:
Betsy Timmer, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Tressa Jones, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Carly Slade, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Stephen T. Johnson, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Shanna Wagner, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Derek Dobbins, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Nicholas Stahl, Visual Artist, Lawrence
David Zlotky, Visual Artist, Topeka
Kathleen Williams, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Jerry LaGue Dowdle, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Rosie Best-Cutrer, Theatre/performance, Topeka
Angie Schoenherr, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Diane Guthrie, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Alex Olson, Visual Artist, Lawrence
Gloria Gale, Visual Artist, Overland Park
Paul Punzo, Visual Artist, Lawernce
Kathy Pflaum, Visual Artist, Topeka
Kendra Lind, Visual Artist, Topeka
Chris Snipes, Film, Lawrence
Kristine A Luber, Visual Artist, Topeka
Oshara Meesha, Visual Artist, Topeka
Artists are selected for the program through a competitive application process and panel comprised of the leadership of local arts organizations and Artist INC alumni, representing a range of artistic disciplines. Criteria for acceptance are focused on the quality of artistic work, with consideration given for an artist’s career goals and overall readiness for the program.
Lawrence Arts Center Chief Program Officer and Artist INC Live Lawrence Administrator, Margaret Weisbrod Morris and explains: “The 2017 Artist INC Live Lawrence class reflects the rich diversity of artists and disciplines that defines our dynamic cultural community. The artists selected will finish the seminar with the skills necessary to sustain their arts practice and grow their arts business. They will identify Lawrence and the surrounding region as a supportive place in which to purse their careers and be successful as artists. It’s a win for the artist, and a win for our community. When this happens, everyone benefits.”
The Artist INC Live workshop addresses the specific business needs and challenges artists of all disciplines face every day. Artists gather for one night a week for eight weeks to learn business skills specific to their art practice and work to hone and apply those skills cooperatively with their peers. Using an innovative class design, artists learn and grow together through artist facilitator mentoring, small group application activities, as well as large group discussion and multi-media lecture.
Artist INC Live Lawrence is made possible with support from the Kansas Creative Industries Commission and the Mid America Art Alliance. The Artist INC program is a collaborative partnership of the UMKC Innovation Center and Mid-America Arts Alliance. Originally launched in 2007 as KCArtistLink, Artist INC connects Kansas City artists of all disciplines to the tools, resources, and opportunities necessary to develop their entrepreneurial skills and strengthen their artistic practice.
Artist INC programs include the original Artist INC Live eight-week seminar; two speakers’ series that connect artists with national and local experts in arts entrepreneurship; the Artist INC website; Artist INC Online; Artist INC’s official blog PushingTheFlywheel, a digital resource destination for the local artist community; and Artist INC II, an advanced project-based seminar available to all Artist INC Live alumni. In 2013, in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), Artist INC expanded into M-AAA’s six state region (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas) and has now delivered the 8-week Artist INC Live seminar to artists in Argenta, AR; Austin, TX; Lawrence, KS; Oklahoma City, OK; Omaha, NE; and Tulsa, OK.
Artist INC is made possible through grants from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, the innovative collaboration of Kansas City’s arts service organizations, and generous support from the Kansas City creative community and arts supporters, including the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation; Hallmark Cards; the Missouri Arts Council; and the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts. Artist INC also receives program support and guidance from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, the Kansas City Art Institute, the UMKC Small Business Technology & Development Center and numerous local area artists involved in the community planning process.