Arts Incubators Help Talent Grow
Many artists dream of making a living from their art, but lack the
business know-how it takes to make that dream a reality. A new trend in the
art world is changing that. Arts incubators are popping up across North America.
Arts incubators help artists and art groups with the process of starting,
growing and sustaining a business.
Leon Tongret is the president of an arts incubator in North Carolina. His
program provides artists with a low-cost studio space, including all utilities,
high-speed Internet, e-mail, website, telephones, copiers, faxes, printers,
mail and packaging services as well as access to secretaries and receptionists.
The incubator also owns and operates its own retail stores.
"This ensures that all our artists have access to a place that will help
to sell their work," says Tongret. "And we charge a very low commission of
25 percent versus the common 40 to 60 percent offered by all the other galleries
and stores who sell."
The artists can get training and mentoring, as well as help with business
planning, marketing, pricing and setting up booths.
Tongret adds that the program also tries to steer the artists away from
common mistakes made by new businesses, and help them focus on the most promising
opportunities.
They also try to keep their incubator artists in the public eye. "We offer
classes...in all the arts and use many of our talented artists to teach these
classes. This brings them additional income, as well as exposes more of the
public to their work."
You have to meet certain criteria to be accepted, however. "We do an assessment
of the artist's work," says Tongret.
"We review their plans of what they want to do. If their desires match
our model, and their work appears to have artistic merit and space is available,
they are brought on board.
"The Small Business Administration shows that 85 percent of all businesses
fail by their fifth year in business," adds Tongret.
"Most of these failures occur in the first year. However, studies done
of businesses who have taken [advantage] of small business incubators have
found that the statistics are reversed, i.e. that incubator graduates have
an 86 percent chance of surviving past their fifth year."
Dan Zeller is the artistic and executive director of an arts organization
in Chicago. His organization benefited from participating in an incubator
program.
"It was really important to get advice on how to build the organization
and further establish the community that would benefit from our efforts and
support our future activities," he says.
Zeller says his group was able to learn from people who had experience
in nonprofit art management. "Also, by being in the incubator, we were around
other arts organizations, so we were able to compare notes and exchange information."
The incubator Zeller worked with offered one-on-one meetings with an experienced
professional in the nonprofit community. "Her feedback, ideas and guidance
helped us so much -- she was fantastic," he says.
John White is the executive director of an incubator. He says that while
his area once supported many cultural arts such as the symphony, the artists
who were just starting out had no choice but to seek other options.
They were seeing 600 to 700 arts grads a year leaving the area to work
in places that supported them. White and his team determined that an incubator
would need to provide affordable studio, gallery and theater space and make
business training and advanced arts courses available to their community's
emerging artists.
Since its inception, White says, they have seen 30,000 visitors and artists
a year come through their doors. They now partner with a local university
to provide advanced art and business continuing education courses.
There are six resident artists who lease studio space on a monthly basis
and there are plans for more space in the future.
The growing number of arts incubators across North America has the once
tough art business looking a little friendlier.
Links
National Business Incubation Association
Get information on arts and business incubators across North
America
United States Small Business Administration
Offers tips and resources for the self-employed
Marketing Your Art on the World Wide Web
Get some tips on improving your online presence
Back to Career Cluster