UMKC hatchling Artist INC takes on new ownership, regional expansion
August 25, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Artist INC, a program supporting hundreds of Kansas City artists, announced Thursday that it has new ownership and will further expand in the region.
Formerly a program of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center, Artist INC is now housed and fully supported by the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA).
A regional arts nonprofit, M-AAA serves Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Each year, M-AAA provides thousands of educational programs and performances for about one million children and adults in the Midwest.
The decision to spin off Artist INC into a new leadership will allow the career development program to expand its reach to more artists nationwide, said Maria Meyers, executive director of the UMKC Innovation Center and KCSourceLink.
“Artist INC has spent the past 10 years testing its market, refining its products, and proving its sustainability and vital importance to local and regional artists,” Meyers said in a release. “Now, with the M-AAA, it enters a new era and a renewed promise of big market opportunities for artists nationwide.”
Originally launched in 2017 as KCArtistLink, Artist INC connects artists with resources, tools and educational opportunities to develop entrepreneurial thinking skills.
In 2013, the UMKC Innovation Center partnered with the Mid-America Arts Alliance to expand the reach of Artist INC in communities throughout the Midwest. The program is now available in such cities as Lawrence, Omaha, Tulsa, Austin, Houston, Springdale, Arkansas and others.
Carmen DeHart, director of outreach programs at UMKC Innovation Center, said that the center is proud of Artist INC for its momentum and growth.
“It’s made a real difference, helping our artists build sustainable and rewarding careers—and even businesses,” DeHart said in a release. “The opportunity to bring that proven program to a national platform can change the game for so many of our creators, makers and performers and help them not just live for their art, but to truly turn their art into a living.”
In addition to the UMKC Innovation Center, the program has received support from ArtsKC, the Charlotte Street Foundation, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Missouri Arts Council, Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation, Hallmark Cards, the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts and others.
Programs in the UMKC Innovation Center include Whiteboard2Boardroom, Digital Sandbox KC, ScaleUP! Kansas City and the UMKC Small Business and Technology Development Center.
Here is more information on the available Artist INC programs:
Artist INC Live — an eight-week seminar focused on the professional development of emerging and mid-career artists
Artist INC Advance — for graduates of Artist INC Live, artists and peers work together to expand on their entrepreneurial skills and apply them to specific projects or pursuits
Artist INC Express — a two-day intensive workshop aimed to address the specific business challenges artists face
What Works — 120-minute workshops sharing the successful traits of artist entrepreneurs.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Chain of Trust manages secret passwords after coffee shop meetup, corporate departure
From Starbucks to startup, a swipe right on networking opportunities led two Kansas City, Kansas, men to an adventure in tech entrepreneurship — disrupting the secret management space with the inception of Chain of Trust Technologies, they said. “If you’re going to be an entrepreneur, get people who you can talk to that can give…
Latest Pipeline fellows include familiar KC founders, startups focused on eSports, saving pets, ‘hearables’
Eight Kansas City startup founders have the opportunity to build a lifetime of high-level entrepreneurial support as 2019 Pipeline fellows, said Joni Cobb. The Pipeline network of top-tier Midwest founders announced 13 new fellows last week at the organization’s annual Innovators event, staged this year in Omaha, said Cobb, president and CEO of Pipeline. More…
Crema apprenticeship effort aims to decode a more inclusive talent pool
Crema’s recent growth means more than an additional Crossroads office space for the startup, said Gabby Brotherton. It provides bandwidth for the firm to supplement Kansas City’s tech talent with a new apprenticeship program. “[Crema is] very much a company that values collaboration and innovation learning,” said Brotherton, marketing specialist at the software development firm.…
Biopesticide AgTech building toward RNAissance with TechAccel cultivation
KC-based TechAccel endeavors to guide startups through “the valley of death” stage that emerges after ideation, but before traction, said Brad Fabbri, noting the firm’s new venture, RNAissance Ag, is expected to disrupt the ag tech industry with environmentally-safe biopesticides. “We try to find products and help develop them to make [farmers’] lives easier and…