Te Moana Meridian by Sam Tam Ham.
Artist Services for Grantees
Since our founding more than 20 years ago, Creative Capital has been a leading provider of educational programs, professional development services, and other artist services to our grantees and artist communities across the country. Creative Capital believes in transformative grantmaking which provides artists with project funding and long-term professional scaffolding to help artists build thriving careers. We continue to invest in building out robust artist services for our grantees to keep pace with the needs of today’s contemporary artists who work regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Industry Connections
Creative Capital facilitates strategic professional introductions for new grantees, which are an opportunity for artists to speak directly with an industry professional about their Creative Capital project and practice. These meetings with interested and available industry leaders in visual arts, performing arts, moving image, technology and literature are designed to help artists move their Creative Capital projects forward.
Our database of industry contacts includes experts from 350+ major commissioning and presenting institutions, foundations, residencies, and publications across the country, including: American Film Institute, Artforum, Google, HBO, Luhring Augustine, MacDowell, MoMA, Onassis Foundation, REDCAT, Serpentine, Sundance, The New York Times, Zeitz MOCAA, and more.
Peer Mentorship
The greatest resource Creative Capital artists have is each other. Our grantees are exceptional, and frequently the Creative Capital grant is a catalyst for other opportunities, accolades, and impacts. We encourage grantees to connect with Creative Capital artists from previous years through a peer mentoring session. These sessions are an opportunity for grantees to speak artist-to-artist about their projects, practice, and career trajectories, and to forge personal connections.
Professional Consultations
In addition to meeting with industry leaders about their projects and practices, Creative Capital artists meet with professionals whose expertise can help them build long-term sustainable careers. These are five main areas where we provide support:
- Legal
Topics include: business structuring/entity types, contracts, copyright, rights, clearances, fair use, estate planning, trusts and wills, intellectual property, licensing.
- Financial
Topics include: budgeting and cash flow, debt management and credit repair, fundraising strategy, general financial literacy and financial health, grant writing, investing, managing multiple sources of income, real estate purchasing, investment, savings, retirement and contingency fund planning, tax planning.
- Communications
Topics include: audience development, community partnering and outreach, marketing strategy, messaging and branding, promotional strategy, public speaking, social media strategy, website building, review, and/or strategy.
- Planning and Management
Topics include: archiving and career documentation, business models for cross-sector growth: eg. value propositions, creative structuring, non-traditional financing and partnership, free speech rights: eg. copyright and fair use, protected v. unprotected speech, removal of artwork, negotiation skills, public art: eg. proposals, rights and clearances, working with municipalities, publishing, time management.
- Advising Multi-Session
Awardees are offered advising consultants who are trained to work with artists over a series of sessions and several months to: navigate challenges, change, and growth; increase confidence and agency; negotiate and secure opportunities; improve time management and work/life balance; make decisions and develop plans based on identified individual goals.
Community Building
Creative Capital convenes artists, industry experts, cultural producers, thought leaders, and philanthropists to benefit our grantees and the arts ecosystem as a whole. We believe in fostering a generous community of mutual support through artistic practice, friendships, networking, and giving back. Since the pandemic began, we have been mindful of health and safety concerns, respecting artists’ labor, accessibility and inclusivity for those with full-time jobs, childcare and family duties, and disabilities, as well as the ecological impact of hosting special events.
Regional Artist Gatherings and Events
We regularly invite grantees to participate in artist gatherings and events to showcase the extraordinary talents and projects of the artists in our community, and to inspire donors to continue supporting our work. We recognize that artists need more than funding and professional skills to build long-term thriving careers. Artists also need communities of trusted supporters, creatives, and collaborators. Creative Capital artist gatherings and joy-filled celebrations are designed to create lasting bonds and to build lifelong relationships. These are also valuable opportunities for grantees to network with cultural producers, experts, and potential funders of their current and future projects.
In 2022, we held regional gatherings in New York, Los Angeles, and Santa Fe.
Creative Capital Carnival
In June 2022, we launched our inaugural Creative Capital Carnival, which was an epic celebration of artists, freedom of expression, and care for our community. Our day-long program included: a screening of 2022 artists’ projects-in-progress videos at the Village East Cinema and via YouTube, lunch at the Penny Farthing restaurant in the East Village, and dancing past the Statue of Liberty at sunset on the Circle Line! It was our most accessible and inclusive artist gathering yet, with 800 artists and guests in-person and online. One guest described the celebration as “a much needed dose of creativity that rekindled some confidence that perhaps we can adapt and transform our relationship to each other and the earth.”
Watch the 2022 Creative Capital Carnival artist project videos.
Artist Retreat
Over the years, Creative Capital has held numerous Artist Retreats at university campuses in the summer. The events brought together artists, industry professionals, cultural producers, and patrons over a multi-day period which included workshops, networking, BBQs and meals, and live project presentations by the awardees in an auditorium. It was an intense and transformative experience for many artists and guests. During the pandemic, we were inspired to reimagine the Artist Retreat and create a new hybrid, and more sustainable format, Creative Capital Carnival.
*As of November 2022. All services are subject to change.