Artist Lab

Creative Capital Artist Lab delivers expert-led online learning for artists, blending lectures and discussions, video, and text-based materials, alongside practical exercises, best practices, and case studies—all available to explore at your own pace.

Course Platform Update

Dear Creative Capital Community: We regret to inform you that the Artist Lab’s host platform, Canvas Free for Teacher, has been discontinued as of May 2026. As a result, Artist Lab online written courses are temporarily unavailable while we plan to transition the written content to another platform. In the meantime, please feel free to explore and share the Artist Lab Webinar content. Thank you for your understanding. For more information regarding Canvas changes, please click here.

Grant Writing & Promoting Your Practice guides artists through the essential tools for representing their work, including artist bios, artist statements, CVs, project proposals, and grant applications. The course also covers project budgets, documentation, archiving, social media promotion, and low-stress networking strategies to help artists clearly communicate their work and expand their professional opportunities.

Communications for Artists focuses on how to articulate your artistic identity clearly so the right people connect with your work. Through a series of modules, participants will learn how to communicate effectively on portfolio websites, social media, and in interviews. The course will also cover how to network, how to pitch events to press outlets, and how to keep your digital identity secure.

Building Your Financial Future focuses on managing money with the particular financial needs and circumstances of artists in mind. From taxes and retirement, to managing self-employment and multiple income sources, it offers practical and accessible tips and resources to help artists organize finances and bolster financial confidence.

Audience Engagement provides fundamentals for engaging audiences through touring performance and explores case studies from leading performing arts professionals. Participants will learn how to set goals for touring your work, key terms for contracting, and the logistics of self-producing and funding. You will also hear from performing artists and programmers discuss case studies of how they work with audiences within and beyond traditional performing arts spaces.

Taxes for Artists breaks down the types of taxes artists may encounter, from federal and state income tax to employment and sales taxes, including how rates work and how they’re calculated. Artists will learn how to track income and expenses, and review common business deductions for self-employed artists. The course also covers when it’s worth working with an accountant and what to look for in a tax professional.

Legal Basics for Artists introduces essential legal concepts for creative practice, including who owns artwork created across different working relationships—such as partnerships and collectives, employment and independent contracting, and collaborations with presenting organizations. The course also explores when to form a legal entity and provides practical tools to help artists assess copyright ownership, evaluate creative collaborations, and prepare for an initial meeting with a lawyer.

Insurance for Artists helps participants understand how to evaluate coverage based on their practice, business needs, and personal risk factors. Because every policy is different, this course emphasizes how to read insurance terms closely, identify what is—and is not—covered, and choose coverage that aligns with individual needs. Across six modules, artists will learn how to make informed decisions in advance, so they are better prepared when insurance matters most.

Creative Capital Artist Lab online courses are created by art professionals, industry experts, and fellow artists who share vital concepts, skills, and tools to help grow artists’ careers. Courses are delivered through online lectures and discussions, videos, and text-based learning formats—and include exercises, best practices, and case studies that can be explored at your own pace.

Courses are available in English and Spanish. Videos include ASL and Spanish interpretation, as well as CART services. Interested in integrating Artist Lab into your institution? Learn about Artist Lab Institutional Membership.

Artist Lab is free for individual, personal use. Read the terms of use.