By: Emily Clingman
Are you a closet artist? Do you sing in the shower? Have you ever wondered what the magic trick is to make money from your creative talents? Well, the new Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR) has launched a program just for you!
Visual artists, writers, musicians, performers, designers, arts administrators and all other creatives alike can learn about the business of art, connect with other artists and communities, and gain the support and resources they need through AIR.
Serving 10 states in the Intermountain West region, AIR, an ambitious initiative of Beet Street, created in partnership with the City of Fort Collins Cultural Services Department and the CSU School of the Arts, was designed to serve the local and regional arts culture by providing professional development classes, entrepreneurial and business training as well as other skills-based activities through distance learning, internships, collaborations and resource sharing.
“Lots of creative people choose to live in the remote beauty of the west,” said Beth Flowers, director of Beet Street. “The very qualities that make the west desirable to live and be inspired, can also mean isolation and lack of professional development access for artists.”
This exciting new program has different levels of participation available. Membership to the website is free, and highly encouraged.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for local artists to connect with other like-minded folks in the region,” Flowers said. “It’s a great marketing too – to put your profile out there, and for artists to connect with other artists that they normally would have never encountered.”
A paid membership to the website offers more amenities like unlimited uploading of creative works and access to online resources and webinars. The home base of AIR is moving into the old Fort Collins Museum building to offer classroom instruction and workspace for artists.
“Ideally, we teach you how to quit your day job,” Flowers said. “The ‘starving artist’ stereotype ends here.”
For more information on how to change your life as an artist, go to: http://www.airartsincubator.org/
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