Creative Entrepreneur Fellowship accepts 9 local artists

Discover Roxbury, a neighborhood arts and culture advocacy organization, in partnership with the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston, offers the Creative Entrepreneur Fellowship (CEF) program to a second group of artists that invests directly in the artistic practice of each of the artists. For the next 9 months, artists will be introduced to the tools needed to build momentum for their individual career growth.

The program includes personalized goal setting, one-on-one coaching, skills-training seminars, a stipend for business-related purchases, and an opportunity to showcase work at a capstone event. CEF providesa customized professional development experience for 9 individuals selected through a competitive application process. The program kicks off in November and runs through June. Workshops will be held in Roxbury, as well as at the offices of the Arts & Business Council (A&BC) in Fort Point. The inaugural year of this fellowship was held in 2014-2015.

Alyssa Lee, Discover Roxbury’s Executive Director said, “We’re excited about this opportunity because it will help build capacity for the participating artists as they grow their businesses. Additionally, we see the building of their capacity as part of the building of capacity for Roxbury’s creative community.”

A competitive application process identified the artists who will receive customized business instruction, mentorship, and services to advance their artistic practice. The artists are:

Craig Bailey

Malika Circhlow

Lynda Hester

Jacqueline Johnson

Toussaint Liberator

Jennifer MacDonald

Ayana Mack

Christle Rawlins-Jackson

Susan Thompson

The Arts & Business Council and Discover Roxbury will work to propel the careers of these artists by removing barriers and creating momentum in their business practices. The Creative Entrepreneurs Program launched in November 2015 and runs through May 2016, offering the nine individual artists hands on coaching and mentorship. The program includes personalized goal setting, eight optional open enrollment courses, and workshop dinners with special guest speakers.

Discover Roxbury’s association with the A&BC began a few years ago when the organization first offered artists in our community opportunities to engage with another A&BC program, the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

Discover Roxbury promotes civic engagement and economic development in Roxbury through tours and events which leverage the neighborhood’s artistic, cultural, historic, and culinary assets. For more information visit Discover Roxbury at www.discoveryroxbury.org