There are a number of Texas-based organizations offering classes, workshops, and opportunities geared toward helping artists develop their work and establish savvy business techniques. Houston has Fresh Arts, a non-profit that regularly hosts artist-centric programming aimed at helping creatives learn how to live off of sales of their work. Statewide, Texas has the Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts, a group of likeminded professionals dedicated to helping artists navigate bookkeeping and legal issues. And various arts organizations in other Texas cities, though they don’t take on art business education as their primary mission, offer the occasional “how to” class regarding best practices of selling art and navigating one’s career.
In addition to all Texas has to offer, the Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists (CHF), a New Mexico-based non-profit, currently has an open call for an online business course for artists. Open now through September 30, 2018, the call is for the fifth iteration of the organization’s Art-Business Accelerator Program. Twenty selected artists will receive free tuition to the program, which will happen remotely, allowing artists from across the U.S. to attend online courses, one-on-one sessions, and develop a national network of peers. The CHF sees this program as a sort of education follow-up to academic programs, since many universities don’t include intensive professional practice courses in their art curriculums.
After the one-year program ends, a selection of artists will continue to its second year, during which they will expand their business-knowledge base. In addition to business education and access to the organization’s learning portal, artists in the program will receive publicity through features on the CHF’s Thriving Artist podcast, and its various online accounts.
See below for eligibility requirements, via the CHF. Applications are due September 30.
To be considered for CHF’s Business Accelerator Fellowship, applicants must be professional painters, artists working on paper, and/or sculptors who:
—Employ traditional media (Applicants who use photography, film, and/or video will also be considered, but these may not be the sole media with which they work.)
—Have had their work exhibited and/or published professionally
—Are pursuing specific opportunities or projects for which business support from CHF would make a substantive difference
—Are United States citizens or permanent residents
—Have not previously been awarded a Fellowship or grant from CHF
CHF does not give preference to any particular movement, style, or art-world trend; all painters, sculptors, and artists working on paper are eligible.
