PROGRAMS

ArtsBuild is proud to offer several community programs that fit with our mission to build a stronger community through the arts. Through these programs we aim to expand skills and experiences for creatives, entrepreneurs, and young administrators working in the arts and culture sector.

Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training

Periscope is a year-long intensive training opportunity that empowers working artists to see their creative practice through an entrepreneurial lens. Led by highly experienced instructors from within Chattanooga’s entrepreneurial community along with break-out sessions facilitated by Chattanooga’s top arts professionals, Periscope is designed to be a transformative experience for each artist, sparking the moment when their career may really start to take off.

The experience is limited to 25 artists, artisans, makers, and creative entrepreneurs of all artistic disciplines in the Greater Chattanooga region. An intensive curriculum explores tools to organize, plan, and sustain a creative career, with the goal of developing an individualized business plan to prepare each artist to take their creative endeavors to the next level. The course consists of eight consecutive weeks followed by six months of one-on-one mentorship culminating in the Periscope Pitch + Artist Entrepreneur Showcase.

Periscope CHA: Artist Entrepreneur Training is a program created by the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and initially conceived in partnership with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Metro Arts: Nashville’s Office of Arts + Culture, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor’s Office of Economic & Community Development. Launched in 2014, Periscope is now in its 10th year in Nashville, and in 2021, expanded to rural communities across Tennessee with Periscope: Rural Artist Development. The inaugural Chattanooga cohort for Periscope CHA: Artist Entrepreneur Training in Chattanooga will be the third iteration of this high-impact curriculum for creatives.

Click here for more information on the 2023 inaugural class.  If you have questions, please email Monica Kinsey at monica@caravantribe.com.

Application Information

The application deadline was August 18, 2023.

Tech Goes Home for the Arts

Tech Goes Home for the Arts is a 15-hour course designed in partnership with The Enterprise Center for individual artists of any discipline and small arts organizations to become prepared to monetize their online presence and to use digital and social media to connect to their students, audiences, and collaborators online. The course is offered four times a year for adults (over the age of 18) and twice a year for high school students.

Any artist or leader of a small arts organization with beginner level digital and online skills can register.  A $50 copay covers 15 hours of online training, online portfolio development and access to professional arts resources. Participants will be provided a Chromebook laptop which is theirs to keep upon program graduation.  Low-cost internet options are also available as needed. 

For more information, contact Amy Lowdermilk at amy@artsbuild.com.

Registration Information

The next Tech Goes Home for Adult Artists is scheduled for Spring 2024.

Opportunity Fellows

The ArtsBuild Opportunity Fellows program places college juniors, seniors, or recent graduates in a 10-week, part-time (10 hours per week) paid work experience with a local arts organization. The program also includes professional development, networking, and community engagement experiences. Fellowships will last from mid-May through July 2023.

ArtsBuild is seeking innovators and forward thinkers as participants in the fellowship program who share in ArtsBuild’s mission to build a stronger community through the arts and possess strong communication skills, a willingness to learn, and a desire to work with others in a collaborative setting. Fellows will receive a $1,500 stipend from ArtsBuild for the duration of the program. Women, people with disabilities, and members of other under-represented groups are encouraged to apply.

The work experiences are provided in cooperation with our grant-funded arts organizations, our Community Arts Partners.  This is an in-person work opportunity for a college student or recent graduate. ArtsBuild is no longer providing virtual/remote internship opportunities. Individuals who have previously worked/interned for the Community Arts Partner participating in the ArtsBuild Opportunity Fellows program are not eligible to apply.

The ArtsBuild Opportunity Fellows program is made possible by generous support from Unum and the Nancy Lackey Community Education Fund.

Application Information

The 2023 application deadline was Friday, April 7.

SPOTLIGHT —

Artists at Work

THE OFFICE has joined forces with ArtsBuild, which will serve as the Culture Hub, and the Lyndhurst Foundation, which has provided funding, to undertake an Artists At Work project focused on climate resilience in the Thrive Region, comprised of 16 counties across northeast Alabama, northwest Georgia, and southeast Tennessee.  ArtsBuild will host five artists, each in collaboration with a social impact initiative.