The NYFA Artist as Entrepreneur Program is an intensive professional development opportunity that serves artists and creatives of all disciplines (including visual, literary, performing arts, among others). This 1-3.5 day program delves into the fundamental principles of building, maintaining, and growing a career in the arts, empowering artists with the tools to imagine and pursue success as they define it.
Whether you’re looking for a shift in thinking, strategies for your arts/creative business, or peer networks, this program provides dynamic planning tools for building a blueprint for your creative practice or arts project.
NYFA will be holding this program in partnership with Acadiana Center for the Arts from September 4-7, 2025. Applications opened June 13 and will close on July 14, 2025. The program, made possible through the support of LFT Fiber, will take place in person at Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette, LA.
Dive into topics including strategic planning, marketing, fundraising, financial literacy, writing about your work, and/or art law, with additional material adapted from NYFA’s popular The Profitable Artist (Allworth Press, 2018) textbook.
Receive custom reviews from arts industry experts, providing individualized feedback based on your interests or discipline. Customized for the audience, these are structured as work sample reviews or one-on-one career advice sessions.
Gain access to a community of like-minded peers working across disciplines, with opportunities to stay in touch to support each others’ creative practice beyond the program.
Led by NYFA’s expert staff and arts industry experts in your community, such as local funders, curators, presenters, publishers, artistic directors, etc.
Work through flexible and dynamic tools that will provide a blueprint for your practice or specific arts project. You’ll have the opportunity to share and discuss this “Artist Action Plan” among your peers.
Customized to fit the needs of participants and partners hosting the program, each program’s structure includes a blend of presentations, panels, interactive workshops, and breakout groups.
Interested in hosting the Artist as Entrepreneur program for your creative community? Click here
Artists interested in attending are required to apply. For the application, we ask you provide:
Applicants can apply through Submittable through July 14, 11:59 PM ET.
Any questions?
Applications are selected through a panel review process with representatives from NYFA, Acadiana Center for the Arts, and the 8 Parish Region community.
All applicants will be notified on or by August 4, 2025.
Attendance is mandatory at all sessions.
Please check your calendar before applying.
Through the NYSCA/NYFA Artist as Entrepreneur program, I was able to prioritize, organize, and visualize next steps for my career as an artist. I left the program with a feeling of clarity, and a much stronger sense of belonging and connection to my community of fellow artists.
The NYSCA/NYFA Artist as Entrepreneur Program provided an opportunity to work with artists from all different backgrounds working in many media including visual, performance, literary, choreography, and more. It was a great learning experience. We benefited from the presentations, given by [NYFA Learning and Flushing Town Hall] staff and the many guest panelists with whom we shared many common challenges, and interests in reaching the public, and striving to better our communities.
