“If you are trying to build a community, you need the arts at the community development table.”
-Jason Schupbach, Former Director of the National Endowment for the Arts

Removing Obstacles

As with all of our community initiatives, we aim to mold the model to best accomplish our mission. Since the mission of Get Artistic is to advance the local creative economy, we believe we are uniquely equipped to do so through investing in the development and exposure of individual artists.

• The Problem: Complex problems demand creative solutions. But creative professionals often don’t have the support they need to contribute to community-wide change.
• The Belief: Investing in individual artists is critical for building a community’s ability to practice creative problem-solving.
• The Solution: Removing obstacles for artists to empower creative people to be the change they want to see in their community.

With year-round activities, the term Get Artistic collectively refers to the many ways we spotlight and support our creative community:

1. Time: Participating in arts advocacy forums: CREATE Athens; Athens Cultural Affairs Commission; Georgia Council for the Arts
2. Space: Curating onsite exhibitions, performances, and arts enrichment
3. Money: Funding a rotating Artist-in-Residence program to provide stability, visibility, and professional development to emerging artists

Since the program’s e 2017 launch, we’ve invested $223,959 in the creative economy, $63,766 having been disbursed through either direct patronage, residency support, or grantmaking.