Entry to the Entrepreneurial Artist Competition, Round II

“Are you going to be an artist when you grow up?” I remember distinctly these words, spoken to me by a classmate in the first grade as we hung our crayon self-portraits on the wall of the classroom.

Art has always played an important role in my life…

As a child, my mother instilled in my siblings and me the value of creativity, and led us in play that was dependent upon our imaginations. During my teen years, I began to explore and develop skills in fine art and craft, and opted to study art at the university level. As a form of human expression, art fascinated me, it helped me to better know myself, and it linked me to others. I discovered that its capacity to evoke powerful emotions – from a calm stillness elicited from the beautiful, to a shudder at injustice conveyed — make art a powerful tool. I learned and experienced personally that those who come to ponder a work of art bring with them portions of themselves that contribute to its interpretation and meaning. As I grew, so did my appreciation for the richness of art, this creative expression that has always played an important role in my life…

…As has community.

My hopes of communicating goodness and a message of hope in a broad way were cultivated in the various positions to which I was assigned during a period spent in a religious community of Catholic sisters. Working in the design department of a publishing house owned and operated by the sisters allowed me to apply and build upon the skills of my education. As a graphic designer, I communicated with other artists from across the country to formulate a message that was distributed just as widely through the printed material. Connected to these artists and to the members of the religious community, my creativity was engaged in complementing the editorial text and communicating visually its message. As a team, the sisters, other artists and I, worked to reach out to the broader community with images and words that inspired faith and hope, justice and peace. I realized that my creativity, in this role that ignited my passion to serve the broader community, is a great source of energy that makes me happy and alive. Its force comes from within, and from beyond, the source of Life itself.

In my current job I am connected to local artists that are striving to build and maintain creative and viable businesses. Their eagerness to contribute their treasures to the community, not without personal risk, have attracted my attention, as have their struggles to survive financially. Realizing the mutual benefit art is to artists and to the general public, I have begun seeking a way to be a bridge between these two worlds.

I have an idea…

I’ve started job searching. Currently, I am looking for a company or organization that helps artists be creative with their marketing, while assisting corporations in expanding their markets to a broader portion of the population: art, with its innate capacity to connect people in human experience, is a powerful marketing tool! My graphic design skills, backed by a degree in fine art, are a toolbox with which I will serve my community. I will put my design skills to work for the cause of bridging the artist world and the general public. I present here my business idea, springboard to a potential career.

Here is my plan: with business training provided by a community organization in my area, I will develop a business plan that articulates my mission of bridging local artists and the broader community. I will explore areas of the market within which each artist I work for would like to expand, and seek out companies that wish to expand their markets with the nuances of creativity. I will offer marketing packages to local artists: a survey of what artists need will come first, as well as free services for a few artist friends in exchange for the time given to help me develop my business. I will imagine and assess potential areas for artistic contribution in the corporate world: marketing divisions of companies will be targeted with proposals to integrate local artistry into product lines and services. Appreciating the value and importance of those on both “shores,” I will work as a bridge builder between them, connecting the artist world and the corporate world with my own artistic and creative skills. This is my idea…

…And I could really use some help.

My business is still in idea form. I hope to deepen my connections in the artistic world, and form relationships within the corporate world so to be an effective bridge that truly supports an exchange of mutual benefit. In the process, I intend to develop a business that is affordable for local artists, attractive to corporations, and self-sustaining – so as not to fall prey to the very thing (financial struggle) it intends to work against. The resources (prizes) awarded to the winning contestant are a dream opportunity that would allow me to bound ahead with my entrepreneurial venture.

Art and community are positive and powerful themes in my life, and I believe this business idea is a logical result of my desire to be engaged in both. If you agree that the work of such a business venture is important and needed, I welcome your comments, ideas, and assistance. In developing the business skills necessary to reach my goal, for the benefit of artists and the broader community alike, I am certain that I, too, will enjoy a mutual benefit.

Written by Donna Kemmetmueller