The Boost program is a joint entrepreneurial development workshop between Innovation Works and Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. The four-day program is designed to help leaders of established local organizations (nonprofits, for-profit businesses, and hybrid social enterprises) learn business fundamentals, improve their strategic thinking, and articulate a business plan that demonstrates social impact, a path to growth, and long-term financial sustainability.

Application Deadline: Monday, October 4

Program Dates: Monday, November 29 - Thursday, December 2

The Network for Developing Conscious Communities (NDCC) invites you to the Inaugural National Conference on Black Cooperative Agenda, September 27-29, 2021. This year’s conference theme is “Deepening Black Wealth Through Building Equity and Ownership.” This virtual conference is a national call for Black cooperators, solidarity economy workers and economic justice advocates to take part in a broad array of plenary sessions, workshops, and symposia; as well as celebrate 53 years of The Poor People’s Development Foundation (PPDF), final national conference which expanded the cooperative movement in Black and poor communities.

The Black Arts District presents the first Annual Black Artist Fair - an educational and interactive event designed to connect Black creatives from the Greater Baltimore Area to resources and services to further enhance their crafts and careers.

EXPLORE PROFESSIONAL AND CREATIVE WORKSHOPS

• So You Wanna Be A Boss?

• Navigating Technology: Top 3 Systems for Simplifying Your Workflow

• Branding & Entrepreneurship 101

• Grant Writing for Impact

• And more!

EXPERIENCE ONE-ON-ONE CONSULTATIONS

• Art Law Clinic

• Headshots / Product Shots

• Financial Advising & Tax Preparation

TUNE INTO LIVE PANEL DISCUSSIONS AND KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Hear from Amanda Seales, Sonja Sohn and Raven Paris

• Let Your Work Speak for You: How Creatives Own Their Brand Story

• Arts & Education

• and more discussions streaming live via Facebook Live and Youtube

This online workshop brings the fundamentals of Artists U (planning, finances, time management, mission) to this complex moment. The transitions out of lockdown offer big opportunities and challenges for artists. Now is a powerful moment to begin imagining and planning what is next for our work, our lives, and our communities.

+ We will meet on Zoom four Mondays in a row, 6:00-8:00 pm. We will take breaks, we will breathe. We will build a positive, rigorous conversation about building balanced and sustainable lives as artists.

+ You will get assignments between each session. Plan on an hour or two each week.

+ We will use the Artists U books: Making Your Life as an Artist and the MAKING Workbook. You can download them here.

+ Here’s the schedule:
Monday April 12, 6:00-8:00 pm Strategic Planning in a Time of Uncertainty
Monday April 19, 6:00-8:00 pm Financial Thinking for Long-Term Sustainability
Monday April 26, 6:00-8:00 pm Time Management + Digital Life in Lockdown
Monday May 3, 6:00-8:00 pm Artist Mission Statements + Talking About Your Work

How much does it cost? It’s free (but the class size is limited)
Who is it for? Baltimore artists from any discipline
Do you have to attend all the sessions? Yes, please

Mastering THE LOOK and Defining Your Personal Style as an Artist
Thursday, January 28, 2021, 5:30 – 6:30 PM (led by Shae Li)
Register Here 

Building Your Personal Brand Successfully on Social Media
Thursday, January 28, 2021, 6:30 – 7:30 PM (led by Jazmin Washington)
Register Here

Where: Defining a Space and Agency for Marginalized Artists:
Friday, January 29, 2021, 6:30 – 7:30 PM (led by Abdu Ali)
Register Here

Mini Casual Concert Series:
Friday, January 29, 2021, 8:00-8:30 PM (performance by Brandon Kanion)
Watch on BOPA's Facebook and Youtube.  

Plus!

BOA Professional Development Mini Grants  

One-time $300 mini grants designed to support individual artists/creatives across various disciplines in pursuit of deepening their knowledge and strengthening their professional practice. Application and details are available here and applications are due by Sunday, January 31, 2021.

Artist Bios

Jazmin Washington is a digital strategist and content creator with over seven years of experience in social media management, digital marketing, event planning, and television and film production. She is passionate about using social media to highlight underrepresented communities, stories, and topics. She began her career at ABFF Ventures (American Black Film Festival), where she built the social media footprint to be a platform for black artists to be noticed by millions of people. Her expertise in digital strategy led her to the Mayor’s Office of Baltimore City where she created content to shine a light on the people and culture of a vibrant city that is often plagued by negative news coverage. Jazmin is a summa cum laude graduate from Howard University and is currently a consultant working with companies and organizations to build and enhance their digital presence.

Abdu Ali is an American avant-garde musician, writer, and cultural worker. Their music is an idiosyncratic blend of punk, jazz, Baltimore club music, and rap that has graced stages across the U.S. and Europe. Through their energetic visceral performances, spiritualizing audiences, they have been anointed as a cosmic, punk, and soulful tempest on stage. Ali has performed at MoMA Ps1, The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Kennedy Center, and Red Bull Music Festival. Ali has been highlighted by the NY Times, NPR, Les InRocks, and Tracks Arte TV. Ali has been a recipient of The Contemporary: Grit Fund 2; a 2018 Ruby Artist Grant; 2019 Best Artist Award by The LGBTQ Commission of Baltimore City, Baltimore Magazine 2019 Best Artist, was invited to the Black Artists Retreat 2019, and have held residencies at 2018 Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp & 2018 Pioneer Works.

Brandon Kanion is an Artist from Baltimore, Maryland. Kanion is a child of God primarily, so naturally, he’s different. Kanion started singing Gospel in the church as a kid, and throughout middle school and well into high school he found a passion for R&B, Rock, Country, and Pop music. As a theatre geek, it is important for Kanion to incorporate life into his songs. Kanion writes his own music and believes in writing from authentic places. His EP Trilogy "Nine Thirteen" was a way of expressing that. In the EP Trilogy "Nine Thirteen", Kanion spoke of his struggles with Race, Fear, Sexuality, Love, and he believes he introduced himself in an impactful way. Kanion wants to help God heal the world. He wants to help people live, and not just survive. Kanion wishes for anyone who hears his music to have the Best Life possible. The world can be such a dark place, Kanion wants to be a beacon of light, that encourages others to shine bright as well. Kanion prays music does that, and so many more positive things, to the world.

What if you could create a life for yourself centered around the things that YOU are passionate about? Baltimore’s always been a  place for newness, for creativity, and where you can see yourself. Scale Your Passion is here to create a space for you to explore ways to bring your idea to fruition. We believe that you can begin exactly where you are, using your passion to start the ignition. 

Apply now to Scale Your Passion (SYP), a pre-accelerator, imagined and inspired by the Baltimore Creative Community. SYP provides access to content and resources to help guide emerging creative entrepreneurs. 

SYP workshops will  introduce and support entrepreneurs in grappling with the complexities of navigating business “essentials” not traditionally built for creatives. SYP will feature workshops that include topics to help emerging entrepreneurs identify a business model that aligns with their natural talents and that will help them understand how their personal relationship with money can impact their business finances. 

The two-day program will give participants straightforward tools and resources to support their businesses, develop a business leadership identity, and build a community of peers and mentors to support their journey. 

When?
Wednesday, Dec 2 | 9AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday, Dec 3 | 9 AM - 1 PM

Where do we meet?
From  the comfort of your own home OR wherever it suits YOU . This program is 100% virtual. 

Are you ready to Scale Your PASSION? Click here to learn more about Scale Your Passion 2020.