This spring the Community First Cares Foundation in collaboration with the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, announced the second-year partnership to continue local artist grants and support business education symposiums. Community First pledged $10,000 to fund 10 direct artist grants, a doubling of last year’s funding. Community First also pledged to continue its support of the Cultural Council’s “Entrepreneur Symposium for Creatives: Every Artist is a Small Business”, an educational workshop for local artists.
 
“The Community First Cares Foundation is thrilled to see the good these grants can do in the hands of local artists,” said Community First Cares Foundation Executive Director Missy Peters. “The grant recipients are engaged in creative and innovative projects in our community which are worthy of support.”

The  second round of grants was initially opened for applications from August 18, 2018 through October 18, 2018 (the deadline was extended by a week making the cut-off October 25, 2018).

On November 20, 2018, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and the Community First Cares Foundation officially announced the ten winners of the second-year artist grant program.

What started in the Fall of 2013 as a monthly happy hour that took place "Every Single Second Thursday", Every Single Artist Lounge (ESAL) began as the brainchild of Mason Martin, current Project Manager for the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville (CCGJ). With the mission of building community amongst the artists in the Jacksonville area, the Cultural Council extended an invitation to "every single artist in our area, so that we may alert you to opportunities". Interested parties would meet at The Volstead in Downtown Jacksonville to exchange ideas, network, and learn about opportunities available to them.

While the event garnered a fair amount of success, visibility, and engagement, by 2016 participation and involvement had waned. A need to reimagine a plan of attack for rebuilding momentum became evident.  It was then that Mason enlisted the help of Patrick Fisher - former Community and Collaboration Manager for the CCGJ - to breathe life back into the initiative. At that point it was determined that ESAL needed to be open to all age groups (not restricted to the 21+ requirements of the venue), it was decided that a different venue would be chosen as a host location from month to month, and finally, local artists would serve as regular co-hosts of the event.

As an artist there is a high probability that you've contemplated how you can gain exposure and increase your professional opportunities. Some believe that giving away your work is a necessary evil to gain exposure.  It isn't.  Giving away your work devalues your time, your process, and the work your create. 

If you give away your work you will be operating at a loss, which isn't sustainable.  No one goes to a mechanic after they have opened a new shop and expects them to do a tune-up free of charge.  So why is that mentality applied to emerging and mid-career artists? 

Every artist is a small business.  Because of that, you have to be mindful in your approach to gaining exposure, generating interest, and attracting new customers.  Below you will find step-by-step action items you can take as an emerging and mid-career artist  to help develop your identity, promote your brand, and generate sales. 

​I’ve received a generous amount of positive feedback in regards to my article “Five Steps to Become a Working Artist,” which I posted to the Cultural Council’s blog in September.  The article was also printed by EU Jacksonville in October’s Arts Issue. In that article I outlined a series of steps an artist can take to positively impact their career.

I’m a systematic individual.  I have a tendency to analyze projects as a series of sequential steps.  Because of this, I am able to break down large projects, which as a whole can feel overwhelming, in to manageable pieces.

​​This article is intended to help anyone that has the passion and desire to become a working artist.  You must be willing to put in the time and effort if you wish to earn a living through your artistic endeavors.  A certain level of resourcefulness and grit are necessary as you face any obstacles that may present themselves.  For those who seek a career in the arts, the following article outlines five steps you can take to become a working artist.