Dig into New England's Free Directory
of Creative Enterprises and Artists
Spring 2020 Newsletter
a painted mural on a cinderblock wall; women dressed in various cultural heritage outfits hold torches high.
Connecticut'-based Kwadwo Adae 's " Mothers, Daughters, and Sisters of the Firelight" mural
Responding to Shifting Ground
Dear CreativeGround Community,

We hope you and your loved ones are continuing to stay safe and healthy. A program of New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), CreativeGround wants to ensure that you can locate resources to support your well-being and livelihood - whether through NEFA's Covid-19 Resource page or through our solidarity and support with the Black Lives Matter movement . We see you, Black, Brown, and Indigenous colleagues. We are with you. You matter.
Resilience
During these business-as-UNusual times, we know the members of the creative community have many concerns and considerations regarding Relief, Recovery, and Reopening. Each phase requires re-imagining what it means to be resilient.

A hallmark of the creative community has always been our interconnectedness - we are a sector built on relationships. Relationships with fellow creatives, with audiences, with community members, with those in education, philanthropy, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and the list goes on. How can we leverage our natural connectedness and role as connectors? We already know how to collaborate, create, and communicate. Perhaps in this moment in time, our relationships can reinforce our resilience and ability to reopen to a new reality that is safe for audiences, artists, and staff; and is mindful of the economic impact of this pandemic.

CreativeGround highlights the people and places of our creative community, as well as how we are connected. We encourage you to renew the relationships listed in the I Have Worked With section of your profile. Update your "Top 25" and, while you're at it, reach out to the people, venues, and organizations you know to begin a conversation about how re-opening might look for them, asking "How can we help each other?" The visibility of these connections between members of our community demonstrate the importance of our creative sector within the broader economy and changes will reflect the patterns of impact long term.

Read on for tips to highlight your connections within and outside of the sector, celebrate some fantastic neighbor creatives, and learn more about the CreativeGround platform upgrade.
Sharing Responses
In our last communication, we asked you to share your concerns, hopes, dreams, fears, and new realities. Below are some of the common information requests and some stories of fortunate adaptation by your creative neighbors.
"It would be helpful to all of us who are self-employed/sole proprietors to know what unemployment relief is available through government relief packages..."
CreativeGround: We recognize that this information can be difficult to sort through. We recommend that you review your State Arts Agency's resources for COVID-19 relief; if something is unclear, reach out to one of the staff members to get pointed in the right direction for the most up to date information for your state-of-residence's resources.

"I wish I had the same assistance I get for updating my CreativeGround profile for updating my artist website with new virtual offerings. Any suggestions?"
CreativeGround: We love helping you! We're experts on CreativeGround, but not so much on back end programming for your personal site. May we offer a few CreativeGround solutions?
  1. Save time and money by directing people to your CreativeGround profile (with your unique URL) in lieu of a website to see your resume/work samples/mission, etc.. 
  2. Search CreativeGround to discover an artist/nonprofit/creative business profile similar to yours. Check out the link to their website. If you love their website , ask the profile owner to recommend their website editor.
  3. Explore CreativeGround for Activities and Services including Marketing, Public Relations, and Social Media to find neighbors (CreativeGrounders) with expertise to help!
  4. BONUS: Need help documenting? Search CreativeGround for profiles with disciplines in Media and Visual Arts/Crafts (such as photography, or film) that can help capture your work and/or assist with post-production.
"I can't find a grant that I am eligible for due to where I'm living... I've lost performances, exhibitions, teaching gigs, (insert your creative way of generating income), etc. I've never had to file for unemployment before..."
CreativeGround: Regardless of municipality, your state arts agency has relief efforts you might be eligible for. Click on the appropriate link in the answer to the left for more details.

NEFA's Covid-19 info page lists additional grants and resources.

Artist Relief is offering grants to artists in dire financial emergencies. Learn more here.
"I've learned so much in a short period of time... I experimented with a local nursing home and gave a performance for a group viewing a large communal TV as I played live from my living room. Afterward, the activity director unplugged her laptop, walked upstairs, and I played for individual residents shut in their room - personal concerts with requests. The next week, a fellow musician joined me in virtually playing for six nursing homes in six cities- all from my living room! ... Being forced to innovate has helped me reach an audience I've always wanted to reach. And I'm motivated and excited to dig into updating my CreativeGround page."
CreativeGround: This is wonderful. Thank you for sharing a positive spin, Gary Sredzienski and/or The Serfs.
We hope this sampling represents a range of experiences. Please consider sharing your unique perspective and/or concerns as a New England creative via the webform button below. We care about you and will continue to amplify your voices as we receive feedback.
Raising Up Creatives
In response to the shifting time, we're frequently featuring profiles with shout outs on Facebook and Twitter, and look forward to expanding these highlights as we move forward.
We're Celebrating:
Asian Pacific Islander Creatives and Cultural Organizations
These are but a few of the amazing creatives and organizations of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) descent and/or involved in the cultural traditions of AAPI here in New England.
A woman in a night gown stands dramatically in front of a lamp in a performance studio. The ghost of another dancer mid-twirl is downstage from her.
image from a flyer of several photos of a gamelan - a giant instrument that looks as though it is made up of cast iron pots and pans suspended on strings.
a musican sits on stage in traditional Korean attire. She plays the Gayageum - a stringed instrument that resembles the arm of a violin with many tall frets and strings.
A group of Polynesian dancers pose for a photo; they are all wearing traditional garments with grass skirts, large colorful hats with feathers, or hibiscus floral print dresses with flowers in their hair.
Karen wears a modern Japanese outfit while she joyfully plays a large drum outdoors.
A person in traditional garments dramatically plays a large Taiko drum while similarly dressed onlookers kneel and listen.
Madhvi Venkatesh performs a classical Indian dance style onstage. Sitting musicians play live music to accompany her dancing.
Several drummers energetically perform on stage, each in traditional Japanese dress with drums as big or bigger than each drummer.
Taikoza (CT)
Relationships: Connecting the Dots
Using the I Have Worked With Section on Your Profile
The I Have Worked With section on your CreativeGround profile is of increased importance in this moment. As a real-time reflection of the New England creative economy, it is vital that this resource showcases the deep connective roots so relief/recovery/reopening advocacy efforts can call out how interconnected we are within the region's economy.
 
We have over 31,000 profiles on CreativeGround with over 13,500 connections listed that reflect the relationships within the creative sector and beyond it; we know that even more ties exist.

Update your profile to include organizations and artists with whom you've partnered to give potential employers and collaborators a sense of working WITH you (as well as a list of references!).

In each connection you list be sure to:
  • Link to the related CreativeGround profile with the special Lookup field (if they're New England-based)
  • Add a date or date range for the relationship to have your most recent working connections appear first on your profile.
  • Provide a brief description of the project - bullet points or a paragraph are both okay! What do you want/need future co-workers to know about this professional engagement?
Red Ball by Faye Dupras
Which relationships should you list? This is your Top 25. Focus on the most recent five years of your work to ground New England's connectedness in the present

  • Organizations that have hired you or commissioned your work - a gallery, theater, artist market, museum, etc
  • A venue you work with to produce work
  • Artists you have presented
  • Collaborators on a project (your painting model, librettist, choreographer, lighting designer, other artists within your discipline etc.)
  • An organization that has hosted you for a residency
  • A teacher/trainer/mentor
Growing the 'Ground
Upgrade Update
We're in the process of hiring a new Team Member and will have exciting news to share soon!

We are in the first month of work with our web developers upgrading CreativeGround to Drupal 8. We'll want to test some design/functionality options as development progresses. Fill out this webform us to express interest in being a Beta tester.

We're doing a deep dive into reorganizing some of the various data fields on CreativeGround to improve your user experience and to help guide you through creating a robust and accurate profile - we want to show you at your best and make data sharing easier.
On a black box stage, two performers in all black sit on patio furniture sipping tea while surrounded by piles of lawn ornament flamingos
The Davis Sisters helping to illustrate us spilling the tea about exciting CreativeGround updates.
Creative Economy Corner
To increase understanding of the economic side of the creative sector, this corner of our newsletters is dedicated to definitions, facts, and figures.

Institution/Business Type
noun
  1. The type of entity as defined by its overall mission/goals for work

The field for Institution/Business Type on your CreativeGround profile demonstrates how you/your organization participate in the Creative Economy. Learn specific type definitions by reviewing the I/B Type FAQ.

These groupings of Institution/Business Types can also help to understand the interdependent arts and culture ecosystem and will eventually help users navigate our upgraded site and the profile creation process. Contact us if you have any questions or comments about these I/B Type groupings.
  • Creation/Production - Individuals and entities that create or produce arts/cultural goods and services such as :
  • Artists (Individual)
  • Design Agencies
  • Makerspaces
  • Literary Magazines
  • Education/Training - Entities (creative and non-creative) that train in creative skills, such as:
  • Arts Camp/Institutes
  • Schools of the Arts
  • School - College/University Departments
  • Distribution - Entities (creative and non-creative) that distribute arts/cultural goods, services, and experiences, such as:
  • Arts Centers
  • Libraries
  • Museums
  • Health Care Facilities
  • Coffeehouses/ Restaurants/ Nightclubs
  • Support - Individuals and entities (creative and non-creative) that support the people and places that create with professional resources, including expertise, such as:
  • Arts Service Organizations
  • Record Labels
  • Foundations/Endowed Organizations
  • Business Service Organizations
Resources
Regional
National
Laurel dances as Ismene in Oedipus. She looks carefree dancing on the breeze, except for the ominous crowd of the chorus behind her. Everyone is in shades of blue.
Laurel Jenkins dancing in a production of "Oedipus"
Check out NEFA's monthly opportunities blog lists upcoming regional and national deadlines.

Regional COVID-19 Relief:



NEFA's Anti-Racism Resources Page highlights organizations that are advancing black life in New England and beyond.
A performance of MacBeth at the Cathedral of the Pines: an outdoor amphitheater with minimal setting a a glorious sunset.
"MacBeth" performed at sunset at the Cathedral of the Pines

Artist Relief will distribute $5,000 grants to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19; serve as an ongoing informational resource; and co-launched the COVID-19 Impact Survey for Artists and Creative Workers

The co-launcher for the above survey, Americans for the Arts, has an additional short survey for The Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Arts and Cultural Organizations.

SMU DataArts and TRG Arts are In it for the Long Haul; this research paper analyzes financial projections for the coming year and scenario planning considerations for the arts sector.
Data to Support the Sector/Self/Work

close up of a colorful marker drawing of an endlessly crowded city of skyscrapers
"City" by Brenda Wilkinson,
courtesy of Flying Shuttle Studios
CONTACT
Morganna Becker (she/her/hers)
Community Engagement Coordinator, Creative Economy
CreativeGround@nefa.org | 617-951-0010 x535
A project of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), CreativeGround is brought to you through ongoing partnerships with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Connecticut Office of the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and the Vermont Arts Council.
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