More Support For Entrpreneurial Art Projects
Published by Bob Foster
Last week I wrote a blog post about an alternative funding source directed at “creative” entrepreneurial projects. The enterprise featured in that article is called Kickstarter, and they claim to be “…the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world.” In terms of number of projects funded, I believe them.
However, there are more ways to support budding entrepreneurs in the arts world than just providing money. A reader recently called my attention to another interesting concept for supporting creative entrepreneurial projects. This particular concept is based on a non-profit organization that provides goods and services, at little or no cost, to aspiring music groups in the community.
One of the most notable examples of this platform is an organization based in Bellingham, Washington called Make.Shift. This non-profit organization provides space for music groups to practice and perform, and they are now expanding to include entrepreneurial people involved in the visual arts. They just recently obtained a vacant facility in downtown Bellingham, and are in the process of remodeling it to accommodate their members.
But, what I found most interesting, is that in addition to providing activity-appropriate spaces for creative entrepreneurs, they also provide a number of special services that include:
- A 1984 former SWAT van that they loan out to groups for transporting their equipment to gigs around the state. Make.Shift has also converted this van to run on Biodiesel, turning it into a “green machine.”
- They built a complete silk-screening facility for providing posters, T-shirts, album cover art, and the like, to people within their organization.
- (Here’s the dandy): Make.Shift loans out their fleet of bicycle driven electric generators so musical groups can go to the seashore, or into the mountains—off the grid—and generate all the power they need to run their equipment. (I imagine it takes a strong peddler to produce all the power necessary, however.) You can get plans for making your own bicycle generator on the Make.Shift web site.
For a closer look at Make.Shift, take a look at the following video that was made to solicit funds for moving into their new building:
(email subscribers can view on my blog.)
Incidentally, Make.Shift put up a request on Kickstarter for this project and exceeded their goal by 40%.
So, that’s what the innovative folks in Bellingham, Washington are doing to support their young (and not so young) entrepreneurial artists—why not start something similar in your community?
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