Artist Networks & Opportunities in Boston

January 2016 was a busy month for Creative City!  Leading up to our next deadline on February 12, 2016, we held a series of grant workshops about the Creative City application process,  held office hours for artist to discuss projects one on one, and met with local movers and shakers of the arts community in Boston to get the word out about Creative City. I met over 50 artists this month and learned a lot about Boston's arts community in the process.

Here are a few artist networks and opportunities I learned about this month:

• ArtWeek Boston features art in unexpected spaces and creative experiences. Art Week is currently accepting applications for the Spring ArtWeek April 29-March 8, 2016.  ArtWeek Boston offers promotional support for participating artists and projects, a great way to get your name out there! Early Bird Deadline to apply is February 12, 2016; final deadline is March 4, 2016. 
• Boston APP/Lab hosts a series of workshops that fosters cross-sector conversations around the arts in public places. The last workshop "Food and Arts: A Marriage in the Public Market" brought together the Boston Public Market, Trustees of Reservations, and local artists and designers. The next workshop will be February 23, 2016, at the Boston Arts Academy STEAM Lab. 
• MakeShift Boston is a co-working space for socially minded creative professionals and was a great venue for one of our Creative City workshops. MakeShift's space is availalbe for events! 
• Society of Urban Poets (SOUP) Disclaimer: I haven't actually met the Society of Urban Poets (S.O.U.P.). But I do appreciate their mission "to unite literary poets and spoken word artists across the Boston area."  S.O.U.P. seeks to "shed light on poetry and spoken word as integral pieces of the Boston Creative Arts community." Looking forward to seeing what S.O.U.P. is up to in 2016!
• Boston Arts Music and Soul Collective (BAMS Collective), a fairly new collective that aims to promote and celebrate Afro-centric culture, heritage, and creative expression, is hosting the THE PRELUDE on February 19, 2016, in Dudley Square featuring  award¬winning artist and Roxbury native Valerie Stephens.

This is just a sample of the types of creative networks I've had the pleasure of engaging with this this past month.  Looking forward to continuing to get to know the creative community in Boston through Creative City!