PROGRAMS

Artrepreneur York Region is a program designed to equip artists, arts administrators, and creative entrepreneurs with financial skills across all arts disciplines and industries. It addresses the long-standing economic vulnerability of cultural workers by strengthening their financial literacy. A special focus is on newcomers to Canada.

Artrepreneur was first piloted in 2015 because no specialized financial training or resources targeting the arts and cultural sector existed in the region. Dozens of program cohorts have taken place across many of our municipalities and we have hundreds of program alumni.

The 3-month program serves York Region based artists, arts groups, and other cultural workers in visual arts, dance, theatre, film, music, jewelry, fashion, graphic design, gaming, and augmented reality. Throughout the program, facilitators guide participants in the step-by-step development of their financial literacy through learning modules and actionable assignments, including the completion of a business plan. Sessions are hands-on lectures, mentorship sessions and peer-to-peer workshops involving weekly in-class sessions, assignments, mentorships, presentations and an exposition. Skills are developed to apply for grants, loans, and other funding opportunities and to present work to industry leaders. Guest speakers includie artists, community partners and other experts from the sector.

We have conducted surveys with our graduates, garnering positive responses. The following is direct participant feedback:

“The Artrepreneur program gave me the inspiration, skills, and connections to take my musical training and turn it into something bigger. Soon after completing the program, I founded York Region Chamber Music and have since been able to feature local young professional musicians and connect with our community.” (Jessica Tse, Director, York Region Chamber Music).

The success of this program was recognized by the OTF in 2018 when we were awarded a 3-year $400,000 Grown Grant