At every stage of my life, I have always identified as an artist. Art studios and creative spaces have become my home away from home. I’ve pulled more all-nighters in the print shop during my college days than I’d like to admit. I’ve worked in all sorts of studios, tried all different kinds of art mediums, and even traveled to different countries. I found that there is one element that makes each experience just as welcoming as the last. That is the community that artists work hard to create together. However, through my experience of growing up in a small Kansas town, I am constantly faced with the challenge of finding a creative community outside of the classroom.

I took a nontraditional route to pursuing a professional career in the arts. I decided to study Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Kansas State University as my major, and printmaking as my minor. I wanted to beat the annoying “starving artist” trope by learning different business operations and strategies. I quickly came to the realization that all successful artists are actually entrepreneurs. In order to make money from selling your art, you have to know your target market and present your work as a product. I grew frustrated with how the art program did not offer any sort of business class. I grew so frustrated, in fact, that I started offering business consulting advice in exchange for coffee to my friends in the art department. I had the mission of helping as many art students start their entrepreneurial journey as possible. As I helped more students begin to sell at the local art markets and network with their peers, I noticed the small art community grow bigger.

The biggest challenge that emerging artists face is the reliance on finding opportunities through word of mouth. How can you find opportunity if you don’t know who to ask? Other industries have professional online platforms to network and find career-building opportunities, while artists are remaining analog. This major problem is what inspired the question, “What if there was a platform that could easily connect artists and turn cities into artist hubs where creative communities could flourish?” Being a stubborn woman, I, of course, took on the challenge.