Artist INC workshop participants in Albuquerque in May 2025. Photo by Christine West. Courtesy Mid-America Arts Alliance
NM ARTS News:
SANTA FE — Artists may spend the majority of their days focused on their craft, whether painting, sculpting, filming, or other creative ventures, but in order to make a living, many must also learn the business of their craft. To help artists working in any discipline develop the building blocks to support a thriving and enduring art practice, New Mexico’s federally authorized state arts agency, New Mexico Arts, offered Artist INC, a career development program created by the Mid-America Arts Alliance.
During a three-year period, from 2023-2025, New Mexico Arts (NMA) reached more than 200 artists in New Mexico through in-person and online workshops and trained 19 artists as peer facilitators.
Through the Artist Leadership Fellowship, NMA funded training in 2025 for 19 artists to become peer facilitators for Artist INC. These working artists will continue leading workshops throughout the state for Artist INC as a paid gig. They come from a variety of disciplines and have demonstrated success in the business end of their artistic careers.
“Our collaboration with Artist INC provided a tremendous opportunity for many New Mexican creatives to become competent and effective facilitators and further share this unique training with a variety of talented people throughout the state,” said Maggie Hanley, Grant Program Coordinator at NMA.
In addition to last year’s Artist Leadership Fellowship, NMA also offered an eight-week workshop, as well as a shorter version called Artist INC Express, between 2023-2025. Express workshops were offered at no charge to participants both online and in-person and were held in various locations including Albuquerque, Gallup, and Las Cruces. Through discussions, activities, and hands-on exercises, artist-facilitators helped participants set goals for their practice, write about their work, and build a personal brand.
“Sessions were filled to capacity; we served more than one hundred artists in the first year, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive throughout all three years. We are grateful for the funding to offer the workshops and trainings free of charge to all the participants,” Hanley said.
Artist INC workshops helped participants activate a network of artists who could provide peer-to-peer resource sharing and support into the future. As one participant said of the program, “Artist INC Express really gave me some direction, which is exactly what I needed. It gave me specific things that I know I can apply to promote my work successfully.”
NMA believes in the power of artists supporting fellow artists and in providing accessible learning opportunities to New Mexicans. To learn more about Artist INC visit www.artistinc.art. For information about Mid-America Arts Alliance visit www.maaa.org.