Drawing on over 20 years of professional work, training, and learning, Partake Arts supports artists and organizations who put creativity and community at the center of their work.
Partake Arts provides support and guidance tailored to your needs, so you can see all the possibilities for your art practice or organization. We’re your supportive big sibling (who won’t borrow your clothes), or the fitness trainer who gives you cues and knowledge to make your movements safe, efficient, and effective. We are here to help.
Partake Arts is nurturing an ecosystem where arts workers are empowered to lead and have access to support and strategic advice. Through our work together, clients develop internal expertise and capacity so that when we part ways, our artists and the projects they lead are healthy, impactful, and sustainable.
Reach out to start a conversation. We begin by assessing your needs, then we’ll work together to find the approach that fits your budget and brings your goals within reach.
For Organizations
For many artists, starting a company means endless administrative work and little time to actually make art. Partake Arts offers customized support to make it better.
Support from Partake Arts buoys emerging, small, and mid-sized arts organizations at critical moments of change and growth. We assist with the practical tasks of running a small arts organization, offer wise counsel (that you are completely free to ignore), and perform traditional consulting services.
Examples:
Organizational Health Assessment
- Take the first step in defining your needs or addressing moments of crisis
- Analyze your full operations, or focus on a key area of concern
- Identify the source of problems and provide clear, actionable advice
Ongoing Administrative Support
- Create and implement finance and operations systems, payroll, and other tools
- Provide support for mission-driven programs
- Implement projects and create deliverables
Consulting Services
- Strategic Planning for change or growth
- Board Development & Training
- Business Modeling
Leadership Transitions
- Interim Executive Leadership
- Interim Managing Director
- Succession and Transition Planning
Interim executive director work is specifically informed by our training with the New York-based Support Center. It is designed to provide support over a defined period alongside the specific goal of hiring a full-time, permanent leader.
For Grantmakers & Service Organizations
Grantmakers and Arts Service Organizations are fierce champions for their communities, even as they struggle with many of the same challenges their constituents face. Partake Arts is here to cheer on the cheerleaders and to provide the unique support that service providers need to navigate the present moment.
Examples:
- Grant program design with a commons-based approach
- Peer panel facilitation, including administering application and feedback processes
- Design and implementation of grantee resources and services
Training & Facilitation
Artists need and deserve support to learn more about the practical side of their craft in a supportive and joyful space (with snacks!). Partake Arts designs courses, programs, and retreats to help individual artists and emerging organizations meet their educational goals. Whether it is a one-time offering or a durational training experience, learning with Partake Arts will build your administrative and self-management skills, strengthen your relationships with peers, and deepen your analysis of how we treat each other as artists.
Example Topics:
- Defining success and setting goals
- Developing mission, vision, and values
- Finance and budgeting best practices
- Grant writing
- Conscientious collaboration
- Managing crisis and change
- Navigating growth with integrity
For Individual Artists
They didn’t teach this is your MFA program, and (even though that’s bananas) there is value in developing the administrative and self-management side of your practice. Partake Arts can help you finally apply for that local arts council grant (what are matching funds and why do I need them?!), create a touring budget for your latest piece that is heading to Australia (international freight!), write an artist statement for a residency application in Maine next summer, or decide if it’s worth it to file for 501c3 status (the quick answer: almost never, but sometimes it can work out fine in the end). It’s hard work, it’s worth it, and it can even be fun when we do it together.
Partake Arts works directly with individual artists to offer advice and administrative support, acting as a thought partner and advocate. Unlike a traditional producer, agent, or manager, we don’t step in or take over. That’s not our style, and it’s not productive in the long run anyway! Partake Arts is more akin to a coach: someone who helps you build skills, test out ideas, and create plans for the future—keeping your goals and values front and center.