Page 39 - BusinessWest August 8, 2022

whole region was able to come around the table together and say, ‘hey, this is what’s going on
in my region; what’s going on in your region?’” Davol recalled. “And all of the needs are the same, basically.”
Next came a planning grant from the Commu- nity Foundation of Western Massachusetts, fol- lowed by a much larger $186,000 grant from the Massachusetts Office of Business Development.
to interact with hundreds of other artists on mat- ters like locating talent, professional develop- ment, public art opportunities, grants — the sky’s the limit, really. “It’s a one-stop place for artists to find out what’s going on, what’s available, what can I learn, and what can I access that will help me with my career?”
“
artists to find out what’s
going on, what’s available,
what can I learn, and
what can I access that will
DEE BOYLE-CLAPP ” help me with my career?
After much planning and a virtual summit that drew artists around the theme of “How to Recov- er and Thrive” after the pandemic, the website was launched in January.
“Now we have a place to find resources,” Davol said. “This is sort of like a chamber of com- merce for artists. It’s the same concept. They’re all small businesses, and they really
need support and connection.”
As the website
explains, “we want to col-
laborate across diverse
sectors of the creative
communities in West-
ern Mass. and help one
another locate opportu-
nities for funding, studio
and rehearsal space,
collaborations, commis-
sions, training, careers,
storytelling, promotion,
and more. A good hub
makes space for all local creatives, from studio and performing artists to archi- tects and spacemakers, graphic and web designers, photographers and vid- eographers, singers and musicians, arts managers and administrators, employ- ers and funders, tourists and visitors, audiences and customers.”
Boyle-Clapp noted that “we needed a website, a home base, a place to have an artists’ directory, a place where art- ists can find access to resources and
studio spaces and answer the question, ‘how do I hire somebody?’ Those are all really important.”
Artists create a profile on the site and are able
It’s a one-stop place for
ArtsHub of Western Mass is a website, but for the region’s artist community, Lisa Davol and Dee Boyle-Clapp say, it’s so much more.
Making Contact
One reason ArtsHub has succeeded so far where other efforts have fizzled out is that its founders thought more strategically about how to partner with different entities to make it sustainable.
“A big part of it is the artists’ database. They’re so expensive to create and so hard to maintain,” Davol said. So ArtsHub has partnered with the New England Foundation for the Arts on that aspect, which broadens the range of exposure for participants.
Meanwhile, ArtsHub has enlisted a number of community liaisons to reach out to artists in
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