Our Mission Statement

Download our Executive Summary

Founded in 2008, The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship™ (The IAE) is a Chicago-based educational institution, a recognized Illinois 501c(3) organization, committed to helping artists’ around-the-world to be able to answer one essential question:

How can I develop the knowledge and skills to create a successful, meaningful and sustainable life in today's world?

Our essential question is tied to the belief that artists, with proper training, have the capacity to:

1. Achieve sustainable self-sufficiency using their artistry

2. Stimulate local economies through their creation of  “Main Street” creative enterprises

3. Contribute to bridging our society’s “ingenuity gap” (the space between problems that arise and our ability to solve them) which has grown at an alarming rate in business, scientific research, education, the environment and world affairs

4. Make dramatic contributions to our national security through international cultural understanding and exchange

 Our mission is based on research and studies in these 4 key areas:

1. Achieving Self-Sufficiency

According to a 2003 major study, Investing in Creativity, completed by The Urban Institute there is a substantial demand for artists in hybrid markets and yet few programs exist to support their development. The study revealed that artists are working at the intersection of art and community development, social services, education, health, justice, civic engagement, youth development or other areas through arts-based organizations such as Project Row Houses in Houston, Street Level Youth Media and Little Black Pearl in Chicago, Cornerstone Theater in Los Angeles, El Centro de la Raza in Seattle, Life Pieces to Masterpieces in Washington, D.C., Zumix and Troubador in Boston, among others. And yet public validation and training programs needed to sustain and advance these hybrid practices is generally weak. Furthermore, many artists feel they lack the skills to market themselves to the wide range of realms where they could potentially be valuable contributors to society and individually successful.

The Urban Institute’s research revealed that many higher education and training institutions for the arts are not proactive in developing markets for artists or in teaching them the business skills they need to impact society with their creativity and artistry. Respondents to the Investing in Creativity study emphasized the critical nature of peer-to-peer and mentoring relationships for training and professional development across the discipline spectrum and how important these relationships are to successful sustainable career development.

Additionally, arts administrators, researchers and analysts, funders and policymakers tend to view the public, commercial, nonprofit and informal arts sectors as separate realms with little connection to each other.  Often artists seem to be categorized as "nonprofit" or "commercial," as if those categories were mutually exclusive.  Further, funding sources in both categories are difficult to obtain and not rising in priority even as demand and need are growing. This growth is the natural outcome of the cross pollination of the arts with other disciplines, generating hybrid artistic roles and ever more innovative possibilities. This trend is apparently not well understood. 

The IAE seeks to bring clarity to the value of these hybrid roles to the community. We will accomplish this by providing comprehensive training, mentorship and ongoing guidance in the development of self-sustaining career paths that will illuminate the value of hybrid artistic roles in society.

2. Stimulating the Economy

According to the Arts and Economic Prosperity Study by Americans for the Arts, 2005 the arts as an industry generates nearly $30 billion in revenue to local, state, and federal governments every year.  By comparison, the three levels of government collectively spend less than $4 billion annually to support arts and culture—a spectacular 7:1 return on investment that would even thrill Wall Street veterans. 

Furthermore, the study found that the nation's nonprofit arts and culture industry has grown steadily, expanding at a rate greater than inflation, since 1992, when the organization conducted its first analysis of the sector. Moreover, between 2000 and 2005, spending by arts organizations and their audiences grew 24 percent, from $134 billion to 166.2 billion in total economic activity, with arts organizations spending $63.1 billion and their audiences spending an additional $103.1 billion in event-related activities.

"This study is a myth buster," said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. "Most Americans understand that the arts improve our quality of life. This study demonstrates that the arts are an industry that stimulates the economy in cities and towns across the country. A vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive."

The IAE seeks to increase the number of arts based businesses in local economies to realize their tremendous untapped potential to fuel economic growth and change.

3. Contributing to Bridging the Ingenuity Gap Through the Development of 21st-Century Skills to Foster Innovation.

In a recent study conducted by IBM, over 1500 CEOs were interviewed and asked to identify the most important leadership competency needed for successful enterprises of the future. “CEOs are telling us they have to be more creative,” says Saul Berman, Lead Partner, Strategy and Change, at IBM. “We’re not going back to the old normal.” Creativity was the highest ranked leadership quality at 60%, followed by integrity and global thinking.

And while artists generally have ample opportunity to develop their creative right brain skills to power their personal artistry, few artists are taught to translate and share their creative competencies in ways both meaningful and perceptibly beneficial to others. Indeed, only a very few artists even suspect that their disciplines and habits of thinking have a role to play in closing the global “ ingenuity gap.”

For creativity and innovation to emerge we must emphasize:

· Thinking Creatively(nurturing creativity, understanding creativity, practicing creativity, refining and enhancing creativity, valuing creativity across sectors)

·      Working Creatively with Others(Understanding connectivity as creativity’s counterpart, communicating new ideas to others, being open to diverse perspectives, viewing engagement and failure as part of the process), and

·      Making Creativity Actionable (Implementing Innovations, acting on creative ideas and contributing to a field).

The IAE is committed to advancing our students' ability to collaborate with thought leaders in business, scientific research, education, environmental and world affairs. By deepening our artists' understanding of the disciplines and thought processes underlying all creativity, they will gain the perspective and skills needed to leverage their personal creativity through a broader marketplace of multiple sectors, thereby helping us to all bridge the 'ingenuity gaps' which loom before us in an increasingly complex world.  

4. Contributing to Improving Diplomatic Relations and National Security

In September 2009, at the Sundance Preserve, Robert Redford and  Robert Lynch, President of American’s for the Arts, convened for their fourth National Arts Policy Roundtable for CEOs, elected officials and opinion leaders to discuss how the arts strengthen 21st century global communities by helping create better understanding and stronger relationships between the U.S. and the world. During this meeting four key cultural imperatives jumped out:

 

1.    The arts are a global economic force.

2.    The arts are an aggressive part of today’s international competitive marketplace.

3.     Improved cultural understanding is essential in international dialogue.

4.    The arts make dramatic contributions to our national security.

 

Their report complements what has been a recent growth of dialogue and interest in making a case for the strength of the arts in U.S. diplomacy and with key decision-makers. Our U.S. State Department is making some positive moves in this direction to spearhead efforts through cultural exchanges abroad to help our nation be better understood. This includes their recent announcement of a partnership with The Aspen Institute to launch the North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (NAPEO).

Stated Aspen Institute President Walter Isaacson. “The North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity, like Partners for a New Beginning and the US-Palestinian Partnership, will build networks of US and regional partners in the Maghreb to generate sustainable change in the region.”

 

NAPEO will work to strengthen low-level, cross-border ties and build targeted cross-border initiatives between business leaders and private sector stakeholders throughout the region. It will also work to encourage innovation, foster entrepreneurship, and facilitate job creation in each of the five countries. The Partnership will also harness private sector and civil society resources in the Maghreb in order to advance the vision President Obama laid out in his June 2009 Cairo speech; to renew engagement with Muslims around the world based on mutual respect and responsibility.

 

The Partnership will focus on five major initiatives: The Young Business Leaders and Associations Network, The Leadership and Training Academy, the Innovation and Technology Incubator, The Creative Industries Incubator and the Center for Entrepreneurship Excellence. Each will work with regional partners to develop economic opportunity and entrepreneurship in the region both online and offline through mentorship programs and training academies that focus on areas of education, technology, and the arts.

 

The Aspen Institute’s partners include Intel Corporation, Education for Employment, Center for Research Development Foundation, The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship, Creative Leaps International, the Algeria Start-Up Initiative, and the South Mediterranean University School of Management in Tunisia.

The IAE, in partnership with Creative Leaps International, will serve as a laboratory via its work in North Africa for closer examination of the link between innovations and cultural diplomacy and potential improvements in diplomatic relations and national security.

 

 

Summary

Research from The Urban Institute’s study, Investing in Creativity, 2003, which was supported by over 38 foundations, indicates that only 27% of adults think artists contribute "a lot" to the general good of society, far fewer than recognize the social contributions of teachers (82%), doctors (76%), scientists (66%), construction workers (63%), and clergy (52%). The public perceives the contributions of artists in much the same way it perceives those of elected officials (26% say they contribute a lot to the general good), and just slightly better than it perceives the contributions of athletes (18% think they contribute a lot).

And yet, according to scholar Thomas Homer Dixon the space between problems that arise and our ability to solve them- the “ingenuity gap”- is growing today at an alarming rate in business, scientific research, education, the environment and world affairs.  And this, despite the fact that innovative thought leaders like Ken Robinson, Daniel Pink and Richard Florida are working to create a mindset that the arts, and artists, are capable of offering so much more to society. Author Ken Robinson, in his book “ Out of Our Minds” proclaims in his book we are quite literally “out of our minds” to have sidelined creativity and the arts “when every layer of American society from elementary education to supply-side economics is starved for more imagination, more original thinking, and more creative intelligence”(Cimino)

 

According to business writer/entrepreneur Daniel Pink, “Artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big-picture thinkers – can now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.” Economist Richard Florida argues that artists and other members of the "creative class" are vital to regional economic development.  He suggests that they comprise the vital cultural core essential to attracting and developing workers for knowledge industries, which are increasingly important to the U.S. economy.

 

In these volatile economic times, innovation is a critical tool that can grow revenue as never before and catapult both our largest companies and newest start-ups to new levels of international competitiveness and profitability.  “The arts are a resource we cannot afford to leave untapped. Their vitality and imagination are too much on target to be dismissed or misunderstood at this crucial juncture. We need their ingenuity and sense of the possible, their human-side inspirations and heart-felt meanings. We need them to tell the story of who we are in America and who we can be if we choose.” (Cimino)  

 

After all, the visceral nature of the arts provides a unique barrier breaker -a unifier- regardless of race, religion, gender, age, status or income across all sectors of society and industry. No matter what the subject matter, using the arts in innovative interdisciplinary ways can bring people to new levels of understanding and simultaneously create new, sustainable and financially viable career paths for artists.

The IAE believes artistic creativity is a hugely important natural resource essential to this country's pursuit of innovation, economic growth and sustainability. At the IAE, our training, ongoing mentorship and support will teach our students how to create new and sustainable career paths for themselves. Further, even as they do so, they will contribute "a lot of good" in relevant, meaning-filled ways, to the communities they serve and the world at large.