Boston, MA (2024)

Artist Pipeline Program

In a city with rising rents and grassroots arts institutions closing their doors, nurturing the arts is not simply about soliciting calls for projects, but also about delving into the labor and financial conditions that allow artists to survive and create in Boston.

The Artist Pipeline Program cultivates Allston-Brighton artists who are learning to build a sustainable arts future. Through free workshops, resources, and short-term projects, a cohort gains boots-on-the-ground skills, gets individualized support for their self-identified goal or challenge, and complete capstone projects or paid gigs.

The 2024-2025 cohort was committed to equity and creative excellence. The cohort contained a sound healer, utopian metalworker, shoemaker designing gender-inclusive footwear, a multidisciplinary culture worker, and others.

Young person with short hair playing a banjo and singing into a microphone on stage.
A woman with face paint, colorful patterns on her face and face paint on her face, wearing earrings, and surrounded by colorful decorations or painted artwork.
Young woman in goth makeup and accessories, sitting on a decorated bed, surrounded by hanging fabric and spooky decorations, holding a pillow with unique designs, with a spooky-themed background.
A man with dreadlocks holding a flute, sitting outdoors with autumn leaves on the ground.

In my role building program infrastructure for the 2024-2025 pipeline program, I organized a roster of guest presenters who spoke on topics ranging from artist taxes to cultural equity. I also designed, marketed, and delivered a sold-out pedagogy workshop, which helped teaching artists design workshops in their own creative disciplines.

Group of diverse people posing happily outside the Harvard Ed Portal building.
People sitting in a bright cafe or conference room, listening to a woman speaking at a round table with a laptop, notebooks, and drinks, with large windows showing trees and parked cars outside.

I improved the program by identifying and addressing three core needs.

Problem 1

The program was committed to recruiting artists from under-represented backgrounds, and wanted to fine-tune the call for applications to recruit diverse artists.

Problem 2

Robust survey data to evaluate cohort meetings was available, but was difficult to parse for people without statistical backgrounds.

Problem 3

In the gaps between monthly meetings, artists from the pilot cohort expressed a greater desire for consistent engagement.

Solution 1

In my role on the selection committee, I advocated for using more inclusive language in the recruitment post to specifically invite in women, LGBTQ+ applicants, and BIPOC applicants who might otherwise have self-disqualified. I also used statistical analyses of individual rankings to identify and uplift top candidates from a competitive pool.

Solution 2

I presented monthly data reports in plain language to help facilitators understand how artists were receiving the programming. These reports resulted in a closer focus on artists’ individual skill development.

Solution 3

I shared paid opportunities for artists on a Slack channel and coordinated coffee chats to create warm, clear communication between artists and administrators at the Harvard Ed Portal.

A young woman with dyed hair and tattoos, dressed in a black dress and platforms, speaking into a microphone at an indoor event with a red wall and crowd in the background.
A man in a red outfit playing a flute in an indoor space with grey walls, rainbow reflections, a piano, music stands, and a table with flowers and bowls.
A wooden wall with multiple open shelves, each containing different objects including plants, decorative stones, a kaleidoscope, a framed illustration, and various electronic devices with colorful lighting.

Capstones from the 2024-2025 cohort. From left to right, Eden Attar, payal kumar, and Deshaun Gordon-King.