City Partnership

Every city
wants a
creative
economy.
Almost none
are building
one for what
comes next.

Sponsors underwrite the program. You open the door to your creative community. The Lab is built to keep the lift on city partners low.

cities@cityartslab.com

A conversation about fit, timing, and what the partnership looks like on the ground.

The partnership
What we need from you
  • A designated liaison to help us reach local arts and cultural channels. One point of contact who knows the community.
  • In-kind venue support for the 3-day intensive, or introductions to local venues and arts centers. We'll work with what's available — a library, a community center, a university space.
  • Promotion through city channels — newsletters, social, email lists — to reach local artists. We write the copy. You send it to your audience.
  • Conversations with city and arts stakeholders so we can tailor the Lab to your city's creative scene. Two or three calls before the program launches.
What your city gets
  • Economic development: new creative micro-businesses paying into the local tax base. Real businesses, not just participants with certificates.
  • Equity and access: institutional-quality business training for creative entrepreneurs, free for participants. The same curriculum taught at Berklee College of Music.
  • Civic branding: your city's logo on certificates, marketing materials, and a public showcase. Visible, documented, shareable.
  • Ongoing artist resources: alumni network, toolkit, and continuing access to sponsor-provided tools. The infrastructure stays after the program ends.
  • Full delivery by our team: curriculum, facilitation, coaching, and follow-up. You open the door. We run the program.

After the Lab,
the infrastructure
stays.

The program ends. Your city leaves with trained entrepreneurs, an alumni network, a toolkit, and a cohort of people who know how to teach what they learned to the next group.

We're building a seed for a local creative innovation center and we jumpstart it for you. Whether your city continues to grow it is up to you — but you'll have the people, the knowledge, and the model to do it. We stay available to help cities build on what the Lab starts.

Certificate of Completion
Artist Name
City Arts Lab — Cohort 01
Program Artist Entrepreneurship Lab
City Your City
Duration 10 Weeks

Cities in
conversation.

Active conversations, connections, and cities in consideration for upcoming cohorts.

St. Louis
Active conversation
Chicago
Active conversation
Pittsburgh
In consideration
Philadelphia
In consideration
Boston
Berklee connection
Providence
Brown connection
New Orleans
Loyola / Tulane connection
Kansas City
In consideration
Your city
Make the case → cities@cityartslab.com

Let's talk about your city.

A conversation about fit, timing, and what the partnership looks like on the ground. No commitment required — just tell us about your city and your creative community.

Reach us directly

cities@cityartslab.com

We respond within 48 hours. Tell us your city, your role, and what you're trying to build.