Statewide program helps Montana artists learn the art of entrepreneurship

Condon artist, Merrily Dunham, is trying to make her watercolor paintings, leatherwork and wire sculpture creations into a viable living starting this year, through the Montana Artrepreneurship Program.

Since April, Dunham has focused completely on developing her Rockin’ Horse Art Studio into something she can take from her property outside of Condon and sell at major art shows and galleries, both in and out of state.

“You have to be pretty dedicated,” Dunham said. “There’s a lot of work involved. It’s very intense.”

And for Dunham it will all culminate at the Annual Artists Gathering at Flathead Valley Community College on Sept. 28. Where, for the first time, Dunham will set up a booth to sell her work alongside that of other Montana artists.

She’s one of about 100 artists across the state participating in the “artrepreneurship” program. The program began in 2008 and thus far over 160 artists have participated. This year has the largest number of participating artists, at around 100. Program director Cindy Kittredge said MAP is as much about the art itself as it is about learning how to run and market a business.

“Artists are really skilled in doing the creative part,” Kittredge said. “But the business side is not something they have really delved into.”

While the focus of the program is learning how to develop a business by creating things like a business plan, portfolio, price points, an artist statement, brochures and a website, it’s also about pushing each artist’s creative envelope.

Each MAP artist gets set up with a mentor, someone in the Montana art community that the artist wants to and can learn from.

“I believe that art relies on doing, it’s not just thinking it up, you have to get it out,” Kittredge said. “And sometimes it helps to sit down with another artist.”

In addition to working with a mentor, each artist participates in something called a “cohort.” There are 10 cohort groups across the state. Dunham’s cohort has other Seeley-Swan artists who are participating in MAP, such as photographer John Mercer, jeweler Dona Miller and beader Jo Ogden.

Part of the reason for the cohort is to get feedback from other MAP artists about their progress in the program and to learn how to interact with others, and how to present themselves as artists.

Dunham was one of 40 MAP participants chosen to attend the Western Design Conference in Jackson, Wyo., which ran from Sept. 6-9. There she said she would be able to see how many professional artists present themselves to the wholesale audience.

She took a copy of her portfolio, press kit and brochures with her and was challenged to present herself to a couple of the galleries in Jackson.

“The goal is to get a gallery in Jackson that will handle our work,” Dunham said. “It’s so exciting for me to be able to go down to someplace like that and be able to participate in something like this as a learning experience.”