Collective Works: Creative Entrepreneurship Summit

Collective Works brings together creative entrepreneurs and small business owners from every discipline across Massachusetts for one day of conversation, connection, and shared strategy. From solo artists to studio owners, fashion designers to brand founders, this summit gathers people building businesses rooted in creativity — and gives them a room full of others who actually get it. The specific challenges of running a creative business rarely show up in standard entrepreneurship advice, and there's no substitute for learning from people who've built something similar from the ground up.

Whether you're an artist, designer, musician, writer, shop owner, brand founder, freelancer, student, or running any kind of creative small business — if your creative work is your livelihood, or you're building toward that, this summit is for you. Come exchange ideas with fellow creators, pick up practical strategies from entrepreneurs who've done it, and connect with key support organizations at our resource fair.

What to Expect

Networking opportunities throughout the day

Resource fair featuring support resources for artists and small businesses

Intimate fireside chats in breakout sessions with established entrepreneurs from the arts and design world

Panel discussions, including:

• Creative Funding: Finding the Resources to Grow Your Business
• Hustle & Balance: Building a Business When You Have a Job
• Accessing Government Resources, presented by Mass Cultural Council
• The Cost of Living and the Creative Workforce: How Are Young Artists Building Their Brand in MA
• Space as a Catalyst: Entrepreneurs Building Arts and Design Community Hubs

Info: Welcome remarks from MassArt and Mass Cultural Council. Emily Ruddock of MassCreative will speak about her work advocating for the creative workforce. Keynote speaker Marquis Victor will share insights from his journey as the founder of Elevated Thought, an arts and social justice program in Lawrence that has served more than 4000 youths since its founding in 2010.

Info: Government resources for artists exist — but knowing they're there is only half the battle. Presented by the Mass Cultural Council, this panel puts you directly in front of the state and local staff who administer these programs, so you can hear firsthand what's available, how to access it, and what they wish more artists knew about working with them.

Info: Moderator: Jaden Kyung Moon-Bauch
Panelists: Emi McSwain (songwriter and performer) Claudio Eshun (commercial and fine art photographer) Julie Nguyen (founder of Fake Cakery)
It's no secret that Massachusetts is one of the most expensive places in the country to build a career. So how are young artists doing it anyway? This panel brings together three arts entrepreneurs under 30 — all with thriving businesses and growing audiences — to talk honestly about the cost of building a creative career here, and what's actually worked for them despite the odds.

Info: Moderator: Jen Palacio
Panelists: Sarah Dudek (Indestructible Food), Kurt Ankeny Beauchamp (Kingston Gallery), Daniel Sanchez (Ink Source)
Conventional business wisdom says you need to land an investor or secure a loan to get started. Artists have never quite played by that rulebook. This panel brings together creative entrepreneurs who've funded their businesses through bootstrapping, crowdfunding, grant-writing, and cooperative models — proof that resourcefulness, not capital access, is often the real engine behind a creative business.

Info: Salome sits down with Boston Fashion Week founder Jay Calderin to discuss her growing millinery business Elore Design.

Info: Liv will discuss her own solo practice as a painter and how she founded her studio management platform Gesso. Moderated by photographer and educator Mel Taing.

Info: Denisse will sit down with MassArt Dessign Innovation faculty Amy Heymens (founder of Mad*Pow) to discuss how she sees the role of AI in her work as a creative agency founder.

Info: Moderator: Max Grinnell
Panelists: Zach Baum (Co-founder of Bow Market), Jay Paget (Mass Cultural Council Facilities Fund), Sam Fish (Founder of Exit Galleries), Ali Lipman (Executive Director of Moon Base One)
Great creative communities don't just happen. They're built, often around a physical space someone had the persistence to open and keep alive. This panel explores what it takes to turn square footage into a true gathering point: the operational grind, the choices that invite artists in, and the work of building real community within four walls.

Info: Moderator: Jessi Rosinski
Panelists: Aureila Delaney (Organs Studios), Jess Baer (Baer Ceramics)
Most creative businesses don't start with a leap—they start on nights and weekends, squeezed between a day job that pays the rent and the energy left over to build something new. This panel gets honest about that in-between space: how entrepreneurs sustain a creative practice without burning out, protect the spark that got them started, and navigate the real trade-offs of split time and divided attention—without romanticizing the grind. What does it actually take to build something that lasts, on your own timeline?

Info: Connect with government, non profit, and private organizations that offer resources and services for artists and small businesses.

Event venue & nearby stays

Massachusetts College of Art and Design, 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

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