The purpose of Works In Progress (WIP) is to provide financial and educational resources directly to creative professionals who live and work in North Louisiana.
This
geographic area includes the following parishes in Regions 1 – 4:
Bossier,
Bienville, Richland,Caddo,
Jackson, Madison,Claiborne,
Desoto, LaSalle,
Lincoln,
Natchitoches, Concordia, Morehouse,
Winn, East Carroll, Union,
Sabine, Catahoula, Webster,
Red River, Ouachita, West
Carroll, Caldwell, Grant 
WIP
defines “creative professional" as follows:
Creative
professionals are the people and organizations that
transform cultural skills,
knowledge, and ideas into goods, services,
and events. Our core cultural segments
include design, performing
arts, music, entertainment, literary arts and humanities,
visual arts,
and culinary arts.
If
North Louisiana’s cultural workers are to thrive, funding and business
practices must be in place to support strategies that cultivate artists'
careers, enable artistic experimentation, and create income opportunities in
the creative professions.
Works In Progress will put cash
from non-governmental grants and community donors directly into the hands of North
Louisiana’s creative professionals in order to help them become
self-sustaining. WIP will help creative
professionals learn how to write grant proposals, set goals, measure outcomes,
and plan for future professional success at no cost to the artists.
WIP
grantees will be able to answer these key questions:
- What is my/our organization’s artistic ambition?
- What is the current business model for supporting my artistic ambitions? Or, how will the artist/organization deliver and support activities through a cost structure and revenue strategy that comprises earned and contributed sources? Is this plan realistic for the next 3-5 years?
- To achieve the desired future business model and capital structure, what needs to change between now and then?
- What investments do I/we need to make to attract recurring revenue that will support our business/art career after WIP funds are expended?
- How will I/we raise that capital - or adjust our plans if we cannot?
- How will I/our organization measure progress and success during the next 3-5 years?
Once WIP funding is spent, the
artist/organization should be able to more fully
cover its future costs with
reliable sources of revenue (reliable revenue = an
estimate of the amounts of earned and contributed revenue with a track record
of recurrence such as ticket sales, memberships or tuition income raised
consistently over a sustained period of time).
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Image: © Australia
Council for the Arts
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Controlling funding for arts via
quasi-governmental agencies is not beneficial for artists - but it is the
general practice in Louisiana. These bureaucratic “arts councils” are most often
run by non-artists, are controlled by the interests of government and large-gift
private donors, and have their own political/aesthetic interests and agendas.
These organizations also engage in outdated, hierarchical management styles,
and do not have a history of significant direct artist support – especially in
North Louisiana.
Cultural
and political differences between North and South Louisiana (e.g.: New
Orleans
Cajun culture, Baton Rouge-controlled funding, etc.) have negatively affected
support for artists in North Louisiana for decades - with the northern half of
the state historically receiving less in government allocations and
trickle-down grant funding.
Without dedicated grant
writers at their disposal, North Louisiana artists and cultural organizations have
few other alternatives for direct support outside of bureaucratic,
government-controlled arts councils.
Needless
to say, there is a huge unmet need in North Louisiana (and nationwide) for
private, non-profit funding for creative professionals who are seeking start-up
support, change capital, and meaningful financial assistance. WIP
will maintain a reliable source of financial support that is accessible to local
artists when they need it.
WIP will enable creative
professionals to pursue artistic innovation and experimentation, learn how to
manage a business, prepare for the unexpected, and make critical investments in
income-generating activity.
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Image: © 2013 Creative Capital
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WIP will also organize
educational workshops, and offer business consultation and other customized
services as needed by North Louisiana’s cultural workforce.
WIP
is utilizing research from the National Endowment for the Arts, Americans for the
Arts, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the State of Louisiana Department of
Culture,
Recreation and Tourism in order to gain an understanding of the needs/areas for
improvement in our cultural community.
During
the creation phase of our organization, WIP is working closely with
Mr. Kim Mitchell to implement the Purdue University Center for Regional
Development's "Strategic Doing" Initiative (http://www.pcrd.purdue.edu/What_We_Do/SD/).
This hands-on training will help our Board of Directors build a
network/relationship-based foundation, and steer away from outdated
hierarchical management models that are not effective when working with
creative people.
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Copyright ©
2012, Purdue University/Ed Morrison
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We
have based our business plan on the model programs of Craft Emergency Relief Fund,
ArtsWave, Grantmakers in the Arts, United States Artists, and Creative Capital.
We are specifically researching
unmet needs in our arts sector, application processes, and realistic
performance metrics for creative professionals.
Contact Debbie Hollis at 318.751.8540 if you are interested in becoming a community donor, or if you have a project that might qualify for Works In Progress funding.
Contact Debbie Hollis at 318.751.8540 if you are interested in becoming a community donor, or if you have a project that might qualify for Works In Progress funding.
Works In Progress, WIP, Works In Progress Louisiana, and www.worksinprogresslouisiana.com are the intellectual property of Deborah Lynn Hollis. WIP's programs and business plan are the intellectual property of Deborah Lynn Hollis. Copyright 2014.
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