Periscope: Rural Artist Development (RAD) is an annual, online training and mentorship opportunity uniquely designed to be a transformative experience empowering rural Tennessee artists with the entrepreneurial skills to help them thrive. Training sessions are led by expert business professionals and small group work is facilitated by top arts professionals from across Tennessee.
Periscope RAD artists receive:
- Training: Eight weeks of professional development training customized for working artists living in rural communities;
- Exchange: Artists share best practices with interdisciplinary peers through small group work;
- Mentorship: Each artist is paired one-on-one with a high-caliber mentor for six months;
- Exposure: Year-round opportunities to celebrate the work of alumni artists through the Arts & Business Council and Tennessee Arts Commission.
- Free Tuition: The program fee is waived thanks to the generous support of the Tennessee Arts Commission.
WHO: This training opportunity is limited to 25 artists, artisans, makers and creative entrepreneurs of all artistic disciplines who live and work in rural Tennessee counties.
WHAT: An intensive curriculum that will explore tools to organize, plan, and sustain a creative career, with the goal of developing an individualized business plan to prepare each artist to take their creative endeavors to the next level.
WHEN: Eight consecutive weeks from January-March 2024 followed by six months of one-on-one mentorship.
WHERE: Training sessions are held online via Zoom and course materials are provided through the Google Classroom online learning platform.
2024 TRAINING CALENDAR
Thursday, January 23 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST
Get oriented to Periscope: Rural Artist Development, meet your fellow cohort members, and begin setting some goals.
Thursday, January 30 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST
Analyze your current career position and identify what you need to build the brightest future for your art.
Thursday, February 6 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST
Focus on building a compelling unique selling proposition (USP) by learning from audience evaluations.
Thursday, February 13 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST
Understanding your work, audience, and business structure to optimize the potential of your creative business.
Thursday, February 20 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST
The essentials of building a marketing plan and promoting your work.
Thursday, February 27 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST
Walk through the basics of what generates revenue for you, pricing strategies, and long-term business planning.
Thursday, March 6 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST
Discover the process of talking about your work in a way that will gain believers and make use of other people’s talents.
Thursday, March 13 | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT
Use what you’ve learned to refine your business plan and get comfortable pitching your creative endeavors to your audience.
NOMINATIONS: We encourage alumni, partners, and community members to nominate rural Tennessee artists for Periscope RAD. If you know an artist who would benefit from our intensive entrepreneurial training curriculum, nominate them and we’ll invite them to apply. The nomination deadline is Monday, November 11 at Noon CST (1 p.m. EST)
APPLY: Applications are due Sunday, November 17 at 11:59 p.m. CST (Nov. 18 at 12:59 a.m. EST).
INFORMATION SESSION: For rural artists interested in learning more about the program, application process, and important dates, we will have a live, online information session on Tuesday, October 22 at 5 p.m. CST (6 p.m. EST).
Register for the Information Session
ATTENTION GREATER NASHVILLE ARTISTS: Are you an artist living in the Greater Nashville area with a desire to improve your entrepreneurial skills and make your creative business thrive? Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training applications open in January 2025.
Periscope RAD offers a statewide network of alumni:
Periscope: Rural Artist Development is supported by funding from the Tennessee Arts Commission.
The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and Tennessee Arts Commission offer special thanks to:
