Yesterday marked the first Yoknapatawpha Arts Council Art Incubator session of the year. This event is a part of the council’s initiative to help local artists succeed in growing their small businesses through free events and brainstorming sessions. 

What started in 2009 as small, individual consultations has grown into a monthly series that range from consultations to workshops and networking events. The arts council also offers resources for artists to use that include internet access and printing. 

“Every workshop, we do try and keep the material fresh. (We) bring in new people,” Meghan Gallagher, coordinator for education and outreach, said. “Also (we discuss) relevant topics, especially social media, (and) things where your small business needs to know what’s changing and trending.”

Artists can apply for incubator sessions for any help or trouble shooting and receive a network of approximately 130 experts who have helped with group or individual projects. 

YAC Director Wayne Andrews sees the resources as something to get creatives inspired as well as enhancing the quality of the community as well as the economy. Andrews said he has seen many jobs being made with the help of creative small business expansion through the art industry with the help of the incubator. 

“It’s not about attracting an industry here,” Andrews said. “The jobs are already here. People are working. It’s taking the skills they have and maximizing what they can do with it.”

Creatives who have either moved out of Oxford or are not from the town often participate in the programs because of the individualized attention that the YAC provides. 

“What we find is the people that do (the program), take away a little something and they keep coming back because it has value to them,” Andrews said. “They become more and more involved. We’ve seen projects take off.”

A small subset of the incubator offers small business knowledge to any local creatives through a Community Supported Arts program. Through this subset, artists of any kind are able to receive a stipend that will help advance their business to the next level.  

“It’s been fascinating,” Andrews said. “We’ve seen people grow, and we see people rethink. You see people in different skill sets connect and people start getting advice and having a sense of trust.”

Andrews stressed the resources the arts council provides and the ripple effect the program has had on the Oxford community. 

“If we can reintroduce (entrepreneurship), we can change their economic situation, which brings more money into the community (and) more disposable income,” Andrews said.

The council works with state entrepreneurial services such as the Mississippi Arts Commission as well as the National Endowment for the Arts to help creatives complete business goals that would have been otherwise difficult to accomplish. 

According to the 2019 MAC annual report, the organization provided Mississippi artists and art organizations approximately 251 grants and awarded $1.3 million in funding.

“We’re driving people towards the resource center and using the facilities,” Gallagher said. “We’re highlighting that it’s available. It’s ongoing, but sometimes you need a focal point.”

Though the sessions are free, registration for future events is required for participation and resource utilization.