The Fine Arts Association

Contact: Wanda Wareham, Director of Communications and Marketing
Email Address: wwareham@fineartsassociation.org
Website: www.fineartsassociation.org

Business started:  We are celebrating our 50th anniversary this year. It is a year-long celebration. Actual "birth date" arrives in August.

Type of work:  We are a non-profit community arts education and performance center. Our mission is to enhance lives through arts education, performance and advocacy. We teach classes for ages and ability levels in the disciplines of visual art, theatre, dance and music. Private music lessons are available in virtually all instruments and voice. Ensembles are also offered. Fine Arts has a full performance season that includes theatre productions and concerts.

Benefits of membership:  The Arts Network is one of the biggest benefits of our membership. The resources, networking, information and advocacy are invaluable to us as an arts organization AND to artist entrepreneurs. This resource is so important, as we believe that working artists should have the opportunities and resources that permit them an economically sustainable profession. We have also enjoyed the benefits of the health insurance collaborative and our new HR specialist plans to use COSE's HR information services.

About: The Fine Arts Association has been in the business of educating students in all the arts and providing them and the community at large with performance opportunities for 50 years. As we approach this milestone, we are welcoming through our doors, children and grandchildren of our alumni whose lives have been enhanced by Fine Arts and who want to pass this legacy on.

Connect:  The arts are a business. Statistics prove that the arts and culture sector is a driving economic engine. Arts and culture businesses and organizations are employers and producers, they are drivers for the tourism industry and, as contributors to a region's quality of life, assist in attracting a qualified and sought after workforce, meeting the needs of business and industry who call a region "home."

Advice:  In the past, non-profits used a business model different from for-profit companies. In order to survive, non-profits have had to adopt a new way of thinking and operating, using a for-profit model. The result is that non-profits have become more efficient, effective and financially sustainable. I believe this same strategy can also apply to artists. Business, marketing and accounting classes and seminars for artists are popping up all over the place. In the same vein as non-profits learning from for-profits, I believe that artists can also benefit from valuable advice and practices learned from for-profit leaders. Adaptability and good listening and communication skills are essential to both businesses and artists who work together. Both can learn from each other and may discover new, exciting and effective ways to reach their goals.

Past Arts Network Member Profiles:
Modern Acoustic Music Collective  
Dustin J. Elliott, Absolute Music Productions, LLC
Christopher Sweiger, Artifactual Creations
Patty Flauto, Patty Flauto Art & Design
Brian Sooy, Brian Sooy and Co.
Jean Schnell, Jean Schnell Photography
David Shimotakahara, GroundWorks Dancetheater
Adam Pate, The Caricature Guy
Stephen and Debra Bures, Bures Porcelain and Elements Gallery
Linda Uca Damiani, Fra Angelica Gallery & Studio
JT Thomas, The Cleveland Fashion Media Group - FashionTV Network
SPACES Gallery

Interested in having your member profile on the COSE Arts Network Web site and e-newsletter, or in COSE Update ? Please click here to fill out the online form.