Artist Accelerator 2026 Pilot Program from Nevada County Arts Council Kicks Off
Artist Accelerator 2026 Pilot Program from Nevada County Arts Council Kicks Off
Know and Go
What: The inaugural Artist Accelerator Career Intensive kicks off its Spring 2026 pilot program at Sierra College in Grass Valley, CA.
When: Feb 3, 2026 – March 24, 2026
Where: Sierra College, Nevada County Campus, Grass Valley, CA, and online via Zoom.
Who: Nevada County Arts Council and Allison Wyper of Rhizomatic Arts
Information: nevadacountyarts.org/the-artist-accelerator or email info@nevadacountyarts.org
Grass Valley, CA—February 12, 2026: The Artist Accelerator Career Intensive Spring 2026 program has begun, and the first cohort of artists seeking to build their own creative practice into sustainable careers are already deeply engaged in the eight-week program.
Nevada County has a variety of entrepreneurship and business courses to choose from, but until now the arts haven’t had their own course dedicated to the unique perils creatives and artists face. “Every artist is a small business,” says Eliza Tudor, Executive Director of Nevada County Arts Council. “And like any small business, it takes skills, experience, and hard work to build it into something lasting and successful.”
Over the eight-week course, the nearly two-dozen participants from across the entire county will take deep dives with experts in business formation, taxes, marketing, and more, all facilitated by local artist and arts entrepreneur, Allison Wyper. With her business Rhizomatic Arts, she’s built and consulted on numerous creative businesses, and even helped to assemble the curriculum in the participant’s textbook.
With the recent launch of Nevada County Arts Council’s six-year arts and culture action plan, Culture Forward 2026-2032, they and their collaborative partners have placed a major focus on workforce development in the creative fields locally. The Creative Career Pathways plan within Culture Forward lists the Artist Accelerator and its sister program, the one-day Business of Art Symposium, as key early steps in turning this plan into a reality.
“The arts and culture industry in Nevada County accounts for roughly $66 million in direct spending each year, and supports nearly 1400 full-time jobs—that’s not a small industry! But we are finding that many of the services you’d expect for other industries of a similar size just don’t exist in the same way for the arts,” says Diana Arbex, Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District Program Manager. “We’re hoping this program can be the first step in filling in those gaps and serving the local arts community.”
If the pilot cohort of the Artist Accelerator program succeeds in giving the student artists the tools needed to bring their arts careers to fruition, there are plans to make it a regular course offered by the Nevada County Arts Council.
For more information about The Artist Accelerator: A Career Intensive, click here, or for any other questions about arts and culture in Nevada County, please visit nevadacountyarts.org.
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