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The Program
What does it cost?
Financial assistance
Application
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Artist Accelerator: A Career Intensive

 

Nevada County Arts Council, with Allison Wyper of Rhizomatic Arts, presents: The Artist Accelerator: A Career Intensive

If you’re an artist, you already have a business. The Artist Accelerator helps you build the skills, structures, and confidence to run it with purpose and sustainability.

This 8-week hybrid program blends practical tools with peer connection so you can strengthen the business side of your creative practice without losing sight of your artistic core. 

Who is this for

This program is ideal for emerging or established artists and cultural producers who are ready to level up, make a better living, pay off debt, or pursue new income streams. No matter where you are in your career, the Accelerator meets you there — whether you’re just beginning to see your art as a business or are ready to refine and grow your practice. 

What you’ll gain

  • Clarity on your values, audiences, and business models.

  • Practical tools for marketing, finance, and legal protections.

  • Confidence in pricing your work and setting financial goals.

  • Insight into income streams that can sustain your practice.

  • A graduation presentation that reflects your unique voice and style.

  • A strong network of peer artists and accountability partners who will support you long after the program ends. 

The Program

    • Kickoff and Graduation (in-person): Artist presentations at the start; art business pitches + celebration at the end.

    • Weekly live workshops (via Zoom): Each session is led by seasoned professionals and industry experts—artists, consultants, and advisors who understand both creativity and commerce.

    • Digital workbook and toolkit: Readings, worksheets, and resources to turn learning into action.

    • Optional accountability huddles: Weekly peer-led check-ins.

    1. [In-person] Artist presentations + “What roots you?” / Core Values

    2. “What do you offer to your people?” / Customers + Business Models

    3. “Marketing = connecting your people with what you do.”

    4. “Know your rights + protect your work.” / Legal Protections

    5. “What do you need to earn to thrive?” / Financial Goals, Debt and Taxes

    6. “Where is the $ coming from?” / Income + Pricing

    7. “Moving forward with accountability.” / Planning

    8. [In-person] Art business pitches + graduation celebration

  • Meets Tuesdays, 11am-2pm PT, from February 3-March 24, 2026.

    Weeks 1 and 8 will meet in person in a Nevada County, CA, location TBD.

    Weeks 2-7 will take place on Zoom.

What does it cost?

 

Tuition: $750. Scholarships and installment plans are available. We provide guidance to help participants apply for Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) Quick Grants (up to $600) to cover tuition.

Need financial assistance?

Scholarships and installment plans are available through the Nevada County Arts Council. Scholarship amounts will be determined after all applications are received.

CCI Quick Grant: Participants are encouraged to apply for a Quick Grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation, which awards up to $600 to individual artists in California for professional development activities. You must apply for funding at cciarts.org/quick_grant.htm no later than 5:00 p.m. PT on December 15, and select “Activity Type: Workshop.” CCI will notify you of your award status by January 15.

 

Application Process

Applications are due by Jan. 5, 2026.

You will be notified of acceptance (and scholarship award, if applicable) by January 13, 2026.

Applicants who are not granted a spot in the first round will be placed on a waitlist.

Questions about the application process should be emailed to info@nevadacountyarts.org.

Application Form

Instructors

Workshop Facilitator

Allison Wyper (Workshop Facilitator)

Allison Wyper is a performance artist, consultant, and arts entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience supporting individual artists and organizations. She specializes in thoughtful professional development program design and facilitation, one-on-one coaching, and collaborative website design. She founded Rhizomatic Arts in 2014 to help creative people work independently, not alone.

Allison is a Master Facilitator of the Business of Art curriculum created by the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), where she served as Artists Knowledge Manager from 2017-2023. She is the author of CCI’s Business of Art Facilitation Guide (forthcoming). Born and raised in Grass Valley, Allison is happy to once again call Nevada County home after 25 years!

Guest Presenters

Alex Glancy (Legal Issues)

Alex Glancy specializes in transactional business law, including corporate, securities and intellectual property law, with a mission-driven approach. Her clients include startups, impact investment funds, creatives, cooperatives and nonprofits. Alex is a partner and founding attorney at her firm based in Los Angeles. Core principles of their practice include serving as a community resource and building sustainable relationships. To expand access to legal information for creatives, Alex has collaborated with The Artist’s Contract, Sustainable Economies Law Center and the Center for Cultural Innovation. She has presented at CalArts, Otis College of Art and Design, CCI, UCLA and the California Center for Cooperative Development. Alex graduated from Harvard Law School. She holds a bachelor’s degree with honors from Northwestern University in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences and Anthropology.

 

Dr. Amy Kweskin, DBA (Business Models)

Dr. Amy Kweskin (DBA) guides individuals and teams in developing strategic plans that are aspirational and actionable through her consulting and coaching practice Artsightful. Amy’s strategic management tools are shared in the publications Business of Art: An Artist’s Guide to Profitable Self-Employment and Arts Entrepreneurship: How to Craft Your Creative Business Model. She teaches Arts Entrepreneurship, Strategic Arts Leadership, Communications for Managers, and Emotional Intelligence at universities across the US. Amy earned her Doctor of Business Administration and Masters of Arts Administration from Golden Gate University in the heart of San Francisco. To bring balance to her practices Amy is a 500-hour certified yoga instructor, attuned at Level 2 Reiki and has a diploma in Neuro Linguistic Programming. Ever the explorer, Amy’s hobby is riding Amtrak to destinations near and far.

 

David Thomson (Money Management)

David Thomson is an interdisciplinary artist who has worked extensively across the fields of dance, music, performance and theater for over 40 years, working and collaborating with a wide range of artists including Bebe Miller, Trisha Brown (1987-1993), Ralph Lemon, Sekou Sundiata, Marina Abramović, Yvonne Rainer, Maria Hassabi and Matthew Barney, among many others. Thomson was honored with awards and fellowships from US Artists, Yaddo, MacDowell, Foundation for Contemporary Arts and the Alpert Award. He initiated the Artist Sustainability Project with Kate Watson-Wallace in 2017, as an ongoing platform that seeks to create and expand discourse surrounding ideas of financial, artistic, and personal empowerment in the arts community. At the heart of this work are larger questions and philosophies around care, community and resources that feed and support each artist’s ecosystem of sustainability. David Thomson developed YoungArts’ Artist Resource Collective (ARC) program in collaboration with YoungArts and Emily Waters. He is currently studying to become an Accredited Financial Counselor.

Dr. Elaine Grogan Lutrull, CPA-PFS, AFC® (Income Strategies)

Dr. Elaine Grogan Lutrull, CPA-PFS, AFC® is the founder of Minerva Financial Arts, a company devoted to building financial literacy and empowerment in creative individuals through education and coaching, and her workshops and presentations have been featured nationwide. Elaine spent 10 years in academia, teaching at the Columbus College of Art & Design and serving as the Department Head for Business & Entrepreneurship from 2014-2018. Before that, Elaine served as the Director of Financial Analysis for The Juilliard School and in the Transaction Advisory Services practice of Ernst & Young in New York. Elaine is the author of Arts & Numbers (Agate, B2 2013), and she contributes regularly to industry guides, including those from the Center for Cultural Innovation and the Joan Mitchell Foundation. She is based in Dublin, Ohio (Kaskaskia and Hopewell indigenous and cultural lands) where she serves on the boards of the Short North Alliance and Healing Broken Circles.