The Stone Mountain Arts Incubator

An Artists Microenterprise Program

The Mission of the Stone Mountain Artists Microenterprise Program is to plan for, build, develop, foster, and to nurture a creative economy in the City of Stone Mountain, Georgia.  This mission is to be achieved by providing five microenterprise opportunities to artists. The goals are:   1) to provide five studios and gallery spaces for the artists to display and sell their works.  2) To provide business and artistic technical assistance workshops to the selected artists.  3) To provide networking opportunities among the selected artists.  4) To assist the artists to collaborate to open creative businesses in the City of Stone Mountain after the artists have completed the program.

The vision for the Stone Mountain Artists Microenterprise and the City of Stone Mountain is a prosperous Village thriving with quality and accessible art, culture, music, food, commerce and history attracting local residents as well as tourists from throughout the world.

Artists will be selected through a vigorous jury process which will evaluate artists on the basis of both their artistic skills and their business practices.  Artists will provide a statement of their artistic mission and focus as well as samples of their work and a desire to operate a gallery of their own in the future.  All artists will be required to meet the low to moderate income requirements of the Microenterprise guidelines as established by the Federal Department of the Housing and Urban Development. 

A panel of well established artists from the Metro Atlanta area will serve as adjudicators for the selection process of the Microenterprise members.  These panel members will be representative of both the commercial and non-profit visual arts community of Atlanta.

All selected artists will be required to attend two monthly technical assistance workshops.  One workshop per month will have an artistic focus and the other workshop will have a business related workshop.  Business topics will include:  incorporation, tax issues, point of sale practices, accounting and bookkeeping, marketing and public relations, banking relationships, customer service training, human resource training, and other issues which may become pertinent in the current business environment.

Artist will agree to be open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and to be open for special events produced by the City.  Artists will donate 30% of the sale of all art works to the City of Stone Mountain Micro Enterprise Program. 

All artists selected will be provided with a studio gallery space, marketing support and technical assistance and will be required to provide all of their equipment and supplies as well as pay a $1 per square foot rent on the facility per year.

The initial period of the program will be for one year, with a renewable term of an additional year, if the artists have met the guidelines and the evaluation process of the program. 

All selected artist will sign a contract between the artist and the City of Stone Mountain, Georgia.  The project will be managed by ART Station Contemporary Arts Center in Stone Mountain, GA, www.artstation.org.  The Artistic Director for the Project will be David Thomas, ART Station, Inc.  For questions or additional information, please e-mail stonemountainartsincubator@gmail.com.

• Income requirements to participate in the project

COMBINED FAMILY INCOME

 (Find the size of your family first and circle your Income limits Information) (Effective March 19, 2009)

To apply for the program, fill out the application and submit with appropriate application attachments. There is a rolling deadline.  The next round of applications will be reviewed August 31 & September 15.

Click here for the application