Seminar: Social Enterprise and Creative Practice 101

As more and more artists engage with alternative ways to support their creative projects, such as crowd-sourcing or bartering, many are now exploring social entrepreneurship as an option. But what is “social entrepreneurship” exactly? This mini-workshop will explore the way social enterprise has been defined and invite participants to engage with concepts and tools they can apply to their own ventures. Case Studies will be shared, including The Laundromat Project and Word Up Bookstore. Q&A to follow. This event is open to artists engaged or interested in social change initiatives.

Co-presented by The Laundromat Project, New York Foundation for the Arts Immigrant Artist Project, and Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance.

Limited seating available.
RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3681936772

Suggested Donation to Word Up Community Bookshop: $5

Facilitator: Risë Wilson
Risë Wilson is the Program Manager for Leveraging Investment in Creativity’s Space for Change program, which aids arts organizations and community leaders in imagining and planning for a 21st century art space. Risë is also the Founder of The Laundromat Project (The LP), an emerging social enterprise that mounts public art projects in neighborhood laundromats as a way of increasing the quality of life in communities of color living on low incomes. In order to launch The LP Risë pursued a practical education in non-profit arts management by holding positions in both large-scale and grassroots cultural institutions such as the MoMA, ICP, the Painted Bride, and Art Sanctuary. Her work has earned national recognition; she was a 2004 Echoing Green fellow and a 2008 Douglas Redd fellow in art and community development. Risë holds a BA from Columbia University where she was a Kluge Scholar, and an MA from NYU where she was a MacCracken Fellow. She is former faculty at Parsons, the New School for Design, where she helped product design students apply their creative talents to the public sphere, and is currently in the process of launching a coaching and consultant practice to help organizations and individuals “focus on purpose.”