ARTREPRENEUR
Creative Freedom Through Business Know How
Artrepreneur is a professional development program designed to support remote, northern, Canadian artists navigating the business realities of creative work — from pricing and income to systems, strategy, and long-term sustainability.
Upcoming Workshops
Income Streams for Artists: Practical Tools for Sustainable Creative WorkTue, Feb 10Dawson City
Leveraging Your Story Workshop: Building a Sustainable Communications SystemSun, Feb 01Dawson City
Story Spine Workshop: A Structured Approach to Marketing Your ArtworkWed, Jan 28Dawson City
Write Your Creative Story: Storytelling & Branding for ArtistsSun, Jan 25Dawson City
Program Design
What is Artrpreneur?
Artrepreneur is a practical business education program for artists and cultural workers living in rural, remote, and northern, Canadian contexts.
It exists because artists are constantly expected to operate as small businesses, handling contracts, pricing, taxes, IP, logistics, funding, marketing, and governance, without ever being informed or taught how any of it works.
Artrepreneur fills that gap.
This is not a motivational program.
This is not hustle culture.
This is not “turn your soul into a startup.”
It’s about learning how the systems around art actually function, so artists can make informed choices, protect themselves, and build sustainable practices on their own terms.
Why Artrepreneur Exists
Artists are surrounded by bad information.
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Outdated advice.
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Urban-centric models that don’t apply in the North.
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Well-meaning mentors who’ve never had to ship work from a fly-in community.
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Institutions that assume artists already know how contracts, fees, taxes, or copyright work.
The result?
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Artists undercharge.
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They give away rights they shouldn’t.
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They burn out trying to “figure it out as they go.”
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They rely on informal knowledge instead of credible systems.
Artrepreneur was created to replace guesswork with clarity.
Who It’s For
Artrepreneur is designed for:
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Emerging and mid-career artists
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Indigenous, rural, and northern creatives
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Artists new to Canada or unfamiliar with Canadian systems
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Cultural workers operating outside major urban centres
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Artists who want stability without selling out or scaling endlessly
No MBA required.
No tech bro energy.
Just real information, explained clearly.
What Makes Artrepreneur Different
Most arts professional development programs fall into one of two traps:
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Too theoretical to be useful
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Too generic to apply
Artrepreneur is different because it’s built from lived experience inside arts institutions, galleries, funding systems, and artist-run spaces - not from abstract business theory.
You don’t just learn what to do.
You learn why systems exist, how they actually work, and where the leverage points are.
That means:
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Knowing when to say yes — and when to walk
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Understanding contracts before signing them
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Pricing work realistically for northern realities
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Separating personal finances from artistic practice
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Building income streams that don’t destroy your creativity
How the Program Works
Artrepreneur is currently delivered as a modular, drop-in workshop series, allowing participants to engage at their own pace.
Topics include:
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Business structures for artists
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Pricing, fees, and budgeting
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Contracts, copyright, and IP basics
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Taxes, bookkeeping, and compliance (plain language, no fear tactics)
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Multiple income streams that actually make sense for artists
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Working with institutions without being swallowed by them
Workshops are taught by credible professionals - artists, accountants, lawyers, curators, and consultants - who understand the cultural sector and the northern context.