The Institute for Sustained Creativity
Learn more about RedLine’s fiscal sponsorship of The Institute for Sustained Creativity and how you can support them today!
About the The Institute for Sustained Creativity
Appearance before arts administrators, as part of the Colorado Creative Industries Summit, Crested Butte, CO. June 1, 2023.
Our focus is to share transparent and effective problem-solving strategies that can provide clear pathways for artists to sustain their lives in ways that benefit the communities in which they live and work.
In the process of collecting, analyzing, creating and sharing usable solutions for artists, we aim to strengthen and connect educational organizations, nonprofits, governmental entities, and artist communities together in an open and generous arts ecosystem.
The Institute for Sustained Creativity challenges arts leaders and community stakeholders to create forward-thinking policies and pedagogies that elevate the importance of the arts—and artists—in all sectors of the economy.
By combining grassroots artist and administrative experience with strategic communications and community building, we advocate for the following:
Making transparent the pathways by which artists can sustain creative lives.
Strengthening the message that artists give to the well-being of others.
Connecting siloed organizations and community leaders to facilitate collaboration.
Breaking down historic myths into real-life messaging of artists’ lives today in the 21st century.
Sharing accurate reports and recommendations of contemporary practices in pedagogy and micro problem-solving for individual artists to sustain their lives.
Artistic expression as essential for freedom of speech.
Building arts throughout our education systems.
Transforming the messaging about artists — ie: there is no such thing as a “day job" or a “teaching artist”; artists come from abundance and not a deficit, etc.
Why The Institute for Sustained Creativity is Critical Now
There is no single organization solely dedicated to providing artists with pragmatic, actionable strategies for sustaining creative lives. Key gaps in existing arts communities include:
No central hub gathering data on pathways to sustainability.
No entity identifying, mapping, and sharing lists of community leaders globally.
Lack of transparency in how artists can sustain their careers.
Rarely or no collaboration between academic institutions on professional development pedagogy.
No unified space connecting museums, academic institutions, nonprofits, artist-run spaces, galleries, and non-art organizations to share resources on how artists contribute to societal well-being.
How Institute for Sustained Creativity Serves Artists
Pragmatic problem-solving programs for working artists.
Partnerships (nonprofit / academic / corporate).
Publishing recommended practices.
Convening book events and workshops where individual artists "needs & wants" are addressed in group settings.
Living and Sustaining a Creative Life Conversation Book Tours
Between 2013 and 2018, we produced over 160 stops on two separate book tours highlighting Sharon Louden's "Living and Sustaining a Creative Life" series of collections of essays by working artists.
Throughout 2025 and 2026, we will be producing a third book tour in support of Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life Over 50, Louden's third collection of essays by working artists. Thirty one artists, all over 50 years of age, most of whom are underrepresented individuals, will be amplified in these conversation settings throughout the country and abroad.
Although the marketplace generally overlooks these artists, their stories and careers are some of the most inspiring. They are mentors to other artists, having learned how to thrive and continue their creativity through decades of life's travails.
Their stories are being shared with the public so that their models can be replicated by all age groups, both within and beyond the art world. The focus is on this age group because, although the marketplace often overlooks these artists, their stories and careers are some of the most inspiring out there.
For more information on this new book, as well as all of the books in this series, please visit:
Support the Institute for Sustained Creativity Today
As we build out our capacity to serve more and more artists across the country, including this third conversation book tour throughout 2025-2026. We will need to build on our current 60+ partnerships, inviting all forms of financial support from individuals, foundations, and corporate giving.
We are full of gratitude for any support you might give. Your gift will help us work together to build out this new model of a peer-to-peer service organization for artists, communication hub, and research think-tank that is sharing real-life, pragmatic solutions and tangible pathways for artists to sustain their creative lives.
What is Fiscal Sponsorship at RedLine?
Fiscal Sponsorship provides nonprofit umbrella status to artists and artistic projects without a 501(c)(3) ruling from IRS.
As a fiscal sponsor, RedLine can assist you with accessing support through formal granting systems and private philanthropy.
