Grow An Online Audience Of Art Buyers & Sell Your Work In Reputable Venues
Professional Artist MBA
4.9 (100+ ratings)
Stage
Emerging, Re-emerging or Transitioning Artist
The Goal
Forever-sustainable art business
Course Length
8 Weeks
Course Format
Cohort Based Course
The Quick Summary:
The Professional Artist MBA is an 8-week-long intimate workshop-style course for visual artists who are serious about making it as a professional artist, designed by a faculty of leading art professionals.
This course is 100% online and consists of short training videos, weekly live implementation workshops, and a private chat community for peer feedback.
To remedy the growing wave of “one stop shop marketing gurus” claiming to know it all about the Art World. We have invested years and close to six figures in producing the ultimate curriculum to flourish as an artist today.
The program dates are listed at the bottom of this page. The application takes about 9 minutes to complete.
Who this course is for
Emerging Artist
You are an ambitious emerging artist with no time to waste, you want clear instructions to build your reputation and sell more work.
Re-Emerging Artist
You’ve had to put your art on pause for years and finally have the time again -- but so much is new, you need help to catch up (eg. technology overwhelm).
Transitioning Artist
You always dreamt of being an artist and are ready to make the jump from your current career - but you are lacking a proven step by step plan.
Our Faculty has been featured in or worked with...






Meet the Faculty
(Because no one “guru” has all the answers)

Miguel Mayher
Director of Education, Ex-Partnerships for Google Arts & Culture
Mindset & Business Strategy for Artists

Rosalind Davis
Artist-Curator & Author
Group Shows with Artists You Admire

Jason Horejs
Gallery Owner & Author
Getting Gallery Representation

Dina Brodsky
Social Media Influencer, Artist & Curator
Instagram for Your Artist Career

Gigi Rosenberg
Author of The Artist’s Guide to Grant Writing
How to talk about your art and yourself

Vicki Krohn Amorose
Author of "Art-Write"
Everything you will ever need to write
Guest Faculty

Ana Blanco
Course Facilitator & Head of Art Business Coaching
Former Director of the International Arts & Culture Group

Anibal Luque
Lawyer for Artists
Demystifying Legal Documents for Visual Artists

Ellaine Grogan Luttrull
Author of "Arts & Numbers"
Multiple Income Streams for Artists

Daniel Sharp
Former Arts Outreach Lead | Kickstarter
Getting Paid For Your Art Before You Start, With Crowdfunding

Paul Dorrell
Author of Living the Artist’s Life | Leopold Gallery
Creative Financing for Artists
Here's how it works
Cohort-based Courses
A New Type of Online Course

Active Learning by Doing
Every week we release a new workshop, mindset lectures, and facilitate an intimate workshop-style session: with peer feedback and break out discussions to implement together.

Learn with a Cohort of Peer Artists
You'll be working with a small group of up to 15 fellow artists, all building towards the same transformation together.

Accountability and Feedback
Ever felt like you were procrastinating on the business side of your art? We walk together step by step so that you can see real time results instead of being left behind.

Plenty of time to review on your own
Eight weeks of focused action will build your foundation. We give you the A through Z of the business and career side of art, with 1 year access to all instructional materials.
Curriculum
After taking this course, you’ll be able to grow an online audience that buys your work, show your work with artists you admire, and become a gallery-represented artist. You will leave with a clear roadmap to becoming the recognized professional artist you always dreamed of being.
PART 1: Professionalize Your Profile
Click the arrows to see more details on the course
Objective: Talk about your art with confidence
You’ve been creating your latest art project for more than a year and still when your family asks, “What are you working on?” you don’t know what to say. Or you serendipitously meet a curator and when they turn to you and say, “What do you do?” you’re tongue-tied.
A good introduction is a concise, compelling description of you and your latest project—and is the basis for all your marketing and connecting the world with your art. It sounds so simple! But it’s not easy. If crafting those few sentences that convey who you are and what you do hasn’t been a breeze for you, you’re not alone.
In this lively workshop, Public speaking coach and author of The Artist's Guide to Grant Writing, Gigi Rosenberg, will show you how to distill years of work on a project into a memorable hook that has many uses: virtual introductions, videos, in-person meetings, grant applications, follow-up calls with the funder, bio statements, press packets, and more.
This session answers questions like:
Additional Assets:
Breakdown:
Includes 45 minute Live implementation workshop
Objective: Perfect your professional writings
Learn how to express your work and what you stand for in writing. From polishing an artist statement you (finally!) feel strong about, to making your bio memorable, to knowing what to do with your non-art background in your resume. Let the author of the book on this topic guide you, and use her fill-in-the-blanks templates for a head start.
Includes 45 minute Live implementation workshop
Objective: Polish your artist website so that it converts into leads and sales
This module boils down 20 years of website building experience into the few principles and tactics that matter most for a visual artist -- even if you are not tech-savvy at all.
You will understand how to create the two key outcomes that matter: raising your credibility, and converting visitors into subscribers or collectors.
Through this module, you will create a clear vision for an artist website that makes both you and your work shine. You can then follow the simple steps to bring that vision to life.
When you complete this module, you'll have a fully updated professional artist website you feel proud of. You won’t be shy anymore when people ask to see your art on their phone, or when submitting applications to prestigious international calls for artists.
Everything about your website will clearly state, “I am a professional artist. Here is my work. You can buy now or join my private list.”
Includes 45 minute Live implementation workshop
PART 2: Grow Your Audience ONline
Objective: Get your first 100 email subscribers then grow into the thousands
What is the #1 channel to sell art online? It’s not social media… it’s” good old email”. Email is what people with disposable income still use every day. And it allows you to build a one-on-one relationship with your followers in their private inbox.
In this module, you will learn how to build an email list like a pro. You will stop any amateur practices you may have fallen into (which sometimes are illegal without you knowing it).
You will end this module having gained your first 100 subscribers in a week, with specific strategies to multiply your growth into the thousands of subscribers. You will also have a defined frequency that works for you to connect with your private email list that includes opportunities for them to buy your work -- while making them feel special.
Includes 45 minute Live implementation workshop
Objective: Accelerate your weekly Instagram follower growth
Would you like to 10x your Instagram following? If you have been struggling to get traction, chances are you need to change the way you are using social media.
In this module, social media influencer and artist Dina Brodsky will share what steps to follow so you can get all the benefits of Instagram as a professional artist while avoiding the pitfalls of screen addiction.
After finishing this module, you’ll know how to self-audit your Instagram profile and fix what is broken. You will receive plenty of examples of great posts whose style you can model the next time you share your work.
You will also understand the specific do’s and don’ts of what makes people stop scrolling, what makes them like and comment, and how you can best take advantage of the algorithms to maximize your exposure.
Finally, you’ll be able to harness the power of networking on Instagram and create new opportunities in your art career. This module includes a “cheat sheet” of Instagram accounts you can approach to get featured to hundreds of thousands of their followers.
Includes 45 minute Live implementation workshop
PART 3: Show Your Work OFFline
Objective: Learn how to organize successful group shows with other artists you admire
Imagine you could show your work next to artists you admire who are 10 years ahead of you in their art career. Would you say yes? This module will break down in minute detail how to make that happen instead of just hoping for a lucky break.
Artist-curator Rosalind Davis has organized more than a hundred shows. In this module, she will share with you the blueprint to go from obscurity to newspaper mentions. You’ll learn not only how to book the right venue and persuade the right artists but also how to promote the show in social media and press releases for a full house opening.
Once you finish this module, you will have full confidence to level up your artist profile and show your work alongside artists who used to intimidate you. You will stop waiting to “be discovered”. You will understand how to have gallery directors, critics, and other art professionals come to meet you instead of you knocking on their door.
Apply the 4 step formula to one problem you are facing:
Includes 45 minute Live implementation workshop
Objective: Discover how to get represented by one or more galleries that sell your work
What makes the difference between loving or hating your relationship with your gallery?
And, how do you get into a gallery in the first place?
Whether you prefer to market your own work or would rather have someone else take care of it, having the right gallery representation offers you a ticket to higher sales and recognition.
In this module, multi-gallery owner Jason Horejs, author of How to Get Into a Gallery, breaks down his strategy for finding, courting, and signing your dream galleries.
Whether you don’t have gallery representation right now or you want to expand into more galleries (maybe outside your area or even your country), you will end this module with a crystal-clear roadmap of how to find and secure new galleries that sell your work. No more excuses.