The executive board here at the prospective Creative Artists of New England (Corp.) are trying to gain an understanding of how many people might be interested in joining our non-profit once we are fully registered.
What is CANE?
CANE is a soon-to-be non-profit dedicated to building a community for the arts, encouraging growth and learning among artists, as well as inspiring artists to continue creating art within the states of New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.)
CANE's Vision
Our mission is to build a welcoming community for artists of all backgrounds while maintaining an affordable budget for the average person. Many other art associations charge high yearly membership fees and create events that charge an extra fees; it is not realistic for the average person. We also want to reduce waiting times. Other art associations can have new members wait up to a year before applying or resubmitting a denied application. One of our goals is to eliminate some of these stresses. All application will be reviewed and decided on by the end of each month, and all denied applicants can reapply within the next calendar month.
Our goal is to lean on donations to fund our organization: this will keep our membership prices low and affordable. All applicants for memberships will be able to pay by donation with the minimum being ten dollars. This fee will purchase them their entry ticket to submit a portfolio for review before being accepted or denied. Fee waivers are available to the following: students ages 16-18, low-income individuals, health care workers, librarians, educators, and senior citizens.
We hope by making an association for all of New England it may reopen the arts into areas that have been distanced from it. Giving artists chances to be part of community galleries, have critique spaces, and workshops will form a tighter group of artist relationships and future resources.
Many artists eventually give up due to a lack of motivation or resources. We want to show any artists that they still have a chance at being successful in the art world, especially for smaller mediums like writing, metals, films, music, and textiles. We hope to reach out to not just older more professional artists but also new incoming artists. High School students deserve as much of a chance as adults and deserve to have just as many resources. We want to encourage young students to take workshops or come build portfolios to make their transition into college easier.
Art is for everyone, not just one or two people and we are fighting to build a better community that supports this mindset.
Why Are We Making This Form?
Declaring as a non-profit is a long and expensive decision. Seeing membership interest before we declare, will help us prepare for the business of our being a non-profit. Also, we can't start accepting memberships until we declare as a non-profit. Seeing the potential for future memberships will help us create the best possible community we can.
Members will gain access to...
- a community discord to meet and build relationships with other New England artists.
- a free portfolio reviews and critiques to help build a foundational and professional portfolio.
- the CANE Zine, where we publish artwork and stories (more info TBD)
- being featured on our website and social media.
- workshops, panels, galleries, and other events for members only.
- events where you can meet other artists in real life.
- art news and events outside our organization and in your area.
- leadership opportunities for youth.
- free applications for scholarships and grants as we open them up down the line.
- exclusive CANE swag (made by local artists, more info TBD).
Interested in potential membership? Fill out the form on the next page!
