The Des Moines Arts Festival today announced the launch of Artswork, a new organization designed to support creative entrepreneurs and advance the creative economy in Central Iowa.

According to a news release announcing the creation of Artswork, Arts Festival leaders said the new organization “recognizes that a thriving arts ecosystem is anchored by thriving, creative entrepreneurs, strong arts organizations and world-class arts and cultural institutions.”

“As business and civic leaders continue to recognize the role the arts play as an economic driver as well as enriching the cultural vitality of the region, ARTSwork will focus on professional development and capacity building for independent artists of all disciplines with a shared vision to advance sustainable careers,” the release stated.

According to the release, Artswork extends the Arts Festival’s four primary strategic initiatives — expanding support for artists, arts year-round, inclusivity and elevating the impact of arts in the region. All the initiatives are rooted in the Central Iowa Regional Cultural Assessment and supported by the Capital Crossroads Vision Plan catalyst priorities, the release stated.

The assessment identified individual artists and creative entrepreneurs as cornerstones of the community’s arts and culture ecosystem.

The assessment also called for the “strengthening of the creative economy by developing the talent and skill sets of creative entrepreneurs and artists” as one of the four cultural priorities.

According to the release, ARTSwork will introduce three significant programs that will join the work started in 2022 with the MicroGrant Dinner, A Seat at the Table and Wine & Clay.

They include a new professional development series designed for creative entrepreneurs that will meet monthly and provide career development and education. There will also be the development of a new website to serve as an artist directory for the public searching for artists and creative services, and an artist resource directory that will serve as an online hub for artists to search for grants, public art projects, auditions, performances, art shows and festivals. The goal is to have the sites available by this summer, the release stated.

There will also be Artist Connect, a program that pays professional artists to demonstrate their work to students and their teachers. The interactive program is offered at no cost to schools and is funded by a Community Betterment Grant from Polk County and a grant from the Iowa Arts Council.

Stephen King, Des Moines Arts Festival executive director, said the programs were developed following studies that focused on the needs of artists in the local ecosystem.

“The studies showed a great need for cross-discipline artist networking and life-long learning opportunities to ensure a variety of access points for artists at all stages of artistic development,” he said in the release.