Today we’d like to introduce you to Chyna Mae, Renee Taylor, and Daniel Collins. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Operation ARTS Foundation Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by board members: Chyna Mae, Renee Taylor, and Daniel Collins. They created this organization to be a bridge between artists and resources, strategic partnerships, marketing support, events, professional matchmaking, and opportunities in their field. In order to encourage successful business practices among artists, their organization provides consulting, development tools, support, and key information on how to become an ‘artrepreneur.’ In addition to working with artists, they also work with businesses and the community to help create more consistent freelancing options through opportunity development and by encouraging philanthropy in the arts. Operation ARTS Foundation further supports artists by helping to negotiate favorable terms for the sale of their artwork and artists’ services to cultivate best practices for all. By utilizing creative problem-solving techniques, they help local businesses attract new customers through marketing, alternative art gallery curation, interior decorating, custom art, and any other service that they may need. They also coordinate creative impact events that engage the community while cultivating strong business skills and relationships. Additionally, they encourage philanthropy, culture, and art patronage in the community by creating an atmosphere of value in the arts to show it can be an investment both benevolent and profitable. Their programming consists of local art gallery staging, professional development events, public art, marketing support, resource sharing, opportunity cultivation, career training, and an accredited professional internship program.
History:
With an aim to pursue their passions for the arts and to assist local artists, Chyna Mae and Renee Taylor founded Operation A.R.T.S. LLC officially in 2019. After honing their respective crafts to a professional degree, they both found that there was a lack of support and professional development for individuals in the arts. Even after formal education in the arts most artists today still needed help understanding what it took to be a professional career artist. They decided to go nonprofit with their organization in 2020 to increase their ability to make an impact in the community, and that’s when Daniel Collins joined the board. Steve Fowler advised their organization in 2021 and officially joined the board in 2022. Together with their partners, they formed an “Alliance for Responsible Trade & Sustainability,” which forms the acronym “A.R.T.S.” in their organization name. Since the organization’s inception, they have successfully produced 50+ professional development events, 20+ educational gallery exhibitions, and ten large public art projects. In addition, they provided career training for 49+ interns and 353+ local artists and partnered with 50+ organizations to help strengthen our community. They have delivered opportunities, resources, and support to hundreds of artists across Maryland and the nation.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Operation ARTS began as a partnership between two artists in 2018 with the goal of making a positive impact in the art world. As artists ourselves, we wanted to show others that it was possible to turn their passions into careers and make a difference in the lives of local artists. At first, we thought it was necessary to operate as a for-profit organization, but we eventually realized that a nonprofit model would be more impactful for an organization that mostly serves others.
The first year of Operation ARTS was filled with challenges, including fundraising struggles. Despite these difficulties, we were able to break even and still achieve our goals. In our spare time, we spent a year researching the process of becoming a nonprofit and decided to make the switch. Fortunately, we were able to receive pro bono legal support from Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, which helped us with determining our organization’s purpose, mission, bylaws, board member roles, sales tax exemption, and filing all of the necessary paperwork. We officially filed for Operation ARTS Foundation, Inc. on April 2nd, 2020, and it was the best decision we had ever made.
The process of becoming a nonprofit took about six months of preparation, including not only the paperwork but also mentally preparing for this different way of running an organization. We all took steps to prepare for our roles as board members and nonprofit leaders by taking classes, speaking with experienced nonprofit leaders, and reading as many nonprofit books as we could get our hands on. We also learned how to fundraise, secure grants, solicit donations, and navigate the regulations that come with being a tax-exempt organization. All of our hard work paid off, and we were able to generate multiple streams of income in addition to winning grants and government contracts. We are always striving to become better leaders and the best versions of ourselves by learning new things.
The most time-consuming part of starting Operation ARTS was building relationships with government entities, grantors, other organizations, and partners in order to collaborate or be seen as fundable. That endeavor started in 2015 before we even met, we were building a foundation, a database and a portfolio that made getting grants, partnerships, or fundraising much easier down the road. By building these relationships, we were able to prove that we were fundable even as a newer organization and started consistently winning grants in our second and third years. While every win was accompanied by at least 5-10 losses, each loss was a valuable learning experience. We learned not to take rejections personally, to ask for feedback, and not to give up, as the grant process can be long and challenging.
Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to operate, we were a part of the smaller demographic trying to start a business during the covid19 pandemic. When all of our livelihoods were threatened with the forced closures to stop the spread of the disease, we were faced with 2 options. We had to decide whether to give up or keep going and how to adapt to uncertainty. Previously, our organization had multiple gallery locations in existing businesses such as Launch Workplaces and Mount Vernon Marketplace, which allowed artists to showcase their work in public spaces and beautify the businesses with locally sourced art. During the pandemic, we had to constantly change how we supported artists, how we operated, and how we did business due to constantly changing regulations. The loss of our galleries even inspired the creation of Art MAGNET, our Free Little Art Galleries, which gained popularity and provided communities with art that needed it the most. We are now getting back to supporting our original alternative art staging program and are looking for new locations to collaborate with in 2023.
Starting a nonprofit organization has been an educational, exciting, and rewarding experience. We have all grown a lot over the years by learning to adapt to change and working together to achieve our goals.
We’ve been impressed with Operation ARTS Foundation inc, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Operation ARTS Foundation is dedicated to making a difference in the world, and we pride ourselves on being creative problem solvers. We are a small nonprofit based in Maryland that supports artists, organizations, and the community primarily in the DMV (Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.) We also have an ongoing quarterly internship program started by Chyna Mae in 2016 that supports students and volunteers across the United States for career training in the arts. Our current programming consists of local art gallery staging/curation, professional development events, public art, marketing support, resource sharing, opportunity cultivation, career training, and our internship program. We have a broad array of programs that aim to provide resources for artists and creatives at every level. Thus far the accomplishments we are most proud of would be the impacts that we regularly make with our public art project Art MAGNET, the internship program, and the annual professional development events we put on for Global Entrepreneurship Week Arts (GEW ARTS). These programs have helped us make a difference in the lives of creatives by contributing in unique ways to the arts community.
Vision:
Our vision is to create a revolutionary movement that unites artists, businesses, and the community to support one another. We do this by sharing resources, building strategic partnerships, providing marketing support, hosting events, facilitating professional matchmaking, and establishing opportunities for artists to be hired. In order to help artists succeed in business, our organization offers consulting, tools, support, and key information on how to become an “artrepreneur.”
In addition to working with artists, we also work with businesses or the community to create more consistent freelancing opportunities and encourage philanthropy in the arts. We help negotiate favorable terms for the sale of artwork and artists’ services, promoting best practices for all. Using creative problem-solving techniques, we assist local businesses in attracting new customers through marketing, interior decorating, custom art, or any other service they may need. We also encourage philanthropy, culture, and art patronage in the community by creating value in the arts and highlighting how it can be an investment or gift for anyone. By coming together and furthering our mission of developing the creative economy, we can make a significant impact.
Our Events:
Operation ARTS Foundation curates a variety of creative education events that support artists, businesses, and the community. Our professional development workshops help teach artists the business side of being creative entrepreneurs, as well as cultivating technical artistry skills. We also hold educational exhibitions where we train artists on how to showcase their work professionally and host unique quarterly gallery receptions to support new artists, which may include gallery tours, art workshops, professional development, and networking opportunities.
Throughout the year, we host different types of professional development events for all kinds of artists, including during Global Entrepreneurship Week. These events can be virtual or in-person and may include competitions, juried shows, or creative contests that support artists and their careers. In addition to these events, we also host fundraising events to support our nonprofit and programming endeavors. Our mission is to provide valuable resources and support to artists and the creative community.
Partners Marketing Support / Resources:
As part of our marketing strategy, we share different types of content on our social media channels based on daily themes. On Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, we feature affiliated content from our partners or the community for free to help get the word out. If our partners don’t have graphics, our interns help create them. We also work with other organizations to hire our artists and interns, and we strive to unite with the community and support the creative ecosystem so that artists can thrive. Our goal is to foster a supportive environment where artists can succeed and make a positive impact.
Weekly Campaign:
WEDNESDAYS: Webinar Wednesdays – share other organization’s webinars to help share resources with the community
FRIDAYS: Feature Friday – Opportunities available for artists. Contests, grants, residencies, and more.
SUNDAYS: Social Sunday: Upcoming Partner or Local Community Events
In general, how we partner with other organizations:
Artist Sharing
Event partnership / Collab
Content creation
Cross Promo: Resharing content for our social media campaign Webinar Wednesday, Feature Friday & Social Sunday
Referrals
Hire artists from our roster
Temporary and Permanent Public Art:
Our goal in creating temporary and permanent public art that are interactive and meaningful pieces to our community. Our public art projects may include sculptures, murals, signage, digital new media, performances, and festivals. We want to not only share art with the community but also provide opportunities for artists to be paid for their work. We hold juried shows, stipend-based design contests and form strategic partnerships to create public art. One of our signature public art projects, Art MAGNET, is produced by our team and we currently have four installations in Maryland. We believe that public art has the power to transform communities and bring people together.
ART (M.A.G.N.E.T.) Free Little Art Gallery: https://operationarts.com/artmagnet
When the pandemic forced the closure of our in-person galleries, we decided to create our own version of the free little art galleries called Art M.A.G.N.E.T., which stands for “Mini Art Gallery Neighborhood Entertainment Tour.” This public art project brings miniature galleries and free art supplies to various parts of the state and serves as a platform for the community to share their art and stories. The “make art, take art” motto of Art MAGNET fosters a unique cultural and community exchange that encourages interaction, inspires tourism, promotes artmaking for all, and fosters education and engagement.
The Art MAGNET structure is approximately 6ft tall and has two art gallery spaces that can hold over 40 pieces of tiny art. It also features a light-up sign, solar-powered lighting, and two half shelves for free art supplies. We are currently working on a curator program to teach young artists how to maintain the locations and seeking grants to pay them for maintaining the structure for one year. We believe that this project has the potential to bring joy and creativity to the community, even during difficult times.
Locations:
Gateway Arts Center: 3901 Rhode Island Ave, Brentwood, MD 20722
Veterans Park: Intersection of Decatur Street and Taylor Road, Edmonston, MD, 20781
Bartlett Park: 4300 39th Pl, Brentwood, MD 20722
Parkview Tower Apartments: 7667 Maple Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lessons we learned on our journey are the importance of perseverance and not letting fear hold us back. As board members of Operation ARTS, we had to overcome many fears, such as public speaking, networking with strangers, and trying new things in order to be successful. We learned that it’s essential to make connections and not be afraid to reach out to others, as you never know who might end up making all the difference. We also learned the value of persistence, making a plan, and breaking it down into achievable steps until the task is complete. However, we also learned that sometimes things may not work out for a good reason, and it’s okay to reevaluate our plan or walk away if something consistently isn’t working. Overall, we learned that it’s crucial to never give up and not let feelings of inadequacy stop us from pursuing our goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.operationarts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/operationarts/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/operationarts/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/operation_arts_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0IrnXgBu8vKbyvhkrzJ1RQ
- Other: patreon.com/operationarts
