INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINED CREATIVITY
WHAT WE DO
isc serves artists through matchmaking, mentoring, and resource sharing.
The ultimate measure of our success comes from identifying, creating, and expanding opportunities for artists.
ISC Programming
Connection Hub
We function as catalysts to connect artists, arts leaders, organizations, foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and academic institutions. Our personal and intentional one-on-one approach creates partnerships that are designed to facilitate resource sharing and the development of concrete, pragmatic plans to reshape how the arts are taught, spoken about, and supported. Acting as a bridge and “matchmaker” between stakeholders with the same values, we share these “mappings” that make possible meaningful and impactful collaboration between artists, organizations, and communities.
Conversation Book Tours
Between 2013 - 2018, we produced the first legs of our “Living and Sustaining a Creative Life” tour based on Sharon Louden’s first two books. Visiting more than 164 locales across the country, Alaska, and abroad, we met with more than 10,000 arts professionals. Our next chapter in this series of tours is “Last Artist Standing,” which began in the fall of 2025 and will continue into 2027. The measurable outcome from these events continues to be substantial and wide-ranging, including employment and exhibition opportunities, community building, individual validation, and implementation of new ideas.
Workshops
From Professional Development guidance to “Needs, Wants & Gives” convenings to working with medical professionals, these in-depth workshops (in-person & remote) are popular across the country in many different types of venues.
Mentoring
We provide nuanced, pragmatic, and real-life mentoring tailored to the specific needs and wants of artists. Through ongoing research into the paths of both historical and contemporary artists, we share with our mentees proven strategies and perspectives that have led to sustainability for artists across various art forms. At the heart of this approach is connecting artists to arts leaders and professionals that are relevant and useful to them.
Higher Ed & Other Learning Environments
Collaboration with academic institutions to help propagate best practices of Professional Development programming as well as other pedagogy.
Data Collection
As a result of our ongoing grass-roots conversation book tours since 2013, we have gathered a strong foundation of collected data points that inform everthing we do. We continue to add data points from studies & reports that are focused on the arts top support how our services to artists are needed.
Resources and Publishing
We are constantly leverage our partnership collaborations to exchange and publish research findings, including in-depth reports, links to important iniatives, and video interviews and convenings.
Keynotes and Informal Gatherings
Sharon Louden travels all over the country as an advocate for artists, sharing pathways of sustainability to a wide range of audiences. She has decades of experience in higher ed teaching and leading informal get-togethers, as well as presenting during symposium convenings, keynotes, and even as graduation speaker at the University of Connecticut School of Art.
General Public
Messaging and education about the arts industry to non-art centric entities and communities is an ongoing project at ISC. Sharing how artists are far more than just “makers” and contribute to the well-being of others is paramount to our mission. Breaking the many myths the general public has about artists is essential to our mission.