Art-Up: Artists in Business

Gloria Velasco, a student in the Uniarts Hub pre-incubator program for fall 2024, reflects on her journey and insights into creative entrepreneurship. In this blog text, Velasco shares how the program has helped her develop business skills, bridge traditional divides between art and commerce, and find the courage to pursue a sustainable and meaningful career as a creative professional.

Uniarts Helsinki’s Uniarts Hub project, Aalto Digital Creatives and Startup Refugees organised an event called Creatives Meetup on 21 May at G Live Lab. Students participating in the pre-incubator programme hosted by Uniarts Helsinki and Aalto University pitched their business idea to an audience and a jury. The event was open for everyone, and it was held in English. The event concluded this spring’s Uniarts Hub programme at Uniarts Helsinki. The application period for the next edition of the programme starts in August.

Trumpeter Devina Boughton hails from the United States. After their Fulbright exchange year, staying in Finland seemed like the right path forward. In the autumn of 2022, they participated in the Uniarts Hub pre-incubator program, which gave them the tools to establish a business. Devina wants to continue working as a musician, composer, arranger, and music teacher.

Thinking about applying to Uniarts Hub? Here’s why you should do it.  

Jussi Puukka, who graduated as a music educator, wants to help companies develop their operations through the means of art. He was looking for support to start his own company by participating in the twelve-week Uniarts Hub pre-incubator program in autumn 2022.

Musician, composer and researcher Dominik Schlienger has just finished his doctoral project in the music technology department at the Sibelius Academy. In autumn 2022, he participated in the Uniarts Hub pre-incubator program, where he developed his non-profit organization focused on carbon-neutral concert venue technology. He considers Uniarts Hub a good introduction to the business world.

The first edition of the brand new Uniarts Hub pre-incubator programme culminated in the Demo Day event in Theatre Academy’s Tori on November 16th, 2022.

Uniarts Hub pre-incubator programme was launched this fall. We need more discussion around art entrepreneurship and the ways of doing business in art, project manager Kati Uusi-Rauva writes.