Forty-four Southwestern Pennsylvania creative entrepreneurs were awarded a total of $88,000 from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council to support their business’ general operations as part of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ (PCA) Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator program. Grants are used to start or operate a creative business in addition to providing access to free business consultations through local providers.
Grantees represent the diversity of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s creative economy, supporting businesses with gross revenue of less than $200,000 working in creative fields including architecture, visual arts and crafts, design, film and media, music and entertainment, and publishing.
“It’s an honor to support so many talented creative entrepreneurs from Southwestern Pennsylvania,” says Mona Wiley, Program Specialist at the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. “Due to additional funding provided from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, we were also able to increase the number of this year’s recipients by 69% from 2023.”
Sixty-eight percent of this year’s funds were distributed to Black, Indigenous, or persons of color (BIPOC), or economically disadvantaged creative entrepreneurs and those who are located in and whose work benefits low-income communities.
The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator program launched in October 2021 to support economic recovery and increase opportunities for creative workers. The Arts Council administers this grant on behalf of the PA Council on the Arts for Allegheny, Beaver, Greene, and Washington counties. In addition to grants, all applicants receive free consultation services from local small business development organizations, including Duquesne University, Chatham University, and the University of Pittsburgh.
The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator awardees each received $2,000 in general operating support for their businesses. The awardees and their respective industries include:
Visual Arts + Crafts
Cassandra Copperpot of Hazmana Bazaar
Emmanuelle Wambach of Emmanuelle Ceramics
Harley Osselborn of Ziggynightmare
Noah Griggs of Stet Studio
Marce Nixon of Ceramics by Marce
Ramone Patterson of KMJ Metalworks
Tamika Scales of Yaya Unique
Lauren Bailey of CronyPress
Masha Vereshchenko of Electric Cat
Katina Lee of JustLoveKL
Taylor Erickson of Taylor Raye Art
Christi Welter of WelterWorks
Dana Fucich of By Dayna Elaine
Daynell Marbury of Helloboutiq
Diane Adams of Sky Painter
SaraBeth Post Eskuche of UItra Lit
Melina Tomeo of Melina Tomeo DBA Mia St. Clair
Marita Johnson of Ex Libris Fibers
Casey Kilroy of Pittsburgh Worsh Company
Claira Barilar of Virgo Sun Studio
Design
Melaney Dumas of Moneymelll Live Life Lavishly Inc.
Jaclyn Harris of UTIL Design Co.
Jonathan Eberle of Sergery Design Studio
Tyeasha Clarke of gooxjy co
Bee Nix of Transduce Media
Michelle Grant of Arch Posters
Jasano Brooks of Opya Studios LLC
Petra Floyd of Petra Floyd LLC
Roberto Bellido of Ignis Technology Inc.
Crystal Wamalwa of AudaCITY Tours
Catherine Trostle-Olivar of Cathy Olivar LLC
Eva Diodati of The Final Frontier Jewelry Co.
Music + Entertainment
Anna Okuda of A+K
Amy Kline of The Parking Pad
Shaqui Scott of Jokes On Us PGH
Katherine Palumbo of Ease and Keys
Publishing
Susan Gottfried of West of Mars
Lisa Lax of Lisa Fox Romance
Maria Manatou of Presente Pittsburgh Media LLC
Brent Nakamoto of Almost Perfect Press
Architecture
Matthew Torti of Virtual Homey LLC
Nakeya Mosley of Nakeya Mosley Drafting & Design
Film & Media
David Bernabo of Bright Archives LLC
Soren de-Niz of Glass Fox Productions
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