“An artist shall be engaged exclusively in creative activities, and not be concerned with material aspects, such as sales, profit. Moreover, business and art are not only incompatible, but they are also mutually exclusive”. These stereotypes, established and entrenched over years are dispelled in the modern world.  

To be a successful artist nowadays it is not enough to be talented and creative, it is necessary also to be able to present the idea in a proper manner and sell it. The artists shall be able to make profit by means of their artworks, projects thus overcoming the financial issues and dedicating themselves entirely to art.

Photo: Creative Armenia

To fulfill these goals the Artbox creative incubator was developed through the support of the European Union and GIZ's EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia” (ITTD) project providing comprehensive assistance to creative initiatives with a potential for commercial success which may attract investors in a long-term perspective.

In other words, one can apply to the Artbox, presenting the idea or the project and as a result, with the help of leading experts, mentors, develop a comprehensive package which shall include marketing strategies and models of proper pitching of the project to investors.   

Anush Ter-Khachatryan

Photo: Mediamax

“Creative Armenia Foundation has been active since 2017, and our mission is to unite the artists not only from Armenia, but from all over the world and generate the art of future”, -says Anush Ter-Khachatryan, the Director of Programs in Creative Armenia Foundation.

“Nowadays, no art is possible without innovation. We have always wished the artists, especially in Armenia to realize, that art is not isolated from business, profit and success.  One can create something of high artistic value, but the piece of art can also produce a profit contributing to the development of the Armenian economy and turn into one of its core elements”.

According to Anush Ter-Khachatryan, the Artbox creative incubator is the reflection of the above-described ideas and the logical follow-up of previous projects of the Foundation.

“Currently we have six active projects, through which, we are trying to support the artists in various ways. In addition to the financial component, we have always attached high importance to provision of professional support to the artists. We are trying to support their growth and offer new opportunities, connecting the artists with world-renowned experts, organizing trainings. In the frame of our projects, Armenian artists have met the Oscar, Grammy, Pulitzer Prize winners. We have projects, which connect the artists with international platforms that might be of interest to them. Thus, the Artbox is a more comprehensive, multi-profile follow-up of these projects”, - says Anush Ter-Khachatryan.

Creative Armenia has been working on the idea of having a creative incubator for years, and pilot initiatives have been implemented.

Anush Ter-Khachatryan

Photo: Mediamax

“The idea of Artbox has always been a high priority to us, since we had a vision, that someday, art shall become one of the driving forces of economy. We are implementing the Artbox with the support of the EU and GIZ. It shall contribute to the promotion of Armenian artists’ projects, and thus to the development of northern regions of Armenia. In the future, the Artbox shall go beyond the borders of Armenia. This is a far-reaching model, a digital platform targeting the future. We have studied the experience available in this field both in Armenia and abroad, thus finding out that the creative, social, business and technological incubators are, mostly implemented in a face-to-face format. This is quite understandable; however, we believe that, as recent developments have shown, the future lies also in digital platforms. Thus, the location is no longer a limitation, and the platform will be accessible to the artists from the regions of Armenia as well as from foreign countries”, -says Anush Ter-Khachatryan.

Anna Zakaryan

Photo: Mediamax

“Artbox is a unique project, which supports the artists teaching them how to develop proper packages for their projects and use them further to pitch to the investors, get funding”, - says the Artbox project manager, Anna Zakaryan.

“We contribute to the sustainable development of an innovative tourism sector in Armenia” said Wilhelm Hugo,Team Leader of GIZ EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia Project”, “and by supporting art, culture and the creative industries, we help bringing an inspiring and inviting atmosphere to the tourism destinations”.

Wilhelm Hugo

Photo: Creative Armenia

From November 23, 2021, till January 21, 2022 artists from any creative discipline can apply to the Artbox, after which the best projects will be selected and the actual work will begin.

“Both, individuals and creative teams can apply. Ultimately, 25 projects will be selected. The incubation period will start on March 14, 2022, lasting for 12 weeks. This shall involve intense cooperation with leading experts from abroad specialized in various fields, mainly in business administration. The marketing strategy for the project shall be developed. By the end of this phase, a “pitching” event will be organized, during which 25 projects will be presented to the investors. 7 projects will be selected to receive funding. Furthermore, our Foundation will try to support also other projects to be presented in other platforms and have an opportunity to receive funding” -says Anna Zakaryan.

She pointed out that nowadays many artists, unfortunately, have no possibility to study art management and usually are not equipped with relevant tools and means that would enable them to attract investors and present their ideas properly.

“The main purpose of doing the Artbox is to provide artists with the above-presented opportunites, allowing them to acquire relevant skills to be able to develop their ideas properly and turn them into a business product. When we tell that our mentors are mostly business professionals, people often wonder what art and business have to do with each other. In fact, there is a direct link and we will demonstrate, explain and prove that art and business are interconnected. The artists should not be afraid and avoid business activities, since it is highly important”, -says Anna Zakaryan.

The Artbox creative incubator has no sectoral or age limitations.

“Representatives from all possible fields and disciplines of art can apply. We don’t impose any age limits either. The artists may often have doubts thinking “I am only 20 years old, a student, and although I have an idea, but how can I compete with 30 or 40 years old experienced artists? Well, I am not going to apply since most probably I won’t pass the selection, so it does not make any sense to apply”. This is not true. We are not looking at the age of the applicant and even the experience does not matter, since first comes the idea. The experience is more important for presenting the idea properly, while creative ideas can be generated at the age 18 or 45”, says Anna Zakaryan.

Anna Zakaryan

Photo: Mediamax

The Foundation has certain preferences with regard to the projects, but it is not required to meet them.

“One of our wishes is that the submitted project should be potentially profitable and thus have a chance to attract investors. Secondly, it would be most desirable to have an opportunity to implement the project in the northern regions of Armenia, since there are many artists with huge potential there. Thirdly, it would be most desired if the project would have a potential to develop cultural tourism in Armenia. As it has been already mentioned, the Artboox is implemented through support from the EU4Business Initiative and GIZ, and here we share the same goals”- says Anna Zakaryan.

You can apply to the Artbox  creative incubator via www.artboxarmenia.com  web-page untill January 21, 2022.

Yana Shakhramanyan

Photos by Elen Gasparyan