Salt Lake City, Feb 15 – Craft Lake City® is pleased to announce the Artisan Scholarship and Mentor Program for the 10th Annual DIY Festival®.
The Craft Lake City DIY Festival nourishes individual artisans and small business owners in Utah by promoting DIY culture and providing them with opportunities to attract new customers, promote their work to new audiences, seek new opportunities and grow their sales. Craft Lake City wants to ensure that these opportunities are available to all Utah communities.
In support of this goal, Craft Lake City has designed the Artisan Scholarship and Mentor Program, which will benefit five first-time DIY Festival exhibitors. The scholarship includes waived booth fees, business training, networking opportunities, and one-on-one mentorship before, during and after the Festival. The program was launched in 2017 as part of the organization’s DIY Festival Inclusion Program for the 9th Annual DIY Festival and is now entering its second year. Artisan Scholarships are only available for first-time DIY Festival participants.
Artisan Scholarship recipients are paired up with Artisan Mentors, seasoned DIY Festival alumni who assist them as they build their skills and develop their creative business endeavors. Artisan Mentors act as a bridge between Craft Lake City and Artisan Scholars, providing critical knowledge and experience that helps prepare scholarship recipients to exhibit at the DIY Festival.
Artisan Mentors donate their time in support of the program. Chris Bodily, who served as an Artisan Mentor for the 2017 DIY Festival, said, “Creating a strong artisan community is vital for ensuring the future of the arts here in Utah. Participating as a mentor in the Artisan Scholarship and Mentor Program allowed me to reinvest my time, talent, and expertise to ensure that a new generation of artists and craftspeople can continue to enrich that community for years to come.”
Chris Bodily of Hatrobot, one of 2017’s Artisan Mentors, works his booth at the 9th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival
If you are a past participant in the DIY Festival and interested in becoming an Artisan Mentor, contact us at (801) 906-8521 or info@craftlakecity.com.
First-time artisans who have applied to participate in the 10th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival are invited to apply for consideration for an Artisan Scholarship. In order to qualify:
- You must be juried into the DIY Festival based on the quality of your work. If you have not yet applied to exhibit at the Festival, you can do so here.
- You must be a first-time DIY Festival exhibitor.
- Your annual household income must fall below the 50% AMI (Area Median Income) bracket of your county of residence.
Visit the Craft Lake City website for complete details about the Artisan Scholarship and Mentor Program.
The Artisan Scholarship and Mentor Program is funded in part by grants from the Willard L. Eccles Foundation and Salt Lake City’s Arts, Culture and Events Fund. Craft Lake City funds the remainder of the program via the DIY Festival budget. If you are interested in donating to or sponsoring this program or one of the other initiatives of the DIY Festival Inclusion Program, contact angela@craftlakecity.com.
For more information about this program or the DIY Festival, contact us at (801) 906-8521 or info@craftlakecity.com.
About Craft Lake City:
Founded in 2009 by Angela H. Brown, Executive Editor of SLUG (Salt Lake UnderGround) Magazine, Craft Lake City® is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with the mission to educate, promote and inspire local artisans while elevating the creative culture of the Utah arts community through science, technology and art. Craft Lake City strives to further define the term “Craft,” by modernizing the definition for handmade creativity.
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