Do you feel like now is the time to push your art business forward? The Durham Arts Council and Triangle ArtWorks are offering a 4-week Arts Business Accelerator to Durham artists and performers. This 4-week course will help you to move your arts business forward quickly. This FREE training is open exclusively to artists who reside in Durham and Durham County.
Presenters are experienced artists and arts entrepreneurship educators who will work with you on the business side of being a working artist. Content may include goal setting, pricing for profit, budgeting, grants, legal concerns, marketing and sales but will be specifically tailored to enrolled participant needs. There are 4, 2-hour Zoom sessions, plus the opportunity for private consultations with the presenters to get your questions answered.
The program timeline is below:
Application Deadline Sept 13, 2026
Participant notification Sept 14-15, 2026 (All applicants, regardless of status, will be contacted)
Program Start Date Sept 21, 2026
Program meeting dates:
September 21, 6-8 pm ZOOM
September 28 6-8 pm ZOOM
October 5, 6-8 pm ZOOM
October 12, 6-8 pm ZOOM
Program FAQs
Program is free.
All meetings will be recorded.
Some course content will be delivered outside of the scheduled times for participants to view on their own.
There will be approximately 1-2 hours of homework each week.
All meetings will be held on Zoom. Links and login information will be sent to all accepted applicants.
There is an additional related program also open to Durham artists, the Arts Marketing Accelerator. You can apply for both programs but must do so separately. To learn more about that program, click this link to learn more.
About your instructors:
Tiffany Coley
Tiffany is a jeweler and silversmith with a background in tech business. With over 15 years of teaching and craft sales experience, she sells her work to galleries and stores around the US and works out of her studio in Durham, NC. Tiffany brings to the course her deep knowledge of selling crafts at both retail and wholesale as well as how to create a focused product line. Learn more about Tiffany Coley's work here.
Cynthia Deis
Cynthia is an artist, author and art educator with over 25 years of experience in designing and selling crafts, running a retail crafts store and creating and managing craft-focused pop-up markets. She brings to the course her experience with large wholesale accounts, managing staff and creating multiple income streams. Learn more about Cynthia Deis’ work here.
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable everyone to engage fully. To request accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact ArtSwell@TriangleArtWorks.org or 919-244-4358. We will do our best to facilitate any requests made within two weeks of the event, but the earlier you can alert us to your access needs, the easier it will be to facilitate.