Easthampton, MA — October 6th, 2015 | Performing Artist, Educator, and Artist Advocate Seth Lepore will launch a Hatchfund campaign to raise the money to write the ‘living document’ entitled RUTHLESS RECIPROCITY.
Seth Lepore, who writes an ongoing series about artist entrepreneurship for the live arts journal HowlRound, is launching a Crowdfunding campaign on Tuesday, October 20th to raise $18,000 in funds to write and self-publish Ruthless Reciprocity: A Living Document to Transform the Performing Arts Community. The month long campaign will raise the necessary funds so that he can write and research the book full time, and pay a team including a copy editor, illustrator, book designer and other key personnel.
“Performing artists aren’t usually taught the skills they need to make a go of it in the world. That’s not ok.” says Lepore, who also teaches a crash course about the business side of the performing arts world called The Nuts and Bolts of Being a Performing Artist. “The amount of people who graduate with BFA – nevermind MFA – degrees without even understanding the basic fundamentals of how to talk about their work is unprecedented. It’s time that we understand that we need to create an artist-to-artist movement to take full ownership and control over our careers.”
The book will focus on three intersecting sections:
1) The business elements that performing artists are expected to know but are never taught.
2) Methods to collectively work on the business aspects so as to not work in isolated silos.
3) The future of the field. A call-to-action which creates a strategic and collective movement in order to take full ownership and control their careers as performers.
“Hatchfund is a perfect partner. They are the only crowdfunding site completely dedicated to working artists, where all donations are completely tax deductible. They also have a 75% success rate which is far and above the 40% rate Kickstarter has. People who look at Hatchfund projects are advocates of the arts already so I don’t need to worry about getting drowned out by the latest Potato Salad joke campaign.”, Lepore says.
“What Seth is aiming to accomplish with his book matches the mission of Hatchfund to a T.”, says Hatchfund Program Manager Dillon Nicholson. “It’s all about artistic empowerment, something we are very passionate about. Seth understands the need for artists to share resources with each other in a non-competitive and supportive environment. We’re excited to partner with him on this project that will serve so many of his peers and the field as a whole.”
Information
The unreleased Introduction is available at sethums.com. The campaign officially launches on Tuesday, October 20th.
About Seth Lepore
Seth Lepore is a performing artist, educator, and connector. He currently tours an audience-driven solo show, does a monthly observational satire show in his hometown of Easthampton, MA when he isn’t on the road, and teaches artists how to get their business chops in order through workshops, consultations, and group networking.
His crash course The Nuts and Bolts of Being a Performing Artist has been hosted by Springboard for the Arts, SIU Carbondale, Pierce College, Assets for Artists, The Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston and Easthampton City Arts+. He currently writes an ongoing series for HowlRound about the entrepreneurial mindset artists can utilize to further their careers.
His background in the DIY hardcore and punk culture of the ‘90s has led him to the premise that the business side of the performing arts needs to be taught from an artist perspective. He is currently working with other grassroots artist-to-artist educators on innovative ways to disseminate practical, pragmatic and collective skill sharing. He is an advocate of flattening the hierarchy in the performing arts field through a network of shared data, open communication and artist-centric leadership.
More info is available at sethums.com
About Hatchfund
Hatchfund began as USA Projects and was a program created by United States Artists (USA), a not-for-profit grant making and artist advocacy organization that has awarded over $22 million to America’s finest artists in just over seven years.
Hatchfund’s micro-philanthropy platform is free for artists and has a new home at AIM, a not-for-profit promoting technology to create brilliant communities. AIM’s focus on technology provides Hatchfund with the necessary resources to quickly and efficiently respond to the needs of artists seeking funding for their creative projects.
Hatchfund is a community where accomplished artists can post projects, art supporters can help fund projects, and partner organizations can join in with matching funds. Hatchfund is a place where art communities connect and turn artistic visions into reality.
The Hatchfund team provides educational services, which include fundraising education, project development, and outreach support. A total of 75% of all artists on Hatchfund have been successful in funding their projects. Hatchfund also offers a patent-pending matching fund program, the only one of its kind, which encourages and leverages contributions to help our artists reach their goals at a faster rate than any other crowdfunding platform.
All donations are tax deductible because they simultaneously support artists’ projects and our mission, which is to provide resources and support to artists who advance culture and inspire brilliance. More information can be found at www.hatchfund.org
Media Contacts
Seth Lepore
seth@sethums.com
(413) 648-7384
Press Images available upon request
Dillon K. Nicholson
Program Officer, AIM Hatchfund
dnicholson@hatchfund.org
