Both locations will be closed Sunday, Mar. 31. Our E-Library is always open »

ARTrepreneurship: Small Business 101

Start + Grow Your Business
Mon, May 16, 2022
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Learn the ins and outs of small business as an artist, maker, or creative!

Are you ready to take the leap from hobby artist to ARTrepreneur, but not sure where to begin?

Join us in conversation with local artists, business specialists, and marketing experts. During this workshop, we'll discuss how to:

  • identify your brand,
  • understand your audience,
  • learn basic marketing and sales practices,
  • and talk financing.

Presented in partnership with 40 North.

About the Panelists:

Anna Gutsch is the co-owner of NORDEN German Design Studio and Pipapo, a whimsical and sustainable jewelry design business.

Lisa Kesler is both a painter and printmaker exploring color relationships, texture, and movement inspired by nature, vintage textiles, and graphic elements. Her work has been selected for numerous corporate, public, and private collections around the country. Explore at Lisa Kesler Studio.

Marisa Peacock is the founder and chief strategist of the Strategic Peacock and also a full-time lecturer in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. She has previously also been an adjunct faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD as a part of the Business of Art and Design graduate program.

Oscar Irving-Thomas, M.Ed is the head of the digital/diversity consulting firm Our Upcoming Revolution's Technologies (OUR Tech). They use social science and ethnographic methods to help the development and advertising practices of primarily minority-owned start-ups.

Kelly White is the Executive Director of 40 North | 88 West, an organizer of the Boneyard Arts Festival and the Crystal Lake Park Art Fair, and an Art History instructor at Parkland College.

Start + Grow Your Business Workshop Series:

Starting or growing your business? We can help. Champaign.org/launch


Adults | Business

Main Library, Robeson Pavilion Room A & B

The Library is committed to making events accessible for all. To request an accommodation, please complete this form, or contact us by email at librarian@champaign.org, by phone at 217/403-2000, or through chat. Learn more about accessibility at the library.


Questions? Ask Us.