3Arts, Inc.

3Arts’s Response: Seeking to Shift the Status Quo.

3Arts advocates for Chicago’s women artists, artists of color, and d/Deaf and disabled artists through career-spanning programs designed to help them build momentum in their careers, including unrestricted cash awards, project funding, residency fellowships, professional development workshops, and promotion. Through this mission, 3Arts aims to model integrity and authenticity in its work and community. It strives to advance a fluid, open, and responsive approach and attitude to support artists. Those artists support the wellbeing of the city in which they live through their work.

1. 3Arts aims to be a trusted ally and responsive to the evolving conditions of artists
2. 3Arts adopts a human-centered approach to grantmaking, acknowledging each artist’s unique circumstances and practice
3. 3Arts regularly supports artists who are on the frontlines of shifting culture at every stage of their careers
4. Once artists receive awards from 3Arts, they become part of a larger network of practitioners with opportunities for additional support throughout their careers
5. 3Arts centers artists as co-leaders

3Arts helps artists gain traction in their careers through consistent programs that take place over time. By offering multi-year support, 3Arts seeks to help raise the profiles of Chicago artists (locally and beyond). This helps artists obtain opportunities and resources that advance their professional practices and personal security.

3Arts artists grow in their artistic practices by: Making and exhibiting/presenting new work; Expanding their audiences; Demonstrating artistic growth and/or risk-taking within their practices. 3Arts artists strengthen their careers by: Establishing connections to new donors and patrons; Advocating for themselves and their work;
Leveraging 3Arts’ resources to receive other financial support; Gaining knowledge about marketing, fundraising, audience building, and financial planning. 3Arts artists build community with Chicago peers by: Connecting with artists in the 3Arts network; Collaborating with and hiring other artists; Advocating for other artists; Becoming more knowledgeable about artists working in disciplines different from their own. 3Arts artists are part of an ongoing and multifaceted support network that: Recognizes and holds them in high esteem; Invites them to be partners and leaders in decision-making; Ensures they are paid fair and equitable wages; Encourages them to advocate for and hold 3Arts accountable. 3Arts artists are recognized for their work in Chicago and beyond.

3Arts has four full-time staff members—our Executive Director, Director of Programs, our Director of Development and Partnerships, and our Manager of Administration and Programs. This staff oversees and supports the processes and policies that result annually in 20 awards, the creation of 20 new art works, 10 residency fellowships, four professional development programs, and myriad organizational partnerships, along with 40-50 informal coaching sessions, and an annual awards celebration.

3Arts utilizes both contributed income and our own operating funds to put our mission into effect. Each year the interest and dividends from our investment portfolio, along with an approved, purposeful draw on the principal, help us match support from donors. We employ our investments to grow the impact of our mission, while striving to raise and preserve enough funds so that 3Arts can weather economic tumult and maintain our dynamic, multi-year program structure.

We survey our artist stakeholders annually to gauge the effects of our services. We also create individual case studies to track them through our programs and collect demographic and geographic data to learn whether we are living up to our mission. This input allows us to keep pace with artists’ needs, assess the reach of our organization, and swiftly refine our programs and policies as needed. A deeper survey takes place every three years and results in a cumulative study that we share freely on our website. We also assess our 3AP program and its community impact and share the results in the annual 3AP Impact Study. Every professional development program includes a survey that our staff reviews for suggestions of improvement.

Since 2007, 3Arts has supported more than 1,800 artists across all program areas, representing 69% women artists, 71% artists of color, and 19% Deaf and disabled artists working in the six-county metropolitan area, and distributed $5.8 million through our grantmaking. In the past five years (2017-2021), 3Arts has supported artists living in 93 local zip codes: 47 within the city limits, 32 in other Cook County neighborhoods, and 14 in surrounding counties (DuPage, Lake, and Will).