South Bend Artists' Alliance – A New Path to Success

By Alissa Balke in coordination with the SBAA Board of Directors

Founded in January 2025, the South Bend Artists’ Alliance (SBAA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting local, independent artists. SBAA’s mission is to meet a longstanding need within our community to support individual artists by providing services and resources that have been unavailable to them for decades.

Without an area-wide unifying entity, such as an arts council, it has been difficult for artists to identify ways to network, learn about opportunities and events, access funds for projects, and receive educational support for the skills required to be a successful full-time artist. These skills include marketing, pricing art, navigating contracts, and other professional necessities. We aim to fill this gap and ensure the growth and sustainability of the South Bend area arts community.

Using our first year to create a strong foundation for action, we developed a three-pronged approach to serve the needs of our local arts community:

Connections:

The SBAA hosts Monthly Mixers, our regular networking event that facilitates mutual connections among individual artists and community support. We serve as a liaison with funding organizations and government entities, as many individual artists report being overwhelmed or intimidated when interfacing with such organizations. As a 501(c)(3), the SBAA can assist independent artists in accessing opportunities they would otherwise be unable to and guide them through the application and administration processes.

Information & Awareness:

All SBAA members will receive services intended to raise awareness among individual artists and those seeking to support them: an addition to a directory of artists, access to a shared arts events calendar, and a regular newsletter. The newsletter will provide timely, helpful information on upcoming opportunities, artist spotlights, and more.

Education & Resources:

The SBAA supports independent creators in developing the skills required to be successful artists, including professional development, administration, and business management. This year, we are launching our “Career Clinics,” a series of workshops intended to provide artists at every level with the skills they need to build and advance their careers. Starting with beginner-friendly topics such as finding your voice and structuring commissions, and advancing to filing paperwork to create your own business and file your taxes, our curriculum will be specifically tailored to the natural progression of the independent artist’s path to success.

Of course, none of these offerings are effective if they are not accessible to the people who need them the most. A core principle of the SBAA is to ensure accessibility for all artists in our community. Though our organization is based in South Bend, we welcome members from the surrounding Michiana area, and we plan to rotate our meetings across various locations in 2026.

As accessibility is a core tenet of the SBAA, we will also offer discounts on membership fees. Although everyone in the SBAA works on a volunteer basis, we still have operational expenses, such as paying our contracted instructors for their time and expertise. We understand that artists are often asked to work without pay, and we do not wish to perpetuate this manipulative cycle by asking professionals to volunteer their time. Annual dues help us cover these expenses and provide our members with the best possible experiences.

The SBAA offers two membership levels. Tier 1, priced at only $20 annually, will provide members with admission to all SBAA Monthly Mixers and addition to the SBAA Artist Directory. Tier 2 memberships, priced at $200 annually, will provide all Tier 1 benefits plus admission to our Career Clinics and SBAA partner discounts, such as discounted rates at local bars, restaurants and fees from local businesses (see the SBAA website for more information and updated deals as our partner relationships grow (sbartistsalliance.com). We will also offer a student discount of half off our membership dues to anyone actively pursuing any level of education, from a GED to a graduate degree.

One of the ways we at the SBAA plan to provide ongoing support for local artists is by offering opportunities to showcase their work through artist spotlights. Therefore, we are excited to announce the first SBAA Design Contest and invite Michiana artists to participate.

For more information about the South Bend Artists’ Alliance programming, membership, or Design Contest, please visit our website, sbartistsalliance.com, or email us at sbartistsallianceinfo@gmail.com.