The North Carolina Community College System Small Business Center Network awarded the Halifax Community College Small Business Center the Innovation Award for Services/Collaboration during the state-wide Center of Excellence Awards Program in Wrightsville Beach last month.
The award was presented for innovation in program services and collaboration for their Professional Craft Arts Entrepreneurship Program, Pitch Your Arts Business Competition, and their inaugural Artsapalooza 2024, a community-wide Art Festival.
Their eight-class series, pitch competition, and festival would not have been possible without the collaboration of the following organizations: Halifax Community College, Lakeland Cultural Arts, The Acorn Center, Ed Fitts Charitable Foundation, Franks Fine Arts, Halifax County Arts Council, Scotland Neck Business Association, Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce, Roanoke Rapids Main Street, Weldon in Action, Weldon Events LLC, and Libree Servicios LLC. The Small Business Center acknowledges many business owners whose support of all aspects of the program made it a community-led success in its first year.
The National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship and the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund & Program granted $5,000 to support the competition.
“The HCC SBC team would also like to thank our innovative leader, President Dr. Patrena B. Elliott, who so enthusiastically supported our grant application and eagerly supported our Professional Craft Arts Program which was specifically designed for our communities’ artists. Thanks to this intensive training program, participating artists have the business knowledge and tools to start and grow their creative businesses.”
HCC SBC Director Kelly Barber said, "Collaborating with our local non-profits, business owners, subject matter experts, and artist participants has been a rewarding experience. Support from The Acorn Center, Halifax County Arts Council, and Franks Fine Arts was instrumental in our program’s success and I am certain that the program will continue to innovate and grow as we move into the future.
“We’re looking forward to our 2025 Spring Cohort of the HCC SBC Professional Craft Arts Entrepreneurship Program and are especially excited about Artsapalooza 2025.”
In the Professional Craft Arts Entrepreneurship Program, participants attended a series of seminars covering specific creative business topics such as Creative Business Planning, Self-employment and Sales Tax for Artists, Digital Media Marketing, Marketing at Pop-up Events, Pricing for profitability, Cash Flowing your Art Business, and Pitching/Funding your Art Business. The participants also participated in an optional Gallery Field Trip to Franks Fine Arts to learn more about selling their art in Gallery settings.
The final night of the Professional Craft Arts Program concluded with a Pitch Your Arts Business Competition in which eight artists made pitches to a 3-judge panel to win cash prizes to invest in their creative businesses.
Participants that graduated from the program were also connected by HCC SBC to the subject matter experts who provided the program training for five hours of private counseling to further support their business development after the program.
“The final event of the program, Artsapalooza 2024, was successful in not only celebrating the Pitch Competition Winners and showcasing their art, but also in introducing these Artists to our local business communities. Eight participants graduated from the program and many new business partnerships were formed as a result of this inaugural program,” Barber said. “We are so thrilled with the community’s warm reception for our newest Program and look forward to collaborating with many more artists and organizations in the Spring for our Artsapalooza 2025.”
For more information contact Barber at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.