Dandelion Arts Finance Program is a trusted collective care resource hub and finance training program where artists and cultural workers grow economic power and stability, with a focus on communities most impacted by a lack of culturally-responsive and -relevant arts finance training, specifically Indigenous, Black, disabled, trans, queer, immigrant, low income, and POC artists, mediamakers, and arts administrators. We believe in the power of a peer network co-creating accessible, relevant materials that anyone can use.
The three components of the program are:
- An advisory group
- A yearly cohort
- A finance education resource library geared specifically towards artists
Background & History
At the core of the Dandelion Arts Finance Program is our belief that there is a lack of accessible, culturally-responsive and -relevant arts finance training in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2020 Independent Arts & Media and arts finance consultant Jericha Senyak launched an initial research and development phase, starting with a basic landscape assessment of what is currently available to better understand the scope and scale of the needs we were hearing from the Bay Area arts community.
Additional methodologies (including focus groups and one-on-ones) were added in partnership with Jason Wyman/Queerly Complex to ensure engagement with and inclusion of populations and communities most impacted by a lack of culturally-responsive and -relevant arts finance training, specifically Indigenous, Black, disabled, trans, queer, immigrant, low income, and POC artists, mediamakers, and arts administrators.
In 2022 in partnership with Bay Area artists & arts administrators Sabereh Kashi, Mason J., Afia Thompson, and Violet Vasquez, and consultants Crystal Mason and Jason Wyman/Queerly Complex, the Dandelion Co-Creation Working Group began developing a cohort-based education curriculum along with comprehensive resources on financial topics including budgeting & bookkeeping, data analysis, values-based decision-making, and analyzing power. Expert financial advice was provided by arts finance consultant Jericha Senyak.
At the conclusion of this R&D phase, IAM and the Dandelion Co-Creation Working Group released the Dandelion Arts Finance Program Final Report to present its findings in October 2022.
“I feel like I’ve learned most from peers, who have also some similar background, because they understand that it’s not just organizational, but there’s also familial things that also blend into the structure, the stress and the trauma of trying to resource your time and also to advocate for what you’re worth, what your work is worth.” – Focus Group Participant: Latinx, Female, Artist & Arts Administrator
“Make art life finance-accessible. What do I mean by accessible in this case? It goes back to, ‘I think I can do this. And I don’t need to have a finance degree. I don’t need to read the 15 books my money-smart friends have recommended me to read that’s still sitting in the corner of my bookshelf.” – Midori, International Artist based in Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco
In 2025, the Dandelion co-creation team—Sabereh Kashi, Mason J., Jericha Senyak, and Lisa Burger—finalized designing the Dandelion Arts Finance Program’s Re-Generation Cohort and online Resource Library for launch in Fall 2025! These programs seek to offer culturally-specific financial tools, lesson plans, and collaborative learning opportunities to ease the stress and anxieties our peers feel when trying to figure out the intersection of their values, their finances, and their art-making. Administratively, the Dandelion Arts Finance Program continues to be hosted by Independent Arts & Media.
Dandelion believes there is power in a network of peers co-creating accessible, relevant materials that anyone can use. In fact, we believe that is the legacy and value of community arts, media, and culture.