Applications being Accepted for First Class of Artist in Construction

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(ALBANY, N.Y), March 26, 2021 – Emerging muralists and public artists will work alongside industry professionals through the Artist in Construction program, an intensive eight-week business and career development program. It will run from April 17, 2021 until June 12, 2021 and will cater to early – mid career muralists seeking mentorship and coaching to advance their careers and/or scale their businesses. This program specifically helps emerging muralists aged 18 to 35 with two or more years of experience as graphic designers, muralists and/or painters further develop their business or advance their career.

Mission Accomplished Transition Services (Mission Accomplished), which developed the Artist in Construction program, is currently seeking applications until April 10, 2021. Mission Accomplished and The Community Builders (TCB) have teamed up to bring this program to life because they believe in the power public art brings to communities.

Mission Accomplished Transition Services is a workforce development organization that works to help people explore and pursue their passion through understanding the business behind their chosen industry in order to market themselves better. We primarily focus on verticals such as construction, architecture, interior design, social entrepreneurship, and fashion.

TCB is a nonprofit real estate development organization that provides affordable housing in communities across the country. Their mission is to build and sustain strong communities where all people can thrive. TCB’s mission-driven businesses work with partners to develop, finance and operate residential communities, neighborhood amenities and opportunity programs for families, seniors and adults with disabilities.

A common misconception about the Capital Region is that public art is not an emerging area of business; however, in 2018, 6% of the local creative economy was made up of visual art and handcraft products according to the Center for Economic Growth. Furthermore, in the last year we’ve seen murals reveal themselves throughout the City of Albany and Troy and projects are underway in Schenectady.

“Public art continues to be seen in our region,” said Carmen Duncan, MSW, Chief Coach and Founder of Mission Accomplished Transition Services. “Art is a beautiful form of self and community expression. We want to help artists enhance their ability to market their talent so property owners and construction companies hire them to beautify the inside and outside of buildings.”

Two local muralists, Raè Fraiser and Eugene O’Neill are the co-leads of this program. “What’s brilliant about the Artist in Construction program is that it will expose ALL of the value within the artists, allowing them to fully understand what it means to NOT be one dimensional in their craft. The idea of creating an ongoing partnership between construction companies and artists is innovative and magical” said Raè Fraiser.

“The mindset, experience and resources the program provides will allow people to intuitively maneuver their role and value as an artist in community driven collaborations” said Eugene O’Neill.

A 2018 report released by Americans for Arts states “7 in 10 Americans believe the arts unify communities, and 2 in 5 Americans have changed an opinion or perception based on an arts experience.” The Artist in Construction program will not only unify a class of loyal artists, it will assist artists with better understanding the business behind art from marketing and brand development to accounting. Lastly, art generates income and increases tourism. According to a 2017 report by the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis our nation’s arts and cultural industry accounted for 4.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or $877.8 billion.

“TCB is excited to help launch the inaugural Artist in Construction Program with Mission Accomplished and support emerging new artists in the Capital Region,” said Michael Johnson, Director of Community Life for NY/NJ. “As a non-profit developer, we also believe in the importance of building people in communities where we build. During these challenging times, new artists need all of our support so that they can compete in the creative economy as well as provide a positive impact for all to experience.”

The program is also sponsored by Ungerman Electric. “Art is tremendously beneficial to one’s mental health-self-expression boosts confidence, enables us to deal with depression and anxiety and contributes to our overall happiness and wellbeing” said Susan Ungerman, owner of Ungerman Electric.

The application period ends April 10, 2021. This is a selective program, with only the top eight individuals being selected out of only 20 applications being accepted. Application information can be found here.

About Mission Accomplished Transition Services. Mission Accomplished Transition Services was created to prepare rising young professionals and entrepreneurs for the workforce by providing access to industry specific coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor of the program, can contact Coach Carmen at 518-207-0209 ext. 800 or cduncan@matransitionservices.org. To learn more visit https://matransitionservices.org.