FORT LAUDERDALE – For six years, the Doing Business As…Artist Entrepreneurs collective (DBA) founders Virginia Fifield, Jacklyn Laflamme and LeeAnna Yater have mentored a dynamic group of South Florida’s rising artists to produce an annual exhibition. This year, in partnership with ArtServe, they present “RETROSPECTIVE: Celebrating 7 Years of DBA” from Wednesday, June 3 – Monday, June 29 in the J.M.

Looking At You by Isabel Perez Salazer

Family Gallery. A free gallery reception is on Thursday, June 11 from 6 to 8 p.m.
The participating artists are all graduates of the Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute (AEI), a four-week intensive course offered annually at ArtServe in partnership with the Broward Cultural Division, that arms artists of all disciplines with the knowledge and business acumen they need to build and advance their business skills.

This all-media retrospective of the DBA collective, which also welcomes 11 new 2014 AEI graduates to the DBA roster, features select artworks reflecting the best practices they have refined as they have evolved into successful artist entrepreneurs.

“Since the close of the 2014 exhibition, I have set my sights on expanding the audience for the DBA exhibit and for the DBA collective as a whole,” Fifield said. “Nurturing and mentoring the next round of rising stars and seeing how they can take the DBA concept and mold it into their own vision has been a driving force for me. Partnering with ArtServe, while still collaborating with our core of DBA artists, will help me realize this goal.”

Since its inception, more than 60 artists have participated in the DBA exhibitions. Many have gone on to achieve local and international success in their art careers, and many more have launched projects that positively impact our community by producing community events, teaching workshops with the disabled, creating public mural or exhibitions on critical social issues of our time. “Retrospective: Celebrating 7 Years of DBA” serves as the focal point for enhancing the reputation of rising local artists, tracking their progress, sharing their achievements with the cultural community and bringing the art and business communities together.

“ArtServe is proud to host The DBA retrospective this year as the exhibition, like AEI itself, celebrates the very essence of the ArtServe mission,” said ArtServe President and CEO Jaye Abbate. “This group of artists pushed themselves to succeed not just from an artistic perspective, but from a business career standpoint. Their success at both, and the impact they’ve had in the community, is to be celebrated. I believe the public will be amazed at the diverse talent and high quality of the artwork to be found right here in Broward County.”

ArtServe again hosts this year’s AEI 2015 Institute which culminates with a closing forum featuring Neda Ulaby, NPR reporter on arts entertainment and cultural treads, who speaks on Arts Journalism in A Fractured Cultureverse on Wednesday, June 24 at 7 p.m. following the closing reception at 6 p.m. The closing forum and reception is free and open to the public but seating is limited and reservations should be made at eventbrite.com/event.

Held on four consecutive Saturdays in June, AEI is offered as a rigorous series of 20 courses led by a premiere faculty of leading business practitioners and artists familiar with arts and culture from the South Florida region and beyond. Classes include lectures, panels and interactive exercises and the 4-week regimen has often been described as a “mini-MBA” for artists. Participation in the month-long AEI workshop is $100 and space may be reserved at Broward.org/arts or by calling (954) 357-7502.
ArtServe, Broward County’s premier art service organization, is located at 1350 E. Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale and admission to the gallery is free. For more information about ArtServe contact (954) 462-8190 or information@artserve.org, or visit www.artserve.org.

About ArtServe
Now celebrating its 25th Anniversary, ArtServe was incorporated in 1988 as one of six original arts incubators in the United States, with a mission of developing programs that support artists and cultural organizations as a means to creating vibrant communities. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, ArtServe offers its members a wide range of progressive services, events, affordable facilities and collaborative programs that promote the visibility of art and culture throughout Broward County and helps artists turn their art into business. In 2014, ArtServe was voted Broward County’s best non-profit arts organization at the fourth annual Nonprofit Academy Awards, and Best Art Gallery Readers’ Choice Award from New Times Broward Palm Beach. Programs are supported in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council, 89.7 Classical South Florida and the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs.