Caroline Randall Williams will help judge at the Periscope Pitch event.
The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville will present their annual Periscope Pitch & Artist Entrepreneur Showcase on Wednesday, September 4, 2019, from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. at OZ Arts Nashville, 6172 Cockrill Bend Circle, Nashville, TN 37209.
The Periscope Pitch & Artist Entrepreneur Showcase is the culmination of the Arts & Business Council’s Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training program, which is now in its sixth year. At the event, the artist-entrepreneurs from this year’s cohort will showcase their work and business plans to the public. The showcase highlights the business acumen and artistic excellence of Nashville’s emerging artists, makers, and creative entrepreneurs across an array of artistic disciplines.
Then, nine Periscope artists from this year’s class will present their business plans to the public in a “Shark Tank”-meets-“TED”-talk live Pitch competition. An all-star panel of judges, including Patrick Carney, Maneet Chauhan, Richard Upchurch, and Caroline Randall Williams, will provide feedback and scores in order to award a number of cash prizes at the end of the evening. You can participate in live voting to help determine which artists will walk away with capital to build their creative businesses at the event.
The 2019 Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training cohort includes (listed alphabetically by first name): Alan Fey (music), Amber Lelli* (multidisciplinary), Anna Haas* (multidisciplinary), Carolyn Boutwell (sculpture), Coretta King (music), Dorinda Walker (choreography / music business), Emily Tyndall (music), Erin Connally* (illustration), Helen Stackhouse a.k.a. AM HASSAN (visual art), John Mahler (clockmaking), Keavy Murphree* (sculpture), Kelly Savoca* (fashion / lifestyle), Lindsay Walker* (jewelry), Lou Oshay* (music production), Mayter Scott (photography), Mirrah Johnson (fibers), Roz “Rightnow” Welch* (music), Sadie Hart (music / lifestyle), and Will Winton* (functional sculpture).
*Indicates artist will present live during the Periscope Pitch competition.
Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training is an annual professional development program that provides a cohort of professional artists with the tools they need to see their artistic vision through an entrepreneurial lens and take their creative business to the next level. The Arts & Business Council created and delivers Periscope with four key partners: The Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Metro Arts, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Mayor’s Office of Economic & Community Development. Periscope is also made possible with support from Southwest Airlines, Tennessee Arts Commission, Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation, and Bongo Java. Tickets are $20 in advance and available via Eventbrite. Tickets are $25 at the door, pending availability, as Periscope Pitch often sells out in advance. All event proceeds go directly to winning artists.
About the 2019 Periscope Judges (listed alphabetically by last name):
Patrick Carney is the drummer of the Grammy Award-winning band The Black Keys. Originally from Akron, OH, Patrick now lives in Nashville, TN where he enjoys taking long walks with his Irish Wolfhound (when he’s not playing arenas on a worldwide tour). Photo: Danny Clinch.
Chef Maneet Chauhan is the founding partner and president of Morph Hospitality Group in Nashville, TN. She is a recipient of the 2012 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Award for her role as a permanent judge on Food Network’s “Chopped,” and sits on the panel of judges for Food Network’s “Wedding Cake Championship”.. She is also the co-owner of Mantra Artisan Ales in Franklin, TN. Photo: Amelia J. Moore.
Richard Upchurch is the creator of BrandNewNoise sound gadgets, simple sound objects for kids and rock-stars alike. Richard was born in Tupelo, MS, BrandNewNoise was born in Brooklyn NY, and now, both reside in Dallas, TX. Photo: Lauren Kallen.
Caroline Randall Williams is a multi-genre writer, educator, performance artist and amateur restaurateur in Nashville, TN. She is co-author of the NAACP Image Award-winning cookbook Soul Food Love, and curator of the All-African American Cookbook Store in Nashville’s Woolworth on 5th Restaurant, of which she is part owner, and where her recipes feature on the menu. Her debut collection of poetry, Lucy Negro, Redux has been turned into a ballet by the Nashville Ballet — Caroline performed her poetry as an integral member of the cast, all set to an original score by multiple time Grammy-nominee Rhiannon Giddens. Named by Southern Living as “One of the 50 People Changing the South,” the Cave Canem fellow has been published and featured in multiple journals, essay collections, and news outlets, including The Iowa Review, The Massachusetts Review, CherryBombe, Garden and Gun, Essence, and New York Times.
The Arts & Business Council (ABC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that leverages and unites the unique resources of the arts and business communities to create a thriving, sustainable creative culture in Nashville and beyond. To deliver its mission, ABC offers four core programs: Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts, Education for the Creative Community, Arts Board Matching, and Fiscal Sponsorship. More information is available at: www.ABCNashville.org
