Project 14
The Creative Labs - Arts Incubator
Founder & Executive Director, Community Building, Creative Operations
Project Brief
Baltimore's creative community had talent but lacked infrastructure. Artists needed studio space, equipment, mentorship, and promotional support to turn creative work into sustainable careers. Founded The Creative Labs in 2015 as a multi-disciplinary arts incubator to remove barriers of entry and provide equitable advancement for emerging artists. The challenge: build a scalable model that served hundreds of creatives across disciplines without requiring massive grants or institutional funding.
Duration
2015 - 2020
Talent Management, Arts Education , Events, Creative Production
$10M economic impact
500+ Artist roster
30,000 sqft Studio
Project Overview
The Creative Labs was a multi-disciplinary arts incubator founded by myself and Section1 in 2015, where I served as Executive Director. Transformed a 30,000 sq ft warehouse into a Meow Wolf-like creative ecosystem providing design studio spaces, cyclorama, recording studio, and two performance spaces. The Labs operated as both community infrastructure and freelance talent agency, representing over 500 member artists across modeling, fashion, photography, visual arts, dance, and up-cycled design.
The business model centered on accessible membership at $29.99/month, providing community-driven workshops, art classes, specialized equipment access, and promotional opportunities. As membership grew in each category (modeling, fashion, photography, artists, dance, up-cycled), we cultivated more resources for each user group—creating a flywheel where community growth directly improved services. This approach provided equitable advancement opportunities and removed the traditional barriers preventing creative success: lack of equipment, studio space, mentorship, and professional networks.
Beyond the physical facility, The Creative Labs became Baltimore's central creative hub—producing over 100 experiential activations including Adobe Max, Artscape, and Art Basel. Managed national brand activations for Red Bull Amaphiko Academy and led production for the Ralph Steadman U.S. Retrospective tour. Built a network of 500+ freelance creatives capable of delivering high-impact campaigns at scale, generating $10M in economic impact to Baltimore's local arts ecosystem through funded partnerships, creative residencies, and public art installations.
My Approach
Operated The Creative Labs as a freelance talent agency representing 500+ member artists. This wasn't passive representation—actively connected members to paid opportunities, negotiated contracts, and built relationships with brands like Red Bull, Adobe, Facebook, and Budweiser. Managed client bookings, coordinated production logistics, and ensured artists were compensated fairly. Transformed individual freelancers into an organized creative workforce capable of competing for national-level campaigns.
Provided community-driven workshops, specialized training, and individualized mentorship to emerging artists. Education programming focused on professional development—how to price creative work, negotiate contracts, build portfolios, and sustain creative careers. This removed the "figuring it out alone" barrier that prevents many talented artists from turning craft into sustainable income.
Produced and supported over 100 live experiential activations including Adobe Max, Artscape, and Art Basel—delivering immersive brand storytelling to audiences across the U.S. Managed national brand activations for Red Bull Amaphiko Academy and led production for the Ralph Steadman U.S. Retrospective tour. These high-profile projects provided paid opportunities for member artists while generating $10M in economic impact to Baltimore's creative ecosystem through funded partnerships and public installations.
Word on the Street
"The Creative Labs gave Baltimore creatives the infrastructure we desperately needed. Studio space, equipment, mentorship, and actual paid opportunities—not just exposure. It changed careers and proved creative work could be sustainable."
