Maryland: Artist Registry & Marketplace

The Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), like most state arts agencies, has long supported individual artists through an artist registry that enables curators, collectors and other arts enthusiasts to discover their work. As the Internet became artists’ primary means for self-promotion and the advent of e-commerce websites like Etsy made it easier for artists to sell their work, MSAC enhanced the ability of its on-line registry (which has evolved from a physical slide library created in 1995) to foster arts entrepreneurship. In 2015, MSAC launched its Artist Registry & Marketplace. Managed on behalf of MSAC by a community arts center in Baltimore, it is a web platform designed to help Maryland’s visual artists promote and sell their work. There is no cost to artists and no curation process for participating in the registry and marketplace, which were built on the principles of accessibility and egalitarianism. Rather, artists create their own profiles featuring artwork images, an artist statement, a biography and contact information. MSAC encourages registered users to link their profile to a personalized e-commerce site and takes no commission on any sales the marketplace facilitates. MSAC Program Director Steven Skerritt-Davis can share additional details.