What Arts Connect International does

Arts Connect International (ACI) is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 by Marian Taylor Brown to advance creative justice through arts and culture, with a primary focus on developing leadership among QT2SDBIPOC (Queer, Trans, 2-Spirit, Disabled, Black, Indigenous, and people of color) arts leaders. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected programs: the Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC), a two-unit, 12-session asynchronous online course that has trained nearly 3,000 arts and culture workers since 2020; the Cultural Equity Incubator (CEI), a shared physical workspace at 15 Channel Center Street, Boston where ACI co-locates with five core partner organizations; the Transformative Research Collective (TRC), which publishes peer-reviewed research on cultural equity and creative justice; and Consult With ACI, a paid consultancy suite offering intersectional supports, training, mapping, and leadership coaching. Supporting programs include the annual Arts Equity Summit, Creative Justice Fellows (formerly DIAL Boston), Youth United Artists, Arts Leader Retreats, Artists in Residence, and Ripple Grantees — an emergency grant mechanism that distributed $74,000 to QT2SDBIPOC arts leaders during the first CELC cohort.

ACI is governed under a lateral co-director model adopted in 2021, with four employee co-directors and three neutral co-directors distributed across functional areas (Systems Support, Emergence, Community Weaving, Design, Creative Disruption, Congruence). The organization employs 9 staff and is headquartered in Jamaica Plain, MA. Revenue is generated through tax-deductible individual donations (via Givebutter, check, and ACH), foundation and government grants (NEA, Mass Cultural Council, Andrew Mellon Foundation, Boston Foundation, Barr Foundation, NEFA, Tremaine Foundation, Foley Hoag Foundation), and consultancy fees. Notable 2025 developments include the 10th-anniversary campaign and the award and subsequent rescission of a $35,000 NEA Research Grant intended to study CELC outcomes.

The underlying technology is intentionally lightweight: a basic asynchronous learning management system for CELC and standard virtual event platforms for remote convenings. ACI's defensibility comes not from technical moats but from a decade of relationship capital with Boston-area arts and culture institutions, a published body of domain-specific research, a self-reinforcing alumni/community network anchored by the 350+ member Network for Arts Administrators of Color (NAAC) Boston chapter, and the structural embeddedness of the CEI co-location model.

Name

Arts Connect International

Legal name

Arts Connect International

Website

https://artsconnectinternational.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arts Connect International is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 that grows creative justice through arts and culture, training QT2SDBIPOC arts leaders and supporting equity-focused arts organizations via its Cultural Equity Learning Community, Cultural Equity Incubator, Transformative Research Collective, and consultancy services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts and Culture Equity Services

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Fine Arts Schools (611610)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Service/Support Organizations (Networks, Advocacy, Capacity Building) (BPAGAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

Keywords

• Arts and culture equity
• Cultural equity training
• Arts leadership development
• Creative justice programs
• Nonprofit arts services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston, Massachusetts

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: ACI is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Individual donations are accepted via online platform (Givebutter), check mail, and ACH transfers. Donations are tax-deductible.
2. Grants and Foundation Funding: Grants from organizations including National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Mass Cultural Council, Andrew Mellon Foundation. In 2025, received and then had rescinded a $35,000 NEA Research Grant for studying CELC impacts.
3. Consulting Services: Consult With ACI offers consultancy services including intersectional supports, specific trainings, mapping and leadership coaching, and research services for organizations seeking cultural equity transformation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arts Connect International is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers arts and culture programming aimed at growing creative justice, primarily for QT2SDBIPOC arts leaders and arts organizations. Core offerings include the Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC) online asynchronous course, the Cultural Equity Incubator (CEI) shared workspace, the Transformative Research Collective (TRC) research arm, Consult With ACI consultancy services, and a portfolio of fellowships and leadership programs including Creative Justice Fellows, Youth United Artists, Arts Leader Retreats, and the annual Arts Equity Summit.

Product overview

Arts Connect International (ACI) operates as a portfolio of interconnected programs centered on growing creative justice through arts and culture. The core offerings include the Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC) online learning program, the Cultural Equity Incubator (CEI) shared workspace, the Transformative Research Collective (TRC) research arm, and the Consult With ACI consultancy services. Supporting programs include the annual Arts Equity Summit, Creative Justice Fellows fellowship, Youth United Artists youth program, Arts Leader Retreats, Artists in Residence program, and Ripple Grantees grant program. All offerings are oriented toward supporting QT2SDBIPOC (Queer, Trans, 2-Spirit, Disabled, Black, Indigenous, and people of color) arts leaders and advancing equity in the arts sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Transformative Research Collective (TRC): A collective of artists, academics and community members who generate research by and for community, grounded in practice and lived experience as part of building collective liberation.
• Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC)
• Cultural Equity Incubator (CEI)
• Consult With ACI

Products and services

• Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC) A two-unit, 12-session asynchronous online course with wrap-around supports for arts and culture leaders committed to building creative justice. The course has trained nearly 3,000 arts and culture workers since 2020, accessible globally through the online platform.
• Cultural Equity Incubator (CEI) A shared co-working and event space in Boston offering equitably shared space, governance, networks, and resources for small and mid-sized arts organizations and collectives led by arts communities.
• Transformative Research Collective (TRC)

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 3,000 arts and culture workers trained since 2020 through CELC
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Americans for the ArtsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnered with Americans for the Arts to pilot Diversity in Arts Leadership (DIAL) Boston, now known as Creative Justice Fellows, as a 10-week summer internship program in 2022.
• Cultural Equity Incubator (CEI) Core PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Core collaborative partners including ACI, Art in the Antilles, Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston, Danza Orgánica, Dunamis, and The Flavor Continues share space, governance, networks, and resources at 15 Channel Center Street, Boston to support small and mid-sized arts organizations led by arts communities.
• Network for Arts Administrators of Color (NAAC) Boston / ArtsBostoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Affinity group run out of ArtsBoston with 350+ members. ACI's Phase II cultural equity gap study focused on perspectives of BIPOC arts leaders who are part of NAAC.
• HipStoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVideo production partner that filmed the Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC) content.
• UnBound Bodies CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShaped QUENCH: a rest and restoration retreat for QTBIPOC creatives and activists on The Food Project farm, part of Massachusetts Assembly 2.0 gatherings.
• Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag TribesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShaped online gathering for Native artists and circle for Wampanoag at Mashpee Tribal Museum as part of Massachusetts Assembly 2.0.
• We Are ForestsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShaped gathering devoted to Reciprocal Returns at an Agroforest in Southampton as part of Massachusetts Assembly 2.0.
• Elevated ThoughtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigned the finale Ocean Gathering for Massachusetts Assembly 2.0, originally planned at headquarters in Lawrence.
• School for Global Inclusion and Social Development at UMass BostonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted the 2nd Annual Symposium on Arts for Cultural Inclusion in 2016, bringing together 250+ community members, 30+ organizational partners, and 20+ community artists.
• HowlRound Theatre CommonsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLivestream partner for Virtual Arts Equity Summit 2020, providing platform expertise during COVID-19 pandemic transition.
• Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture (Boston)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting arts and culture sector in Boston.
• Living CloserminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in arts and culture ecosystem.
• TSNE (Third Sector New England)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit support organization providing resources to nonprofits in New England.
• Boston Nonprofit CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit resource and space provider in Boston.
• Gracenote CoffeeminorOthersLocal business partner.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Race Forward: Race Forward is a national nonprofit focused on racial justice that builds strategies and training for institutions and communities. It parallels ACI's intersectional justice lens and cultural-equity training work, though it operates at much larger scale and broader scope.
• National Arts Strategies: National Arts Strategies is a nonprofit that provides leadership development programs and consultancy for arts and culture executives. It directly competes with ACI's leadership-nurturing and Consult With ACI services, with a more established leadership curriculum.
• Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC): LINC is a national nonprofit focused on increasing diversity and equity in the arts field through research, convening, and grantmaking. It overlaps with ACI's cultural equity gap research and community-of-color leadership development work.
• ArtsBoston: ArtsBoston is a regional arts service organization that hosts the Network for Arts Administrators of Color (NAAC), which ACI co-founded and studies. It is a direct regional peer serving Boston-area arts organizations with similar convening and equity programming.
• Southern Exposure / Alternative Arts Network (Alternate ROOTS): Alternate ROOTS is a regional arts service organization supporting artists and arts organizations in the U.S. South focused on social justice and cultural equity. It parallels ACI's intersectional arts and creative justice mission through grants, convenings, and leadership development.

Broad incumbents

• National Performance Network (NPN): NPN is a national performing arts service organization providing grants, convening, and leadership development for diverse performance artists and organizations. It is a broader arts service incumbent with overlapping equity and leadership development programming.
• Americans for the Arts: Americans for the Arts is the largest national arts service organization, providing advocacy, research, and programming. ACI previously partnered with them on the DIAL Boston / Creative Justice Fellows program, and they are the dominant incumbent in the arts leadership space.
• Theatre Communications Group (TCG): TCG is the national service organization for the American theater, providing advocacy, research, and leadership programs. It is a broader incumbent in arts service with overlapping equity and leadership development programming.

Regional players

• New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA): NEFA is a regional arts funding organization covering New England that supports arts programming and grants. ACI is a listed major partner of NEFA, and both serve the same regional arts ecosystem with funding and capacity-building support.
• Mass Cultural Council: Mass Cultural Council is the state arts funding agency for Massachusetts. ACI is a direct major partner, and they overlap in supporting Boston-area arts leaders and cultural equity initiatives with grants and convening.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCdismissed
• Instagraminstagram.com/artsconnectintl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arts-connect-international

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arts Connect International