A monthly group for working artists

The studio is where you make the work. This is where you make the career.

Second Studio puts you in a small group of artists who meet every month, get honest about the business side, and actually help you follow through. That's the whole idea.

Apply to join $150 a month. One membership, nothing hidden.

Sound familiar?

You're good at making the work. It's everything around the work that keeps you up at night.

"I spent $600 on an art fair booth and still can't tell if it was worth it."

Everyone says "it's great exposure." Is it, though?

"I've been meaning to raise my prices for two years."

You know. Everyone knows. It still hasn't happened.

"Nothing sold from the show and I don't know what that means."

Wrong work? Wrong room? Wrong price? Bad luck?

Every working artist has these moments. Most of us have them alone, at midnight, with a search bar. Second Studio gives you nine people who've been there, who know your work, and who'll tell you the truth. Kindly, but the truth.

Here's what you actually get

Four things. The first one is the heart of it; the other three make it easier to stick with.

Your Cohort: nine artists and a facilitator, every month

Think of it as your nine new best friends. Same people each time, matched to where you are in your career, meeting online for a couple of hours a month. You bring a real decision, they help you make it, and next month they ask how it went. A trained facilitator keeps it honest and on track.

Open Studio: a speaker series with the people you can never get a meeting with

Hard-to-reach experts on the things you actually need to know: the consultant who places art in serious collections, the accountant who only works with artists, the grant panelist, the artist who went from Instagram to sold-out shows. Online, with time for your questions, and recorded so you never miss one.

Real-life hangs

Every so often we get everyone in a room together, starting in Boston, with more cities to follow as members show up in them. Wine, other artists, no small talk about what you "really" do.

Discounts on the stuff you already buy

Paint, canvas, framing, printing, software.

How it works

We build every group by hand, so it starts with a conversation.

Tell us about you

A short application: what you make, where your career is, what you're stuck on. Takes about ten minutes. It's how we make sure we're the right fit for you, and that you're the right fit for a group.
We find your people

A quick call so we know who you are, then we place you with artists at a similar stage working in different mediums. Shared problems, zero competition.
Your first meeting

You and your Cohort kick things off with your facilitator and start building relationships to grow and support one another.

One membership. That's it.

No tiers, no add-ons, no upsell waiting on the other side. Everything above is included, and you're only charged once we've placed you in a Cohort.

Second Studio membership

$150a month

or $1,500 a year (two months on us)

Your Cohort, every month
Open Studio speaker series with hard-to-reach experts
In-person meetups throughout the year, starting in Boston
Member discounts on materials and services
A private channel and directory of every member

Apply to join

Things people ask

Am I guaranteed a spot in a gallery?

No. This is about you growing as an artist. Membership doesn't get you any special treatment at any gallery. What it does get you is a much better shot at every gallery, on your own terms.

Who is it for?

Working visual artists: painters, sculptors, printmakers, ceramicists, photographers, textile and mixed-media artists. You're making work you want to sell or show, and you're ready to take the career side as seriously as the work. You don't need representation. You don't need an MFA.

I'm not in Boston. Does that matter?

Not at all. Cohorts and Open Studio happen online, so you can join from anywhere in the US. Boston is just where the in-person meetups are starting. Wherever enough members live, we'll open a room there too.

Why mix painters with sculptors and photographers?

Because a room full of painters chasing the same walls gets careful with each other. Mix the mediums and people get honest, while the questions about pricing, galleries, and time turn out to be exactly the same.

Is this about technique?

No. There are no art demonstrations or how-to lessons. Your Cohort is here to help you grow your career as an artist, not to teach you how to paint.

There's a spot waiting for you.

Ten minutes to apply and then a room full of people who get it.