The notion of the starving artist is iconic, a concept that many would think is long gone in a much more connected, capable world. However, the young artist of today still clings to this ideal, hoping that the sheer magnitude of their creative works will catch the eye of a patron, who will in turn sponsor their path to fame and fortune. Or at least enough to live on.

"One of the things I've come to appreciate is that students in the arts don't think seriously about business or entrepreneurship. They have more of a romantic approach," says Neil Kleinman, Senior Fellow, Corzo Center at The University of the Arts. "Students don't think about taking economic control of the things they create."

The Corzo Center is working to change this artistic mentality. Within the last year, Kleinman and the Corzo Center have developed programs that challenge University of the Arts students and recent alumni to harness both their creativity and business savvy. In essence, the artist becomes his or her own patron, a very 21st Century approach.

Philadelphia is the perfect locale for this type of initiative to take root and blossom. The city's creative economy is vibrant and growing, employing almost 18,000 workers in fields from fine arts to graphic design. In fact, according to a 2008 study commissioned by the City's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Philadelphia's creative sector is 70 percent stronger than the national benchmark.

For University of the Arts students and alumni with projects still in their early stages, the Corzo Center is preparing to launch Corzo Create!, an online forum that allows students to present their ideas along with a marketing plan in a monthly competition for a $1,500 grant. The concept is very similar to the Pepsi Refresh Project, as the online community at-large votes for the winner.

But the larger initiative comes from the Center's Creative Incubator, which offered several $10,000 grants for the first time in 2010. The entire grant process is designed to ask the tough questions, insuring that the proposed project is well-thought out and sustainable.

"Many students have the 'Jack Horner Syndrome,' believing that the creative idea alone should be enough to receive funding," explains Kleinman. "They don't think beyond the one-off project or beyond the next six months. That's why we created a more elaborate process for distributing the grants."

The University of the Arts helped students and alumni who have graduated in the last five years develop their grant proposals, offering advice on strategies, business development, marketing, legal issues and more. The initial grant review was conducted by thirty individuals outside of the university environment: entrepreneurs, business professionals, musicians and theater owners.

"We tried to have people who had expertise in the content area as well as those in the business world," adds Kleinman. "It was important to have professionals reviewing the grants that were tied into the plans."

After the initial grant review, another smaller committee scrutinized both the grant and the evaluation, insuring the entire process would be both comprehensive and fair. All students and alumni who submitted a grant proposal received a summary offering helpful feedback on their submissions, regardless of whether or not they received funding. Those who did earn grants received further assistance from University of the Arts in creating a contract, dealing with funders, developing business plans and more.

In addition, all grant recipients from the Corzo Create! and Creative Incubator programs must present what they've learned from the process by creating both a written summary and online video for the benefit of both The University of the Arts and the community at large.

Bright Light Theater Company, founded by University of the Arts alumni Julian Karlen, Sam Tower and Allison Caw, received support for their use of new media and the Internet to promote their productions. Other 2010 recipients were Blue:Red:Yellow, a design and manufacturing company growing natural plant dyes and producing environmentally friendly clothing; Phonographic Unlimited, a design business inspired by the music culture; and Sukkatash, a video group producing music videos and urban fairy tales.

The very non-starving artist Woody MacDuffie is a self-proclaimed "academic brat" with a Bachelors' degree in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics as well as a Masters' degree in Biomechanical Engineering. He's currently a student in the University of the Arts' Masters of Industrial Design program and a 2010 Creative Incubator grant recipient. His project is Webroulette, an online project inspired by Chatroulette, the web site that pairs random strangers from around the world together for webcam-based conversations. Webroulette is a web browser that allows people who are visiting the same site at the same time to video chat instantly about what they are browsing, creating immediate collaboration among users on the Internet.

"Neil Kleinman told me about what the Corzo Center was doing and to me this seemed a natural option for a beginning funding stage for my project," says MacDuffie. "The grant money was used to develop the front end of Webroulette, creating a brand identity and the initial development of the code. The grant was a stepping stone for getting this idea out in the world."

This was not MacDuffie's first time to the grant rodeo. This in fact was the eighth successful grant he has been involved in. With his previous experience, MacDuffie has a unique perspective of how the University of the Arts' grant process compares with other programs.

"The process was very straight forward, more straight forward than some of the National Institutes of Health grants I was part of in the past," explains MacDuffie. "Neil Kleinman was a big help during the process if people had questions."

The success and feedback from the first year of the Incubator Grants has provided invaluable information. The second cycle of grants will be offered in 2011 and the review process will be more streamlined. Grant proposals will undergo a higher level of scrutiny, with students and alumni presenting their ideas before a board of grant reviewers. In addition, a recent partnership with The University of the Arts and the Philadelphia-based GoodCompany Ventures will provide an incubator for those with more ambitious ventures looking for grants reaching the million dollar mark.

We're helping students create something that stands up," adds Kleinman. "These initiatives give them an opportunity to stay in the area, to learn from their failures, to try, test, experiment, succeed, fail and try again."

FRANK SINATRA is a freelance writer and communications consultant who lives in Pennsauken, NJ. Send feedback here.

PHOTOS:

Woody MacDuffie explains Corzo Center-funded Net Dialog. (image courtesy of the Corzo Center)

Neil Kleinman is the senior fellow at the Corzo Center.

Students at work during a Corzo Center workshop entitled Artists & Entrepreneurs, led by venture capitalist and entrepreneur Terry Collison. (image courtesy of TomatoMultiMedia Productions2076)

The Corzo Center at 211 S. Broad Street.

Student during a Corzo Center workshop (image courtesy of The Corzo Center )

Detail of Woody MacDuffie's Net Dialog program (image courtesy of The Corzo Center )

Students work in the University of the Arts' industrial design department.

A Corzo Center promo.

Photographs by MICHAEL PERSICO (unless otherwise noted).