If you make a living from your creative work in the Santa Clarita Valley, the city wants to help you treat it like the business it is. On Saturday, October 3, the City of Santa Clarita and the nonprofit Arts for Santa Clarita are hosting the 2026 Business for Artists Conference, themed “Adaptability and Resilience in an Evolving Art World,” at the Canyon Country Community Center from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The event is free and open to artists, creatives, and nonprofit professionals, and it’s built around the parts of running a creative practice that rarely get taught in art school: contracts, income diversification, and long-term sustainability. Returning presenter Erica Bristol will lead a session on intellectual property basics, walking attendees through how to protect their work and license it properly. First-time presenter Mims will tackle turning a single art project into what organizers are calling a “living ecosystem,” essentially a framework for building multiple, sustainable revenue streams around one body of work. Other sessions cover social media monetization and nonprofit leadership, rounding out a day aimed squarely at the business side of art.
The day includes a complimentary breakfast, networking time between sessions, and a lunch reception with box lunches available for purchase, with proceeds funding future Arts for Santa Clarita programming. It wraps with a social hour and a performance of “Un-fitted,” directed by Ilse Castro Corona.
For the SCV’s small business community, this is a useful reminder that “creative” and “commercial” aren’t opposites. Illustrators, photographers, muralists, musicians, and independent makers throughout Santa Clarita, the San Fernando Valley, and the broader LA area are running businesses whether or not they think of themselves that way, and events like this one give them tools — IP protection, pricing, diversified income — that any small business owner would want. It’s also a solid networking opportunity in a region where creative professionals often work in isolation.
Registration is open now at SantaClaritaArts.com, and the event is free, though space at the Canyon Country Community Center is limited, so early sign-up is worth it if you’re planning to attend.
Source: Santa Clarita Valley Signal
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