Building a creative career takes more than talent. Artists and arts organizations also need practical skills to navigate contracts, funding, finances, branding and an increasingly complex creative economy.

This fall, Arlington Cultural Affairs is once again joining ArtsFairfax and the City of Alexandria Office of the Arts through the Northern Virginia Local Arts Agencies (NVLAA) to offer a new season of free online professional development workshops in partnership with the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).

Now in its fourth year, the collaboration has already delivered 18 programs reaching 12,565 participants, connecting artists, performers, creatives and arts administrators with practical tools and expertise to help strengthen their careers and organizations.

Five Free Workshops, November Through March

The 2026-27 season includes five virtual workshops:

Artists and the Law: Protecting Your Work in the Age of AI
November 12, noon-1:30 p.m. ET
An especially timely session for artists navigating questions about protecting their creative work as artificial intelligence continues to reshape the creative landscape. Learn more and register.

Nonprofit Financial Literacy
January 14, noon-1:30 p.m. ET
A workshop focused on strengthening financial knowledge for people working in nonprofit arts and cultural organizations. Learn more and register.

Crafting Your Creative Identity: Branding for Artists & Administrators
February 11, noon-1:30 p.m. ET
Participants will consider how to communicate their creative identity and build a stronger, more consistent professional presence. Learn more and register.

Expanding Your Organization’s Funding Landscape
March 4, noon-1:30 p.m. ET
Designed to help arts administrators think more strategically about developing and diversifying funding opportunities. Learn more and register.

Fund Your Art: Strategic Revenue Diversification for Creatives
March 18, noon-1:30 p.m. ET
A session focused on helping individual creatives consider multiple approaches to generating revenue and sustaining their artistic practice. Learn more and register.

This year’s series responds directly to participant feedback by alternating its focus between individual artists and arts administrators. While individual sessions may emphasize one audience, the workshops are designed so that artists and organizational leaders alike can take away useful strategies.

Investing in Arlington’s Creative Community

The partnership is part of a broader effort to make professional development more accessible to artists and arts organizations throughout Northern Virginia. Virtual programming removes geographic barriers and, because the workshops are free, makes high-quality professional development available regardless of an individual’s or organization’s resources.

Previous workshops have tackled topics ranging from artist open calls and marketing to fundraising, storytelling, public art and creative placemaking. Participants have included artists working across a wide range of disciplines.

For Arlington, the series complements Cultural Affairs’ broader work to support the people who make the County’s arts ecosystem possible. Providing artists and arts organizations with practical business knowledge, resources and professional networks helps build a more resilient creative community and strengthens the role that arts and culture play in Arlington’s economic and community vitality.

The partnership brings together the Arlington Cultural Affairs Office, ArtsFairfax, City of Alexandria Office of the Arts and NYFA, combining local knowledge with national professional-development expertise.

All workshops are free and held online. Artists, creatives and arts administrators can register through the individual workshop links above.

Learn more about Arlington Cultural Affairs and the New York Foundation for the Arts.