Artist Care Program

Problems Addressed:

For over 7 years, Nvak Foundation has utilized music education and mentorship as the catalysts to helping young under-resourced and underrepresented creators overcome the most difficult challenges within their local communities. In doing this work, Nvak Foundation recognized the full scope of barriers keeping young artists everywhere from expressing their unique voices and reaching their full potential. While music is a powerful tool for creative expression, cultural storytelling, and economic empowerment globally, we’ve found the following barriers to entry exist:

• Contemporary music education is expensive, exclusive, inaccessible and often out of date, disproportionately affecting low-income and under-resourced communities.
• Emerging artists face systemic roadblocks beyond access to education and mentorship such as poverty, identity-based discrimination, and trauma, all of which prevent them from finding the support necessary to thrive and reach their full creative potential.

Access to critical resources like education, health services, music equipment, and supportive community are the links necessary to keep these creators on their path to success and contribute to a more inclusive music industry. Whether it be for an up-and-coming songwriter in the U.S. unable to afford medical care without health insurance, or a young female musician in Malawi with a dream of becoming a music producer but lacking access to the education and equipment to get there, artists everywhere need individualized aid as they develop.

Artist Care Program

Nvak Foundation’s Artist Care Program is a free, 1 year intensive program that empowers young underrepresented creators to develop the artistic and entrepreneurial skills necessary to launch careers and make their voices heard in the music industry. Once program recipients are selected, Nvak’s dedicated team provides holistic support and services to address their diverse and individualized needs and goals, helping them to overcome obstacles that have historically hindered their ability to thrive. Throughout their program year, all Artist Care Program recipients have access to the following resources:

1. Grants for Basic Needs - Nvak Foundation’s team ensures young creators can meet their basic needs and access essential career resources like technology and digital access, allowing them to focus on their artistic and professional growth. We offer monthly stipends and donated services and equipment in the following areas:
   • Medical Care
   • Dental Care
   • Vocal Care
   • Mental Health Care
   • Nutrition Counseling
   • Addiction Counseling
   • Digital Access, Technology & Equipment
   • Transportation, and more.
2. Supportive Community - We offer participants lifelong access to our robust network of aspiring creators from across the United States, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa, connecting artists through online channels and regular alumni programming. Not only does this offer unique opportunities for cross-cultural collaboration, but establishes ongoing peer support for young artists as they pursue their personal, professional, and creative goals.
3. Artistic & Career Development - Nvak helps build workforce readiness skills through year-round intensive training, professional mentorship, and real-world work experience:
   • Our innovative music education series, SONG START, co-created with Spotify’s Noteable, is a free resource for songwriting, music production, music business, and mental health education.
   • Yearlong, 1:1 mentorship with active industry professionals
   • Live workshops with A-list professionals in the industry (Ali Tamposi; Nija Charles; and more) and university professors (UCLA; NYU Clive Davis Institute; Syracuse Bandier Program).
   • Internship placements with global music industry stakeholders, empowering students to apply skills gained through the program
   • Financial management coaching
   • Stipends to cover additional training where necessary

Impact Stories

By the end of the program, young creators are empowered with the networks, skills, and resources essential to reaching their full creative and career potential. Hear more on our impact from our participants themselves: