An East Liberty tech start-up has issued a challenge to Pittsburgh's corporations: Give an artist a chance.

Technology and design firm deeplocal has partnered with Encyclopedia Destructica, a Pittsburgh-based group of working artists, to create an artist-in-residency program. The concept of hosting an artist is old -- many art-centered nonprofits and universities do it -- but the setting is new.

"It really is an innovative idea," said Andrew Swensen, director of Pittsburgh Filmmakers. "They're taking an existing model and transporting it to a different community -- the for-profit, corporate community. I think that's a wonderful thing. They're literally putting their money where their mouth is."

The creators hope bigger Pittsburgh businesses will do the same.

The "Old and New Media Residency" enables artists based in Pittsburgh to take three months to work on projects in deeplocal's office and Encyclopedia Destructica's studios. During the residency, an artist would network with deeplocal's clients, get help with applying for grants and be introduced to people interested in art through an artist lecture and exhibition.

Artists will have access to deeplocal's technological tools and Encyclopedia Destructica's print-making equipment. They'll get up to $1,500 for supplies and receive artist access to Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Staff at deeplocal will dedicate a day each week to assisting the artists and teaching business principles.

The artists aren't the only ones who would benefit.

"Artists bring a different perspective to solving problems," said Nathan Martin, CEO of deeplocal. "When an amateur or artist thinks about solving a problem, they ignore the rules, while experts believe they know what not to do, so they don't try new things.

"Experts have a really hard time innovating. Innovation comes from the outside, from looking at things from a different perspective."

Chris Kardambikis, co-director with Jasdeep Khaira of Lawrenceville-based Encyclopedia Destructica, said a major goal of the residency is to make Pittsburgh's artists more accessible to people who might want to buy artwork but don't know how to approach an artist.

"Pittsburgh is a wonderful arts city because it has a low cost of living, so it's not difficult to have a space to live and work, and the people are supportive," said Kardambikis. "The problem, though, is that the people who go to the gallery crawls once in a while or visit a gallery here and there don't really know ... who certain artists are or what they're working on."

If the pilot program is successful, it would show other corporations that hosting an artist-in-residency program could help their bottom lines, said Hilary Robinson, dean of Carnegie Mellon University's College of Fine Arts.

"Most people might think of an artist residency as somebody coming in, having a studio in the office and painting pictures," she said. "What this program could show them is that there can be a much more dynamic relationship between the artist and the organization that could really benefit the organization more than they might think."

Additional Information:

For details about the Old and New Media Residency, go online. Applications are due by Feb. 15. The residency starts April 1.

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