Gain foundational business skills that support your creative practice—from marketing and pricing your work, to understanding the basics of contracts, branding, and entrepreneurship. MassArt offers a range of business-focused electives open to students in all majors.
Business ElectivesCreative Entrepreneurship
Build Your Creative Career at MassArt–where creativity meets business and innovation.
At MassArt, students gain more than artistic and design skills—they learn how to thrive in the creative economy. Whether you’re looking to launch your own brand, lead collaborative projects, or build a career that blends artistry with entrepreneurial thinking, MassArt offers the tools and experiences to make it happen.
Since 2018, MassArt has been a leader in providing accessible business education for creatives. Through online workshops, hands-on electives, and intensive incubator programs, we’ve empowered hundreds of artists and designers to navigate the business side of their practice with confidence and clarity.
Pathways to Business & Creative Entrepreneurship
Complement your studio practice with a minor that focuses on the business side of art and design. This interdisciplinary program gives students a solid foundation in topics like consumer behavior, creative marketing, and innovation management—equipping you to navigate and shape the creative industries.
Business of Creative Industries MinorNormal Art is MassArt’s student-run creative brand, where students research, develop, and sell original products designed with real customers in mind. It’s a hands-on opportunity to gain business experience, develop consumer-focused designs, and work in leadership roles like e-commerce manager or social media lead.
Students can apply to join the team after completing two foundational courses:
- Design for Consumers
- Intro to Researching the Customer
Open to all majors and class years.
Normal Art WebsiteEach fall, MassArt students and alumni come together for the MassArt Night Market—a vibrant pop-up event where artists and designers sell their work, build community, and connect directly with the public.
Vendor spots are open to all current students and alumni from MassArt’s undergraduate, graduate, certificate, and business incubator programs.
Throughout the evening, students and alumni lead interactive demos that invite attendees to observe and participate—and give artists the opportunity to teach, perform, and share their creative process.
MassArt Night MarketsAlumni Spotlight
Eva Maskalenko
'18 BFA Fashion DesignWhile earning her BFA in Fashion Design in 2018, Eva joined the very first cohort of the Creative Economy Business Incubator—a program that gave her the tools and confidence to think like an entrepreneur and explore how her design skills could be applied in new, emerging fields.
That experience sparked a shift in her career path. Eva began to explore the intersection of fashion, technology, and human-centered design. She transitioned from working in costume design to working in wearable tech—bringing a designer’s eye and a maker’s mindset to industries like augmented reality, gaming, and performance wear.
She has since held roles at major tech innovators including Meta Reality Labs, where she worked on sensory feedback gloves for virtual reality gaming, and Flex, where she helped bridge the gap between industrial design and emerging materials science.
Today, Eva is back in Boston, working as a Senior Materials Lead at Whoop, a leader in wearable health and performance tracking technology. Her journey is a powerful example of how creative education—when paired with business and innovation training—can lead to unexpected and exciting career paths. View Eva’s work
Interested in launching a project or business?
Email entrepreneurship@massart.edu to learn how you can get involved.