Meet Diane Scott

Donor Dish | M-AAA | March 26, 2025

“In addition to being an arts administrator, Diane is an educator and writer specializing in arts entrepreneurship. Below, she shares the origin story of Artist INC, key takeaways from her new book, and the inspiration behind the Artist Services biweekly newsletter, Pushing the Flywheel.”

Arts News: Artists Thrive Summit convenes in KC this spring

KC Studio | Randy Mason | March 24, 2025

“Thrive is really highlighting what a great arts hub Kansas City is on a national level,” Scott says. “And I am super excited to get to share that with people from all over the country. This really is an amazing community, with an entrepreneurial spirit and an ability to do things that’s second to none.”

Artist opportunity: $10,000 grants available for Arkansas creatives

ABC Channel 7 | Little Rock, AR | December 10, 2024

“Diane Scott, director of artist services at the Mid-America Arts Alliance, expressed enthusiasm for the program, saying it offers a significant opportunity for local artists to grow and develop their craft.”

Artists 360 awards $300,000 in grants to Northwest Arkansas artists

Talk Business & Politics | Arkansas | December 2, 2024\

“Artists 360’s shift to practice-based funding provides recipients with the flexibility to invest in their creative practice, ultimately strengthening the arts ecosystem in the region. The combination of artist funding, professional development and peer network development has made a significant impact not just on the Artists 360 grantees but to artists across the region.”

Eureka Springs artist John Rankine honored for ‘Creative Impact"‘

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | Arkansas | November 2, 2024

“Rankine calls the recently announced award — which comes witha cash grant of $25,000 — ‘a huge validation from a group of professional peers. I know the competition out there for this award, and I am very humbled.’”

Local notes: 31 Northwest Arkansas artists selected for Artists 360 grants and received $300,000 total

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | Arkansas | October 19, 2024

‘"We are thrilled to broaden the scope of the Artists 360 program with the generous increased funding from the Walton Family Foundation,’ said Diane Scott, director of artist services at Mid-America Arts Alliance.”

Artists 360 Awards Local Artist with Major Recognition

KNWA Fox 24 | Fayetteville, AR | October 20, 2023

“They have awarded over the past six years $1 million to 138 artists through individual artist grants, which is truly an amazing thing.”

Paul Tyler, an ‘emotional heart’ of Kansas City’s arts community, dies at 68

KCUR | Julie Denesha | June 6, 2023

“Part of Tyler's legacy, Scott said, are the connections Artist INC alumni made over the years. Many of those artists have gone on to become important members of other organizations around the metro.”

How Do Artists Make a Living?

The Berkshire Eagle | Francesca Olsen | August 2, 2021

“In 2019, the National Endowment for the Arts reported that artists were almost four times more likely to be self-employed as others in the labor force. Many of those 2.5 million artists also work a second job, or consider their artist work secondary to another job.”

A new survey reveals one impact the pandemic has had on Midwest artists

Up to Date | Steve Kraske | April 24, 2021

“COVID-19 has done more than take money out of the pockets of artists. It’s also robbed many of their creative output. We get a breakdown of the bigger picture provided by the survey and ask what financial relief has been available for those in the arts.”

Artist INC develops diverse artist business skills

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | Mary Jordan | July 27, 2020

“Artist Inc. Live has launched for its fourth year in Northwest Arkansas with its most diverse cohort of artists and facilitators yet, organizers say. The eight-week program began Tuesday to help about 22 artists develop entrepreneurial skills to build sustainable careers, said Lisa Marie Evans, regional program administrator. The program is offered through Mid-America Arts Alliance in Kansas City, Mo., said Diane Scott, program founder .”

For Artists in Need, a New Coalition Brings $11.6 Million in Speedy Relief

The New York Times | Jillian Steinhauer | May 4, 2020

“The grim findings echo and amplify those of other, smaller surveys. In one conducted by the Mid-America Arts Alliance in March (with artists in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas), 60 percent of respondents said their savings would sustain them for one month or less.”

How Small Arts Nonprofits in the US Are Responding to the Existential Threat of COVID-19

Hyperallergic | Paddy Johnson | April 13, 2020

“The flood of funding applications supports this statement, as does the data. According to a new report produced by Mid-America Arts Alliance, a regional arts organization that serves Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, 81.5% of nearly 2000 artists surveyed have lost income, 37% have lost between three to five gigs and only 22% say they do not need any support right now.”