A modest investment of $15,000 over three years
could initiate creative entrepreneurial growth for an underserved/ returning and unemployed
young adult, promote creativity & entrepreneurial growth for economically disadvantaged youth and lessen the visibility gap of Black tattoo artists, through enhanced access to a lucrative apprenticeship, business networks, and resources—helping fuel more equitable economic growth and wealth-building within the creative economy.
The Vocation scholarship program would enable the financial support needed for creatives to enter the industry and provide scaled-up support to current tattooers who would like to offer Dark skin tattoo and trauma-informed tattoo services.
We have stumbled upon the most fascinating 2-part problem, that when fused together can become a viable economic solution.
Problem #1 - A Massive Market Gap
TATTOO IS THE 6TH FASTEST GROWING CULTURE INDUSTRY IN NORTH AMERICA
with over $1.6BN in revenue as of 2023. Yet, there is a market gap that shows the most common ethnicity of tattoo artists is White. Though tattoo is statistically more popular among Black people, only 9.3% of tattoo artists are Black or African American compared to White (57.4%) and Hispanic or Latino (20.0%) artists.
And in the ENTIRE CREATIVE ECONOMY ...
Arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.4 % of gross domestic product (GDP) ($1.02 trillion, in 2021), according to Bloomberg. Except, there is STILL a desparity with only 8.5% of all creative class jobs nationwide are held by Black or African American compared to White (57.4%) and Hispanic or Latino (20.0%) artists.
Problem #2 - The BLACK Unspoken National Employment C-r-i-s-i-s
The Black unemployment rate has been about 6.6% higher than the white unemployment rate since 1972. And seemingly, there are simply no opportunities in our society; not only for advancement, but for any sort of survival.
18% of Black youth (ages 16-24) were unemployed in July 2023 compared to White (7%), Asians (5.6%) and Hispanic or Latino (10.5%) youth.
But ...
We can stand in the gaps to create employment for individuals and disrupt the creative economy.
#FORTHECULTURE!
Helping young Black creatives identify tattoo as a viable trade for building generational wealth.
The future of tattoo is a bright and exciting one!
Our goal is to help 15 young adults enter the tattoo industry workforce.
3 ways The Vocation helps level the playing field:
🎯 lessen the tattoo artist diversity gap
🎯 provide a supportive start to young adults in impacted low-socioeconomic areas
🎯 bridge the gap between past, present, and future
Every great institution is made up of people that believe in its mission enough to share their power, to invest their money or their time.
Have you ever thought about giving the gift of creative entrepreneurship?
Become our newest Black tattoo culture philanthropist by making a donation today to support our work -
with a generous one-time donation or become a monthly donor. Your contribution to The Vocation scholarship program will undoubtedly help creatively transform lives, for the better.
If you decide to donate, please consider asking people in your circle to follow your lead by making a donation.
Sponsor a student through The Vocation 2024 Cohort - program duration, 3 years @ $5K per year
Sponsor a student through 1 year of The Vocation 2024 Cohort - program duration, 3 years
Donate towards The Vocation scholarship program and help us close the racial entrepreneurship gap.
Become our newest BTA philanthropist by making a donation to support our work with a generous one-time donation, or even consider becoming a monthly donor.
4331 Gallatin Street, Hyattsville, Maryland 20781, United States
The Black Tattoo Anthology is a philanthropic resource and entrepreneurship learning community working to transform access to compete in the creative economy around Black underrepresented and marginalized creatives through partnerships between the social justice sector and the tattoo, media, arts and entertainment industries.
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