About
A multifaceted approach to support Black creatives navigating complex challenges and pursuing transformative opportunities
Cohort
Leverage best practices and lessons learned from a peer group of aspiring and entrepreneurial creatives.
Residency
Access stable and affordable space needed to start and sustain a professional and profitable creative career.
Guidance
Engage with passionate experts to build strong and lasting foundations for a creative business.
Opportunities
Cultivate new clients that appreciate and support diverse voices in the arts and cultural ecosystem.
Incubator
Create the planning and build the assets needed to turn a creative practice into a sustaining enterprise.
Advisory Group
For ORIGINS to fulfill its promise of elevating and empowering Black creatives, the program requires direction and insight from Black leaders in the arts and cultural, small business, and community development sectors. Therefore, ORIGINS established an Advisory Group to ensure it maximizes intentional impact. The five goals of the Advisory Group are listed below:
- Provide transparency and accountability on activities to an objective team of content experts and community leaders
- Obtain innovative ideas for opening doors of local, regional, and national opportunity for Black creatives
- Determine resources and supports necessary to counter and/or reverse negative effects of systemic racism
- Learn and leverage best practices from regional and national programs elevating Black entrepreneurs
- Build intersections between ORIGINS Advisory Group and Black creatives to identify business opportunities across industry sectors
Advisory Group Members
To accomplish these goals, the Advisory Group convenes in two annual meetings to review and discuss (1) programming activities of ORIGINS, (2) progress of participating creatives, and (3) ideas for future opportunities. Members participate based on their professional and personal experience in four main sectors including arts and culture, business, government, and making/manufacturing.
Besides providing input and feedback during two annual meetings, Advisory Group members provide more direct support to the program. This support includes one-on-one coaching, leading webinars, providing paid services, and/or intervening in ways that increase the likelihood of ORIGINS participant success and sustainability.
Program Leadership
Roderick Ramsey
Business Assistance Program Manager
Roderick leads the ORIGINS and Building Inclusive Development (BID) programs for Bridgeway. He works closely with clients on connecting them to guidance, peers, markets, workforce, space, and capital. Roderick is no stranger to helping creative businesses. Previous to his role as Business Assistance Program Manager at Bridgeway, he contributed as a business coach with the ORIGINS program. Roderick brings a high level or experience and expertise to the role. He obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Management from Point Park University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Marketing from St. Vincent University. He also ran his own creative business for several years, Ocular Arcade, and still maintains a creative practice with his artwork.