Help Us Document The South Coast’s Creative Life

The South Coast has always been a city of artists, writers, musicians, historians, storytellers, and makers. Some are well known. Others are not.

Some voices have been preserved in our cultural record. Others have been overlooked, underrepresented, or nearly forgotten. When we began the adventure of creating The Artists Index quite some time ago, we began with the In-Focus Podcasts and In-Focus Articles.

The podcasts became the Southcoast Artists Index Podcasts, and altogether we’ve produced nearly 300 of them. The dandelion was part of our original logo and philosophy of the South Coast’s creative diaspora, as well as the ubiquitous presence of our contemporary visual, performing, and literary artists.

Recently, we’ve brought the spirit of the dandelion back, and we’ve rebranded In-Focus Articles as the Dandelion: The Artists Index Online Magazine. It was created to increase our efforts to document and preserve the lives and legacies of our artists, writers, musicians, historians, storytellers, and makers.

Presented by The Artists Index, the Dandelion is a free, accessible online publication dedicated to documenting and amplifying the diverse creative life of the South Coast. Through artist interviews, essays, poetry, monographs, personal reflections, and cultural stories, Dandelion brings together the area’s historic traditions and contemporary creative practices.

The Dandelion also allows us to keep our mission and goal simple. Creating a living cultural record of the South Coast by recruiting and providing equitable opportunities for literary artists, writers, and the artists themselves to tell their own or those of other artists.

We will soon be launching the Dandelion Democracy call for articles. Democracy? Yes, we’re extending ‘power to the people’ (artists) by inviting them to share their memories, thoughts, and creativity.

Each month, a selected contributor will receive a professional stipend for their submitted and selected article from any of these categories:

• • • Artist Interviews
    • Essays & Cultural Commentary
    • Poetry
    • Personal Reflections
    • Monographs
    • Stories About the South Coast’s Artistic Heritage
    • Documentation of Emerging Creative Practices

We will be inviting individuals, businesses, organizations, and community members to become Dandelion Story Sponsors. Sponsor contributions will directly support the professional compensation of one selected contributor each month whose work helps document the South Coast’scultural life.

Your support will help ensure that the people who contribute to our community’s cultural record are recognized and compensated for their creative labor.

Every article selected will add another piece to the larger picture of who the creative community of the South Coast is because every voice will matter. And every article will become part of the cultural record.

The Dandelion Democracy project will help us collect the stories that might otherwise be lost. More information will be released shortly. Contact us if you are interested in becoming a Dandelion Democracy  Story Sponsor today. Your support will assist us in launching this  new and important public humanities initiative of The Artists Index

We were recently awarded the George C. Perkins Presidential Award by the Waterfront Historical Area League (W.H.A.L.E.) for the promotion of the cultural sustainability of the South Coast’s creative community, protection of artistic and cultural heritage, and preservation of its rich diversity for future generations.

Let us continue together to document, build, and preserve the South Coast’s creative memory! Preserving our creative legacy today offers rich rewards for tomorrow. Every artist has a story. We’re documenting them and saving the stories behind their art.

Contact us for sponsorship and further program information and other support opportunities!

We’re not asking for you to finance a nonprofit. Instead, we are asking for your support to fund a legacy.

Our mission is to preserve and document the lives and legacies of all South Coast Artists.

If you would like to be a guest on The Artists Index or have a suggestion, please let us know!

Our podcasts are available on The Artists Index and your favorite media app, including Amazon Music / iHeart Radio / Libsyn / Podcast Page / Spotify / WebPlayer / APPLE PODCASTS