//Artists
The artist community is made up of hundreds of culture creators in the key sectors of music, short and feature films, documentaries, television, publishing, theatre, graphic novels, computer/console gaming, new media, fashion, and fine arts. Wedgwood Circle supports these artists by helping them ascertain capital, refine their business plans, and connect with mentors to receive guidance and encouragement. Wedgwood creates moments of interaction through conferences and conversations because we are firmly committed to the idea that good art flourishes within the context of community.
Investment Strategy
Wedgwood Circle assists our Angel Members identify companies, deals and grants (for non-profits) with the potential to return both broad social/cultural returns as well as economic returns. In general, Wedgwood will seek investment opportunities having:
- Potential to shape the culture broadly, rather than create products for existing niche markets in the faith community; Wedgwood investment will be for the common good;
- Strategic investment position: investment that has the potential to seed the next generation of successful culture creators;
- Long range impact: although financial return should be measured in years, social/cultural return will have to be measured in decades; Wedgwood investment will be patient investing;
- A compelling, well articulated strategy for providing both financial and social/cultural return;
- Strong management with relevant experience, a successful track record, a desire for advice and coaching and a willingness to listen; and,
- An exit strategy for the investors.
Submission Process: Apply for Funding
Please confirm that your proposal meets the investment criteria detailed above. If so, the next step in the process is to upload your business plan onto our secure AngelSoft website (link below). Once uploaded, you should hear back from us within four weeks of submission regarding whether your investment fits within Wedgwood’s investment criteria.
To upload your deal, please refer to: https://asw.angelsoft.net/apply/wedgwoodcircle
If your deal is approved, it is entered into our database of deals for Wedgwood Circle Angel Investor Members to consider. Angel Members are notified of new deals that have been approved on a weekly basis and are provided with an AngelSoft login to browse deals regularly. It is then up to Angel Members to pursue any deal that is of interest to them.
PLEASE NOTE: Wedgwood Circle is NOT an investment fund and does not invest in deals itself. Once a deal has been approved, it simply means that it is available for Angel Members to review and pursue based on their own initiative.
If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact Peter Mitchell (peterm@claphamgroup.com). Thank you!
Conferences
Wedgwood Circle’s Investor Events are the premier meeting place for angel investors, foundations, entreprenuers and artists who are using capital to invest/grant in the art and entertainment sectors. Wedgwood Circle Institute hosts one annual investor event each fall and two regional dinners or small gatherings per year. The Annual Investor Event is a three-day conference designed to equip and engage qualified investors in Wedgwood Circle’s thesis of contributing to the renewal of the culture through strategic investment in projects that are good, true and beautiful for the common good. The regional dinners and small gatherings provide members the opportunity to convene and converse with prominent industry insiders. While the Annual Investor Event is limited to Wedgwood Members, Senior Advisors, Sector Liaisons, and qualified investors, every conference includes a number of optional events that incorporate cultural venues and provide opportunities for members to interact and build relationships with cultural leaders and artists. For example, in 2009, Wedgwood Circle hosted its first-ever Artist Program during a portion of the Annual Investor Event.
Additionally, Wedgwood also invites several artists with high-quality investment opportunities to present their deals to Wedgwood Circle Angel Members during a portion of the Annual Event. For more information on pitching your deal at our conference, please contact our Director of Investment Strategies, Peter Mitchell.
Community
The Wedgwood Circle Artist Community can be defined in a number of ways. In general, any artist who feels called to be in the mainstream culture producing redemptive material that is good, true and beautiful for the common good is a “Wedgwood Artist.” More specifically, Wedgwood Artist can be categorized in the following ways:
- Wedgwood Circle Senior Advisors and Sector Liaisons
- Any artist who has uploaded a deal through Wedgwood Circle for profit and has been approved for the AngelSoft database
- Any artist who has served on a panel or performed at a Wedgwood gathering
- Any artist who has been funded through the Sapere Funds
- Any artist who has been referred to Wedgwood Circle by a Member, Senior Advisor or Sector Liaison as one who is living in the world, but not of it
The Wedgwood Circle Artist Community is essentially a resource pool for investors looking to engage the culture through deal flow, Sapere Funds or patron grants facilitated by Wedgwood Circle. If you have more questions about the artist community, please contact Kristin Neal at kristin@claphamgroup.com.
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Looking for a concert to go to? Visit our Artist Tracker page!