Let us tell you how it all began…

For years, Tom Gerrard, professional artist and host of the Bench Talk podcast, was bombarded with questions about building an art career.

In 2016, he successfully transitioned from full-time graphic designer to full-time artist and had been growing his art business year on year for over 7 years.

And after interviewing over 140 artists globally on his popular Podcast Bench Talk, he knew he had a lot to offer fellow artists.

Then, one day back in 2021, Tom and Claire were having breakfast at a local café. They both shared a deep desire to help artists rise, to create careers that lit them up, and supported them financially.

By this point, Claire had been working as a business and mindset coach for many years, serving hundreds of clients globally. She had tons of wisdom to share with artists from both a business perspective and how to overcome the common mindset blocks that pop up along the journey.

And so in 2022, The Art Career Academy was born!

It sprang from a deep desire to support artists in creating thriving careers that give them the freedom to do what they love every day. Because, let’s be real, the world needs more thriving career artists. Times are changing (thankfully), and there are more opportunities than ever for artists to build abundant careers.

So in 2022, that's when we made the brave move to join forces, get to work, and create Going [ART] Pro, our signature program for early-stage and emerging artists to grow their careers.

We launched in 2023 and have run the live program three times over the past year with artists from around the world. In 2024, we launched our Momentum membership for graduates to continue the journey with a like-minded community as they take bold steps in their careers.