CREATIVE INCUBATOR PROJECT SUPPORT
Creatives Helping Creatives Succeed
WHAT IS CREATIVE INCUBATOR?
The Creative Incubator is designed to help artists and creative entrepreneurs grow their practice, strengthen their projects, and build sustainable businesses. The program is tailored for creatives who are already active in their field and ready to take their work to the next level. Through FIG’s Creative Incubator Program, participants gain access to educational workshops, peer-to-peer feedback, and hands-on guidance to develop and implement their projects in real time.
Stay tuned for details on how to apply for the 2026 program.
The Creative Incubator is designed to help artists and creative entrepreneurs grow their practice, strengthen their projects, and build sustainable businesses. The program is tailored for creatives who are already active in their field and ready to take their work to the next level. Through FIG’s Creative Incubator Program, participants gain access to educational workshops, peer-to-peer feedback, and hands-on guidance to develop and implement their projects in real time.
Stay tuned for details on how to apply for the 2026 program.
CREATIVE INCUBATOR PROGRAM BENEFITS
WHO WE ARE
The Creative Incubator operated by and out of Future Ink Graphics (FIG).
- Mentor support
- Networking opportunities
- Business planning
- Marketing help
- Legal, tax, and financial advice
WHO WE ARE
The Creative Incubator operated by and out of Future Ink Graphics (FIG).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What kinds of projects qualify?The project is geared for those who either have or are interested in starting a small creative business or project. -
What information will I have to share?Your name and address, basic information, and an outline of the business or project idea will be required. -
How do I apply?Email one of our program contacts to set up an initial meeting. At this meeting you will discuss your needs and get details about the program to see if it is a good fit for you and your business/project. -
Do you give grants?No. Grants are not part of this program.
CREATIVE INCUBATOR 2026 COHORT
The 2026 cohort of the Creative Incubator is centered on advancing teaching practices, with a focus on how artists share knowledge, engage communities, and expand access to creative learning. As part of this year’s program, three participating artists will develop and offer free or low-cost public programs, making arts education more accessible while strengthening their own approaches to instruction.
Supported by Neighborhood Connections, the Creative Incubator is designed to help artists and creative entrepreneurs grow their practice, strengthen their projects, and build sustainable businesses. The program is tailored for creatives who are already active in their field and ready to take their work to the next level. Through FIG’s Creative Incubator Program, participants gain access to educational workshops, peer-to-peer feedback, and hands-on guidance to develop and implement their projects in real time.
Meet the FIG’s 2026 Creative Incubator Cohort:
Alexis Chinon Hedderson
Jenniffer Omaitz
Oliver St. Clair
Supported by Neighborhood Connections, the Creative Incubator is designed to help artists and creative entrepreneurs grow their practice, strengthen their projects, and build sustainable businesses. The program is tailored for creatives who are already active in their field and ready to take their work to the next level. Through FIG’s Creative Incubator Program, participants gain access to educational workshops, peer-to-peer feedback, and hands-on guidance to develop and implement their projects in real time.
Meet the FIG’s 2026 Creative Incubator Cohort:
Alexis Chinon Hedderson
Jenniffer Omaitz
Oliver St. Clair
Alexis Hedderson is an artist and arts educator, specializing in early childhood education. She works primarily with watercolor and collage art. Alexis has over 15 years of teaching experience in the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD), through non-profits such as Art House and Broadway School of Music and the Arts, and as a Museum Educator at the Museum of Contemporary Art (moCa) and Dunham Tavern Museum. Alexis was a featured local artist for FRONT International. Ms. Hedderson was also a artist in residence for CMSD school William Rainey Harper, working with students to paint murals around their school. An active artist, Alexis frequently shows her work locally and has collaborated with several brick-and-mortar stores to create ephemeral displays and exhibits. Alexis holds a degree in Early Childhood Education and has attended art school.
2026
Oliver St. Clair is an artist and art instructor. She commenced her career as a teaching artist in 2008, serving as an artist-in-residence at a high school. Teaching became a recurring theme in Oliver's professional journey and intensified when she began collaborating with Parade the Circle in 2012. It was during this period that Oliver recognized her genuine passion for teaching; she found fulfillment in guiding individuals of all ages and abilities in the realm of visual expression. This experience not only facilitated her personal and artistic growth but also solidified her commitment to making teaching and art making her primary professional focus.
Oliver offers a diverse array of subjects, including drawing, painting, fiber art, puppetry, and various forms of sculpture and printmaking. Her overarching goal as an educator is to enhance the accessibility of art for all individuals while also empowering students to recognize and realize their potential. Oliver has taught with Broadway School of the Arts, Art House and CMA.
Oliver offers a diverse array of subjects, including drawing, painting, fiber art, puppetry, and various forms of sculpture and printmaking. Her overarching goal as an educator is to enhance the accessibility of art for all individuals while also empowering students to recognize and realize their potential. Oliver has taught with Broadway School of the Arts, Art House and CMA.
2026
Jenniffer Omaitz lives and works out of her studio in Kent, OH. She holds an M.F.A. in painting from Kent State University and a B.F.A. in painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Omaitz is an Abstract Painter and Installation artist with a practice that spans over 20 years. In 2016, Omaitz started JC Marbling after 14 months of independent research and experimentation with the process. JC Marbling & Book Arts was founded to pursue the practice of marbling, book arts, and as a teaching outreach for the craft of marbling. She currently sells her handmade books and cards at the Morgan Paper Conservatory, The Contemporary Dayton, Ohio; The learned Owl, and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts to name just a few locations.
2026
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