Leading law firm for innovators, Creative Genius Law (CGL) selected three emerging Chicago artists as recipients for their inaugural We’ll Work for Art program. Limited to artists whose work focuses on a positive portrayal of underrepresented communities, have less than 10 years of experience in their prospective industry and are focused on a primary career as a visual artist, submissions opened at the end of June and closed mid August. Each selected artist will receive legal services up to $5,000 each including business entity formation and counsel, contract review, drafting or negotiation, trademark counsel and registrations, copyright counsel and registrations, and outside general counsel services in exchange for one piece of art. This year’s selected artists are: VersAnnette Blackman-Bosia, Stephanie Graham and Colleen McCulla.
The team at We’ll Work for Art received dozens of application submissions. A panel took the time to carefully review and select this year’s group of distinctive creatives from a myriad of different arts disciplines. A self-taught artist, VersAnnette Blackman-Bosia is the Founder of Soul Revival Healing Arts. Her soul-centered abstract art, poetry and painting promotes healing and empowerment within inner city communities. Her programs focus on the underserved youth and women that have suffered from domestic violence. A resident of Chicago Artists Coalition and Columbia College graduate, Stephanie Graham’s imagery consists of photos and video series on social class, gender and subcultures. Her work serves as a voice for silent communities, sharing their stories with the world. Colleen McCulla showcases femininity through her collage arts business. A former TEDx speaker, she takes every day materials and turns them into works of art, a process that helped on her journey of wellness to losing 175 pounds.
In addition to the aforementioned services, artists will also receive an intellectual property strategy session to help them develop a plan for protecting and monetizing their creative work. CGL will also cover trademark and copyright filing fees for each artist, up to $350.00. Artists can opt to raise funds for additional filing fees and CGL will also provide legal counsel for any crowdfunding campaigns.
We’ll Work for Art was designed by CGL principal attorney and founder Patrice N. Perkins, an experienced legal strategist who develops trademark strategies, licensing, joint ventures and talent deals. The model for this program evolved from Perkins’ desire to empower talented creatives who, unlike her other clients, have not yet actualized the capital needed to retain an attorney. Perkins speaks on the program, “Our focus has been to get creative professionals across industries to recognize the value in their work through contracts, negotiations, and intellectual property protection. This initiative is different from our traditional pro bono work in that the purpose is to shift the mainstream view of the value of emerging art – and begin to accept it as a regular form of currency. We are so excited about out first cohort, VersAnnette, Stephanie and Colleen all share a deep passion to help their prospective communities in a beautiful form – art that changes the world one person at a time.”
Founded by Patrice N. Perkins, Creative Genius Law (CGL) is a law firm that serves creative entrepreneurs, innovators and change agents, providing them with legal counsel on business start up transactional law, intellectual property, social media, advertising and marketing law. Snubbing mediocrity since 2010, CGL has helped people activate their dream businesses across the country with their workshops at leading events including BlogHer, panels at AVVO’s Lawyernomics conference and their online masterclasses. Perkins has shared her legal insights with Design Sponge, YFS Magazine and Fortune. Dedicated to helping others cultivate their purpose, Perkins also created The Quit KitTM, a digital strategic system to help innovators transition from the 9-5 world into full time entrepreneurship.
