Fractured Atlas is a non-profit technology company that provides business tools for artists.
History
Fractured Atlas was founded in 1998 by Executive Director Adam Huttler as a theater production company.[1] Between 1998 and 2001, the company produced or presented numerous theatre, dance, and performance art shows in New York City.[2][3][4] Fractured Atlas's final major production, Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome, opened on September 7, 2001 at a theatre in lower Manhattan.[5]
Following the financial fallout of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Fractured Atlas began a shift from a production company to a service organization.[6] The organization re-opened as a membership-based support organization for other artists in 2002. In 2007, it established the Open Arts Network, which closed in 2017.[7]
In its early years as a service organization, Fractured Atlas was known for its programs providing health and other insurance, fiscal sponsorship, professional development, and other technical assistance.[8] While these programs were all web-based, the organization did not begin seriously to position itself as a "technology company" until late 2009, when it announced the launch of ATHENA (later renamed Artful.ly).[9]
In August 2013, Fractured Atlas acquired Gemini SBS, which was previously an affiliated for-profit company that developed web applications for non-profit and arts industry clients.[10]
In 2014, Fractured Atlas launched the Arts Entrepreneurship Awards[11][12] and a software development fellowship program for artists.[13]
Programs
The organization's primary services include fiscal sponsorship and insurance, along with the software products Artful.ly and Spaces. Other significant activity includes the Arts Entrepreneurship Awards and a software development fellowship for artists.
Fiscal Sponsorship
Fractured Atlas's fiscal sponsorship programs allows non-commercial art-related projects to be supported through grants and tax-deductible donations without the project having to maintain independent 501(c)(3) status.[14] As of May 2014, the organization reported to be sponsoring nearly 3,500 artists and organizations through this program, and to have raised over $62 million in support of their work.[15]
Arts Entrepreneurship Awards
The Arts Entrepreneurship Awards seek to honor innovators and entrepreneurs in the business aspects of arts and culture.
