New Financial Platform Aims to Empower Artists with Financial Tools

ARTPOWER, a company focused on supporting artists, has launched a new financial platform called tortoise. The platform is designed to help artists manage their finances and build confidence in their creative and financial lives.

Developed over three years and informed by more than 1,000 artists across the country, tortoise offers financial planning, education, and artist-driven knowledge in one place. Its tools are tailored to the unique needs of artists, including flexible budgeting for irregular income and a free Rate Calculator that considers living-wage data, an artist's experience, and their aspirations.

Early data from tortoise shows that 83% of artists on the platform work across at least two practices. Nearly half of all rates generated through the Rate Calculator were voluntarily shared with the Artist Rate Database, indicating a strong desire among artists for more transparency and shared knowledge about the value of creative labor.

ARTPOWER's founder and CEO, janera solomon, highlighted the importance of financial confidence for artists. She noted that while artists are essential to a healthy society and contribute to the economy, financial struggle has often been seen as an inevitable part of creative life. The goal of tortoise is to change this narrative by providing artists with tools they can trust, so their creative and financial lives can be more aligned.

Tortoise is a key component of ARTPOWER's broader ecosystem, which aims to expand artists' financial self-determination through integrated tools, resources, community, and shared knowledge.