Plataforma (March 2026)

We are creating an online network, with and for the artist community, that serves the need for reliable information, professional connection, and collective support for artists and their collaborators.

Our site and tools establish a social archive of artists' work and collaborations that will serve as the online connector for creatives and will have commercial value for artists themselves, art institutions and businesses, and ultimately, fans of the arts.

Why Now?

The pandemic made it clear how precarious support for artists is and we're seeing that play out again in 2026: artists in NYC, and more broadly across the country, still lack a centralized, professional platform for reliable information, professional development and connection to resources.

AI and divestment from public grants threatens this even further: artists increasingly lack ownership over their own work, and have less and less support in moments of precarity.

Social media is more algorithm-focused than ever: combined with this sense of fragility, is the increased need to "game" social media in the hopes of finding financial benefactors for their art — a losing proposition for most.

Artists, though famously under-organized, are increasingly aware of the need to create solutions for themselves. The threat of AI has generated tremendous fear of lack of control in a digital sphere that they cannot ignore.

Current problems we've identified

Weak data. Artists have no way to authenticate and authorize publicly available information about themselves and their work. As a result, work gets lost, the threat of AI is more precarious, publicity is hard.

Disconnected networks. Artists currently have no centralized resource that serves their professional needs: hard to follow who's done what, who knows who and what's happening next.

Untapped collective power. Artists have no online outlet to leverage the depth and strength of their connections and their substantial power as a collective: hard to organize interest groups, build shared professional knowledge and resources.

What is needed?

Consistent, reliable info. Artists need a standardized space to create, verify, collate and share documentation, archives and publicly available information.

Professional connection. Artists will make and track professional contacts with each other and with institutions and businesses to reference past work and quickly find collaborators, inspiration, and new opportunities.

Expanded resources. Artists will reinforce and exponentially increase their connections to generate bargaining power and create more opportunities, better professional resources, and more ongoing support.

What will Plataforma offer? (hypotheses for initial testing)

1. CV, Documentation and Archiving

Artists catalog and preserve their work, and want to share ongoing work in progress. This content is valuable to fans and institutions as well — so much so, they're willing to pay for it.

2. Network driven by Social Mapping

Artists and institutions need access online to the connections they create in person. With better documentation and greater visibility into the network of activity, influence and inspiration among artists online, artists can make connections IRL for more and better opportunities.

3. Potential to leverage change

With amplified and multiplied connections, artists will have the potential to work together in ways that have not been possible before. The capabilities will be in place to discover new ways to generate needed resources, from professional development and mentoring to increased income and sales.

Approach

We will conduct user research with artists and user groups, including individuals and institutions, and test business approaches to determine the user experiences and monetization models that could yield long-term sustainable results.

Since we are building this for a specific and nuanced community, we will co-develop the model with artists and test viability with a broad range of potential users to emerge with a product that serves our goals and can deliver sustainable growth.

Artists. Cohorts or 'Pods' of artists will join Plataforma as a group with one or two leaders who are early adopters. Pods are built around existing connections between artists and their interest in sharing those collaborations publicly, alongside the archive of their work.

Institutions. Museums, performing arts venues, galleries, fairs and other businesses, both non- and for-profit with connections to the artist pods will join Plataforma and share their connections, alongside their past and current work.

Fans. Art-lovers, patrons and friends will join to follow the latest from their favorite artists and be the first to know about performance dates, openings, collaborations, exclusive editions and other special sales. First fans will have a direct connection to our initial artist cohorts.

Minimum Viable Product. To stay focused, we will start with New York City artists, institutions, businesses, and fans/patrons of the arts.

Success = financial model with tech implementation plan, that articulates a self-sustaining business that generates reliable growth and potential for income for artists.

Market = NYC artists and institutions for the learning required in the initial build phase. Expansion to other markets can then be modeled extending the national and international networks of participating NYC artists.

Team

Our team is led by Katie Dixon and Okwui Okpokwasili who have developed these ideas and concepts over several years of research and dialogue. The initial artists participating in the pilot phase will be drawn from their personal networks, starting with Okpokwasili and the Sweat Variant team.

Katie Dixon

Dixon is an experienced leader, builder and administrator with over two decades of experience working at the intersection of the arts, architecture, and urban planning. She has created cross-sector partnerships and new artist-led programming for a broad range of arts, culture and civic organizations. Her work is based in collaborative research and centers consensus-building and cooperation among many different publics, institutions, government agencies and funders. She has served in leadership roles at Socrates Sculpture Park, Powerhouse Arts, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. She holds a BA from Yale University and MA from Columbia University.

Okwui Okpokwasili

Okpokwasili is a performer, choreographer and writer creating multi-disciplinary performance pieces. Sweat Variant is her collaborative practice with her partner Peter Born. Her highly experimental productions include 'Bessie' Award-winning pent-up: a revenge dance, 'Bessie' Award-winning Bronx Gothic, as well as poor people's TV room, poor people's TV room (SOLO), when I return who will receive me, Adaku's revolt, and the participatory performance installation Sitting on a Man's Head. She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including a 2018 MacArthur Fellowship. She holds a BA from Yale.