Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | January 9, 2023 | wbjournal.com Connecting creatives Juniper Rag, a Central Mass. art magazine, aims to bring together artists and collectors from near and far Largest arts and culture nonprofits in Central Mass Nonprofit Total assets Annual revenue Groton Hill Music Center, Littleton $185 million $62 million Worcester Art Museum $126 million $14 million American Antiquarian Society, Worcester $107 million $13 million Collings Foundation, Stow $75 million $4 million Walnut Hill Center for the Arts, Natick $68 million $20 million EcoTarium, Worcester $22 million $1 million Fitchburg Art Museum $22 million $2 million Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge $22 million $13 million Worcester Historical Museum $17 million $1 million Fruitlands Museums Inc., Harvard $16 million $414,440 Note: Figures are from each nonprofits' most recent filings, as of July 2022 Sources: GuideStar by Candid, ProPublica, Mass. Office of the Attorney General public charities filing search, and individual nonprofits. BY TIMOTHY DOYLE WBJ Staff Writer I n the early years of the COVID pandemic, the Central Massachu- setts art community saw muse- ums close, gallery shows cancel or be online-only, and the loss of the popular arts space in Worcester's Sprinkler Factory. Area artists lost many opportunities to connect with each other and with collectors. In February 2021, two artists and entrepreneurs, Michelle May and Payal iffault, used their talents, experience, and passion for the arts to create a new connection for artists, a for-profit glossy magazine featuring the work and writing of artists from around New England and the world: Juniper Rag. ey formed a Paxton marketing firm called Atelier ID Global in 2017, spe- cializing in branding, creative services, and websites. Juniper Rag began as a marketing project by that company. "We elevate brands, and we elevate companies, so why not do it with artists? In my travels, I realized that our artists like to make art, but they don't always like the business side," May said. "Many are very good at the business side, but many don't want to be bothered." Worcester artist Scott Boilard, whose murals can be seen around Worcester County including on the Temple Street side of e Sundown bar on Green Street and at Checker Place in West Boylston, said he doesn't always have the bandwidth or discipline to consis- tently market his own artwork. May and iffault are savvy about marketing and networking and are able to promote his artwork as part of Juniper Rag, he said. Juniper Rag quickly evolved into more than a magazine. In February, aer being delayed by COVID, the publication held its first exhibition: Origin, at the Jean McDonough Arts Center in Worcester. Since then it has held exhibitions in per- son in Provincetown, Newton, and at the Worcester Center for Cras, as well as on- line. It's next show, Torrid | Contem- porary Abstracts will open in March at the White Room in Worcester. Local focus, with a national pull Juniper Rag fills a gap in the local arts scene, said Alice Dillon, a fiber artist and associate director at ArtsWorcester, a nonprofit organiza- tion with a gallery space on Portland Street in Worcester. "ere's been a lot of buzz about Juniper Rag amongst local artists, es- Michelle May (pictured) and Payal Thiffault founded arts magazine Juniper Rag, which is preparing to release its fourth issue this winter. PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT

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