Public invited to hear arts business ideas as part of Startup Week

The finalists in the College of Arts and Architecture’s 2022 Arts Business Idea Competition will present their projects in a public event on Wednesday, April 6, 12:20-2 p.m. in 113 Innovation Hub, 123 S. Burrowes Street. The event is part of Penn State Startup Week, April 4-8.

Now in its seventh year, the competition is the college’s annual showcase of arts entrepreneurship that asks undergraduate and graduate students in any major to present an arts-based business plan that could earn entrants up to $5,000 to develop the concept. This year’s finalists are Music Education undergraduate David Hutchinson; Corey Sittinger, who is pursuing a Professional Performance Certificate from the School of Music; and James Dennis, Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in piano performance.

Hutchinson’s business idea, “Suoni,” is to develop and provide interactive web-based tools for anyone to learn, practice and play music.

Sittinger, a member of Matchstick Percussion, a quartet with other School of Music graduate students, is working to expand and enhance performance opportunities for the ensemble, including performing diverse musical styles by underrepresented composers.

Dennis’ business idea, “Eartrainer,” is to provide instructors with the tools they need to spend more time teaching and less time grading and managing student assignments.

This year’s judges, all College of Arts and Architecture alumni, are Ryan Russell, associate professor of graphic design; Heather Bhandari, independent curator and co-founder of Art World Learning, a subscription-based, online education platform to help those in the creative sector thrive by making intelligent business and financial decisions; and Luke Gall, founder and CEO of Ultimate Drill Book, which creates educational tools for marching ensembles.