Origins

Nikki Erskine has worked with the arts in Worcester, MA since 2004, when she volunteered for the 3rd annual stART on the Street festival. She was so inspired by Worcester’s vibrant arts scene that she volunteered her marketing experience* to the team of organizers. (*Then a college sophomore, she had just declared marketing as a major, and was eager to put both weeks of education to good use.) In the years that followed, stART and Nikki's skills grew exponentially - by the time she earned her Bachelors from Emerson College, stART was attracting over 50,000 people to its one-day September events. In 2017, Nikki became a Director of stART, taking on logistics of the 3/4 mile outdoor festivals.

From 2019 to 2023, Nikki put her stART experience (plus that marketing degree and 8 years in digital advertising) to work for the City of Worcester's Cultural Development Division. She wore many hats in this role: promoting the various events and initiatives of the department, managing marketing and membership for the 80+ arts and cultural organizations of the Worcester Cultural Coalition, and overseeing the Worcester Arts Council - administering over $2,000,000 in grants to hundreds of local artists and organizations in 4 years.

Over the past 2 decades, Nikki has repeatedly seen administrative tasks create hurdles for artists. Though artist-focused business education has become more available in recent years, the same question has been bugging Nikki since her early days with stART - whether artists enjoy the business side of art or not, is that really the best use of their energy?

The question continued nagging at her after she left stART and City Hall. She searched for options - outsourcing, agencies, admin support, management - but found little that offered customized, individual support that was cost-effective and available to artists who weren't already well established. Nikki realized that if she wanted to see more Worcester artists grow from “emerging" to "established," she’d have to get to work. Fortunately, she has experience, ideas, and more than a little support.

In April 2024, Nikki launched EASEL with the goal of supporting artists so they could keep their focus where it should be - on their art. Nikki is looking forward to putting her skills to work for independent artists, further developing the Worcester arts scene, and helping cool people do great things.