MICA 2026 UP/Start Venture Competition Finale
April 10 @ 4:30 pm - 8:00 pm
$2
The UP/Start Venture Competition is back! Join us for a public workshop, live pitches and awards, and a networking reception, with raffles!
It’s that time again! Where creatives aspiring to take their ventures to the next level hit the main stage for a chance at life-changing funding. We have 8 amazing ventures that will share their pitch live with the Baltimore community. Join us on April 10th to see what 4 months of skill building, reworking, prototyping, and planning has produced in our 2026 cohort. It will be an inspiring, fun time!
NEW THIS YEAR! Before the live pitches, we will be hosting a public workshop so that YOU can explore and grow your creative identity too – join us for Brand Your Thing: A DIY Blueprint with brand strategist, designer, and professor, Rheagen King from 4:30-5:30pm – and then join us for the finale and networking reception (with raffles!) after to continue connecting with the creative community.
Brand Your Thing: A DIY Blueprint – Public Workshop
4:30-5:30 – Brown 320 | Free & Open to the Public!
Confused about branding? Think it’s just a logo? Think again. In this hands-on 60-minute workshop, professor and brand strategist Rheagen King breaks down how to turn your meticulous craft into a magnetic brand experience. Whether you’re a high school student exploring your creative path, in college testing a side hustle, or a Baltimore entrepreneur scaling your vision, you’ll discover your creative archetype, learn the actual rules of branding (spoiler! it’s simpler than you think), and walk away with an actionable roadmap.
MEET THE 2026 UP/START COHORT
3RD IRIS // Charlesice Grable-Hawkins
Bronzebee Games // Grace Doeller, Jonathan Sembly, Ethan Clark
Efunyale Productions // Oreoluwa Akinyode, Destiny Hodges
Flying House Arts Collective // Valentino Orlando, Isaac Kim
Heavy Feather Productions // Javier Ordonez
Mystic Manifold // Dylan Condon, Zora Troupe, Nat Scott, Rory Holcomb
The Redd Thread // Lee Reddington
Wild Clay Ceramics // Alexandra Ozga
The UP/Start Venture Competition is a signature program of the Ratcliffe Center for Creative Entrepreneurship at the Maryland Institute College for Art (MICA). This event is made possible by the Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation.