Turn the corner and the neighborhood changes. Walls once overlooked are alive with color. Music and conversation move across the property. Behind a row of doors, artists are painting, sculpting, drawing and building businesses.
This is The Peach, an arts collective in West Palm Beach where eleven artists maintain working studios. Early this year, Trina and Anthony Burks moved No More Starving Artists Foundation into The Peach and launched a one-year artist-in-residence program. Their arrival created more than another place to make art. It created a place where artists can receive practical guidance, affordable working space and something difficult to find while working alone: community.
Trina speaks calmly about the Foundation’s work, yet beneath the contracts, grants and business planning is unmistakable passion. She has spent years watching gifted artists undervalue themselves, wait for permission and accept less than their work deserves. No More Starving Artists is her answer, and the name is intentionally direct. The Foundation challenges the assumption that struggle and deprivation are natural companions to creativity. It teaches artists to value their work, state what they need and support talent with sound business practices.
“When artists learn how to get their voice back and are able to say what they need and what they want, that makes the difference,” Trina said. One of the first lessons is learning to ask a simple question: What is the budget? Artists are frequently asked to paint murals, perform or donate work in exchange for “exposure.” Trina put it bluntly: “I would never walk into a doctor’s office and say, by the way, give me surgery, and that’ll be your exposure. It’s ridiculous. Exposure doesn’t pay for insurance, equipment or materials.”
The Foundation does not discourage generosity. An artist may choose to support a cause or donate a piece. The important word is ‘choose.’ Generosity feels different offered freely rather than quietly expected. Anthony knows the difference firsthand. A well-funded organization once asked him to create an auction item but offered no artist’s fee; a donor covered his materials. The finished work reportedly sold for $16,000, and Anthony received none of it. The Burkses now use such experiences to prepare other artists, not with bitterness but as protection.
Trina and Anthony have worked together through ATB Fine Art Group for more than three decades. Frustrated by limited opportunities, they stopped waiting for someone to open the door and began building doors. No More Starving Artists Foundation was established in 2017 and publicly launched in 2018, its mission was born from hearing artists ask the same questions: How should I price my work? How do I turn an artistic practice into a sustainable business?
The most visible new undertaking is the artist-in-residence program at The Peach. Typical residencies last only weeks or months. This one lasts a full year, giving artists time to settle into a studio, create a substantial body of work and develop the business side of their practice.
The current residents are Jessica Kirby, Jose Mendez and Dean “Spike” Mick. Jessica brought a strong grasp of marketing and social media, and thoughtful questions that shaped the residency agreements. Jose brought experience with children and community organizations, a reminder that an artistic career may include teaching and service as well as exhibition. Spike joined after a later open call and quickly began creating activity at The Peach, including an outdoor life-drawing session with clothed models so younger artists could take part.
Each resident must create a body of work, develop the business side of the practice, partner with The Peach through a program or event, and co-curate a final exhibition on December 11, 2026. The business coaching is tailored: one artist may need help forming an LLC, another stronger marketing or a community program that outlasts the residency.
The residency sits within a larger community. Craig McInnis was among the first artists to arrive at The Peach around 2020. He manages the collective and served as the Foundation’s founding vice president, now an advisory role. He co-runs Brass Tacks, a free artist talk held twice a month. “My creative side is innate,” he said. “The business side had to be built.” That side of the corner has grown up around the art: the popular El Segundo taco restaurant opened four years after the studios did, drawn by the life they had already created.
Artists help one another, exchanging information, recommending resources, and stepping into a neighbor’s studio when someone is stuck. A simple observation may restart a painting or solve a technical problem. Over time, professional neighbors become something more like family. That may be the heart of what the Burkses are building. Artists here are not isolated talents competing for attention but part of a living community where experience, encouragement and opportunity circulate. The public is part of it, too. Art walks, exhibitions, drawing sessions, performances and open studios invite visitors into the creative process, and newly installed “Open Gallery” signs make the invitation clearer.
Trina extends her teaching through her seventh book, Exposure Doesn’t Pay the Bills, launched in January. It addresses intellectual property, professional choices and the digital legacy artists leave behind. For Trina, legacy means creating something that can continue to teach.
For Anthony, legacy lives in the work itself. “My room is like a diary,” he said. “Those pieces are the pages. Every piece has rage, happiness, sadness and joy in it.” Scott Jeffries, a board member and resident artist, extends the thought to worth. “I had a piece that took 27 years to sell. My work belongs to someone, and when that person comes along, they’ll get it. So I try to educate artists to stop worrying about the sale.” A sale matters; it may pay for materials and let the next work begin. But it cannot be the only measure of value.
The public has a role too. We can enter the studios, attend exhibitions, purchase work and recommend artists for opportunities with realistic budgets. We can stop assuming that the murals, music and performances that enliven our communities simply appear. Behind each of them is a working artist.
At The Peach, Trina and Anthony Burks are creating room for artists to find their voices, strengthen their practices and imagine what comes next. Given that room to thrive, they bring a community to life. G&S
Leave a Comment