NEW YORK, NY October 01, 2008 —While lawmakers try to find a solution for Wall Street's financial crisis,local artists are bracing for a dip in the corporate dollars that support some of their work.

REPORTER: The non-profit arts advocacy group The Field hosted close to 100 local artists at Joe's Pub for a discussion about alternative funding strategies.

Catherine Barnett is with the microfinance organization Project Enterprise. She says artists can access new forms of capital by thinking differently about the work that they produce.

BARNETT: A lot times artists need to think about what they're offering that can actually be thought of as a profit generating enterprise. How can you transition your work to reach out to a wider range of consumers, which doesn't mean selling out necessarily.

REPORTER: She says visual artists could think about creating wearable art or creating other product lines.

But not everyone at the event was worrying about Wall Street dollars.

SWIFT: I never really had much hope being funded by corporate sponsors anyways I guess I just wanted to see what was out there for me.

REPORTER: That's Violinst and composer Mazz Swift. In spite of the tough economic times, she hopes to find funding to launch her own solo show.

This event was the second in a three part series offered by the Field to help counsel artists. The next session on October 9th will look at artists as entrepreneurs.

More information on events at The Field