Songmasters received a moving request for help: a talented young writer and painter had tragically died at the age of 22, and his family wanted to create a fitting public tribute to his life and his talents.  Songmasters recommended using his creative legacy as a springboard to recognize and support the legacies of other talented deceased artists, regardless of genre or medium. The family foundation made it possible for  Songmasters to develop  and deliver a project befitting the artistic passion, interests and talent of this young man and to ensure that the creative works and legacies of other under-recognized deceased artists can be enjoyed and appreciated long into the future.

Songmasters designed, developed and implemented POBA and after building and establishing it as a unique platform for artistic recognition, transitioned the operation back to the sposnoring family foundation.  In the 5 years from creation to transition, Songmasters delivered a platform that reached millions of viewers through:

  • A beautiful and informative POBA website  to draw and engage visitors with great art displays, videos, case studies, blogs, and more.    Songmasters designed every element of the website, from name and brand, logo to slogan, website design to displays, bios to blogs, and more.  See these links for mages of the website  homepage as published in 2018 when Songmasters delivered the final, fully operational and already-successful site to the Foundation for its private direction.
  • An active and robust social media presence with exceptional following by individuals and arts organizations at the national, state and regional levels
  • Impressive press and public relations coverage of its programs, including coverage of POBA artists and campaigns by major outlets such as the NY Times, NPR, PBS, Rolling Stone, Huff Post and dozens more
  • Dynamic collaterals and ad campaigns both on line and off
  • Tangible Concierge Services  that fulfilled the needs of an under-served niche market of families and heirs, estates and collectors, and  working artists
  •  A POBA Shop to make the original and limited edition works of POBA artists available for purchase by the public.

POBA | Where The Arts Live!   

Under Songmasters’ creative and operational leadership POBA | Where the Arts Live® became  a unique non-profit online arts hub to celebrate and feature the works of exceptional artists who have died without recognition of the full measure of their talents or creative legacies, regardless of artistic genres and mediums.

Keeping Creative Legacies Alive

When Songmasters delivered the site to private direction, POBA showcased, promoted and preserved the creative legacies of POBA artists through compelling displays and interesting human stories about these art makers, and by the end of 2017 it featured hundreds of displays of exceptionally talented artists whose works would otherwise be lost to us.  POBA also held special exhibits featuring artists sharing a common experience or interest.  For example, POBA’s ART LIVES exhibit,  a tribute to exceptional artists lost to AIDS, garnered wide publicity and followership.  Likewise #CelebrateOhioArts, a dedicated exhibit and tribute to  the long tradition and contributions of Ohio artists to American arts, brought remarkable Ohio artists to the attention of a wider national audience  not only through POBA but through major media such as PBS.

POBA Offered More…

Songmasters developed and implemented a suite of online resources and tangible services for POBA to assist individuals and institutions that own or manage a creative legacy or arts collection to preserve, protect, document, digitize, complete, appraise, store,  restore and in many other ways ensure these collections live on.  Songmasters designed  and delivered POBA to provide:

  • Help for Families – For heirs and estate executors needing to appraise, store, preserve, digitize, display, and sell the art works of exceptional, deceased artists.
  • Help for Collectors – For individuals, estates and institutions that own or manage an arts collection of any type or size to authenticate, conserve, protect, document, digitize, complete and in many other ways ensure these collections have a long and vibrant future.  POBA also assisted with the preservation of historical document collections
  • Help for Working Artists – For working artists and their families, agents and representatives to manage their own works for future preservation, viewing, and value.  POBA also organized and provided webinars and professional development events to assist working artists to manage their art careers smartly while focusing first and foremost on their creative output.
  • Help for State Arts Councils – For State Arts Councils and other arts organizations to promote and preserve the legacies of under-recognized artists in all media, consistent with POBA’s mission.  POBA featured displays of State-selected “heritage”  and Governor’s Award artists who had been previously recognized for exceptional talent and/or contributions to the State’s cultural heritage.

POBA’s Outstanding Partners and Experts

On behalf of POBA, Songmasters also formed selective affiliations and partnerships with key cultural institutions and professional associations in the arts and in the science of art preservation. These organizations provided best-in-class professional expertise to POBA members and clients, and receive communications support from POBA to help promote their missions, membership and other development and educational goals.

Proof is in the Testimonials

In addition to widespread press and PR coverage recognizing POBA’s unique role in preserving and showcasing the works of remarkable but under-recognized legacy artists, POBA  garnered compelling and moving testimonials.  Some of these are found below, and also serve as testimonials to Songmasters as the provider of all services of POBA cited in these testimonials.

POBA | Where the Arts Live  LIVES

POBA continues to serve the purpose for which it was founded and which it delivered when Songmasters transitioned the project back to Foundation operations.

POBA® is the pronounced form of phowa, a Tibetan phrase that describes the transformation of consciousness at death to begin a new life. This phrase captures the essence of POBA: the enduring and transcendent power of the arts to transform the experience and consciousness of all who contact great works of art. POBA aims to give such works a new life.