The Problem We're Solving

Creative practice develops through commitment, conversation, and connections with mentors, peers, the work itself, and the broader cultural discourse. Current platforms treat creative work like social media content: scroll, like, move on. Nothing exists as a purpose built creative ecosystem that understands and centers the creative workflow.

Feedback is generic or nonexistent. Research happens through endless Google rabbit holes. Portfolio platforms prioritize aesthetics over context. Exhibition opportunities are scattered across dozens of incompatible sites.

There's no single place built for the actual work of developing a creative practice: researching, receiving substantive feedback, building context, finding opportunities, and connecting with community.

We're building that place. Lantern is it.

A Creative Ecosystem, Not Just a Tool

We're building toward a platform where:

Your feedback history becomes accumulated practice intelligence through a growing understanding of what your work explores, how it's developing, and where it might go next.

Opportunities find you based on actual practice affinity, not just keywords or social media presence.

Institutions discover practitioners whose work genuinely fits their mission, not just whoever applied.

Research happens through context and connections, not just search algorithms.

Not social media for creatives. Not another portfolio site.

An ecosystem designed for the actual work of sustaining creative practice.

Why Lantern?

Lantern was founded by Ryan Rasmussen, a tenured professor and multimedia designer with 15+ years teaching creative practitioners.

After watching talented students struggle to contextualize their work and seeing countless hours wasted hunting down opportunities at the expense of actual creative practice he realized the problem wasn't talent or ambition. It was infrastructure.

Creative practitioners deserve tools built by people who understand creative praxis, not just algorithms. They need research-quality feedback, theoretical grounding, and actionable guidance from systems that actually understand what development looks like.

Lantern is built on years of creative and pedagogical experience, deep knowledge of contemporary creative discourse, and genuine belief that creative practitioners deserve better than what currently exists.

Ready to try Lantern?

Current Features

→ Research-Quality Feedback

Upload work and receive substantive critique in 2-3 minutes,

including references, theoretical connections, and

questions that push your thinking deeper. Ask follow-ups,

build context over time

→ Intelligent Opportunity Discovery

Stop checking 20+ websites daily. Answer questions about your

practice and receive curated opportunities matched to your

actual work, not just keywords

→ Conversational Interface

Every interaction builds accumulated intelligence about your

practice, making future feedback and matching more accurate

What’s Next

Lantern is evolving into a comprehensive creative ecosystem:

For Practitioners:

- Portfolio management that prioritizes context alongside aesthetics

- Application tools that learn from your practice

- Community features connecting practitioners in adjacent territory

For Institutions:

- Artist discovery and matching tools

- Residency and grant application management

- Community building across alumni networks

Join us early. Shape what we build.

For Educators:

- Streamlined critique workflows and assignment management

- Student progress tracking across projects

- Integration with existing LMS systems

Our Philosophy

We believe creative practice deserves tools built on these principles:

→ Substance over aesthetics - Depth more than polish
→ Discovery - Find and be found
→ Community building - Collaboration, not competition
→ Access at every stage - From exploration to establishment