I’m pleased to be taking part in this event, Taking Care of Business – Career Strategies for Visual Artists – April 10th, 2010.  Helping artists promote their work and supporting them in seeing themselves as true entrepreneurs is something I’ve been involved with many years. I’ll be providing one of the One-On-One Workshops, Online Portfolio Development on behalf of AIGA CT. (I’m told that all my appointments have been filled!!) The event is featured by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism. Visit the website to obtain more information regarding this exciting and beneficial event. Register and join us today!!

Three-Part Statewide Professional Development
Series for Artists Continues in Hartford April 10th

Hartford, CT—The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism (CCT) is featuring nationally recognized speakers and presenters at Taking Care of Business – Career Strategies for Visual Artists, a series of three professional development conferences.  Advance registration is required and space is limited to the first 100 artists who register.  Go to www.LetsGoArts.org/ArtistsWorkshops to register before the April 10, Saturday event.  The fee for registration is $20 for each conference in the series and includes lunch.  The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation is the workshop series sponsor.

Registration is now open for Business Strategies, the second conference within the series, hosted by the Greater Hartford Arts Council.  The event will take place on April 10th, Saturday, from 9:30a.m. to 3:00p.m. at the Robert Kinsella Arts Magnet School in Hartford with registration/networking/coffee & snacks beginning at 8:45am.  The third conference in the series, Marketing & Promotion, will take place on May 1st at the North Haven campus of Gateway Community College, hosted by the Greater New Haven Arts Council (registration will open April 1st).

Business Strategies and the Empowerment of the Artist Entrepreneur is the keynote address for April 10th with speaker Mr. James Grace of Massachusetts.  Mr. Grace will provide conference participants with some of the essential tools that artists need to be effective and thrive in their careers as well as speak to the importance of artists viewing themselves as entrepreneurs.  Mr. Grace is co-Executive Director of the Arts & Business Council and is a past Executive Director of the Massachusetts Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.  Visual artists who have experienced challenges or who have questions regarding good financial management or legal issues such as contracts, copyright and insurance will be well-served.

Visual artists attending the Business Strategies conference will choose from two of four workshops presented throughout the day along with innovative 20 minute one-on-one consultation sessions called “The Doctor is IN.”  The full roster of workshops include:

·   Before You Sign on the Dotted Line: A Crash Course in Contract Negotiation which will be led by Mr. Grace.  This seminar will discuss the ways contracts can positively or negatively influence an artist’s professional career.

·   NYFA Artist Source: Get connected to the resources you need, will be presented by Elena Dubas of the New York Foundation for the Arts.  This practicum will teach participants how to use NYFA’s extensive national directory of awards, services, and publications for artists.

·   Gallery Relationships and Pricing Your Work will be led by well-known Connecticut curator and gallery director, Janice LaMotta.  Artists will learn the fine points of establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with galleries.

·   You, Your Business & Your Money, presented by Mr. Paul Ramunni, will provide expert advice about the basics of managing money as well as important information on taxes affecting entrepreneurs.  Mr. Ramunni is a CPA and instructor in residence teaching financial literacy for the University of Connecticut regional system.

·   The Doctor is IN will offer a unique opportunity for artists to register in advance for a 20 minute one-on-one consultation with an expert in a variety of entrepreneurial topic areas for artists.  Nine doctors/topics will be available to choose from.  Check-ups for artists will include: The General Practitioner with Ray Tubbs, Evolution: Managing Changes Throughout Your Career with Dr. Richard J. Scaldini, Showing and Selling Your Art with Beth Pite, Order Out of Chaos: Organizing Your Business with Shirley M. Hall, Online Portfolio Development with Lisa Mikulski, Copywriting, Contracts and Other Things that Scare You with Todd Pickens, Initiating Partnerships: Cross-Discipline Collaboration with Jacques Lamarre and Making the Right Statement: Everything Written with Deb Wadsworth.  When artists have completed or are waiting for their 20 minute “doctor” session, they can also stop by the cafeteria for informal group lessons on business networking at Networking in a Nutshell with Chip Janiszewski.  For more information on these presenters, please visit the conference registration web site.

During the on-line registration process, artists will have an opportunity to submit digital images of their work to be featured in a “JPEG Jam” at the close of the day’s conference activities.  Attending artists will also have an opportunity to network with their peers and continue seminar discussions during a lunch provided by the conference.  For more information, visit the registration site www.LetsGoArts.org/ArtistsWorkshops or call the hosting organization, the Greater Hartford Arts Council, at (860) 525-8629 or email info@letsgoarts.org

Additional support for producing the series has been provided by the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County, Housatonic Valley Cultural Alliance; Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, Norwich Arts Council, Putnam Regional Cultural Assessment, Shoreline Arts Alliance, Arts & Culture Collaborative/Waterbury Region, and the Windham Arts Collaborative.