AIGA Connecticut Presents A New Morning Series: Breakfast Epiphany - Creative Inspiration and a Cup of Joe.

We are pleased to announce a new morning series by AIGA Connecticut. Breakfast Epiphany is an open, intimate morning get-together with a top level graphic designer, creative or thought leader, and 10 new friends. Topics are designed to stimulate imaginative thinking and inspiration and will traverse the boarders of creative and business industries, and nonprofit organizations. Attendees can be assured of some eye opening discussions.

With an industry professional leading the way, these mini-events are hosted in prime locations throughout the state once a month. To keep it intimate, events are capped at a maximum of 10 guests. This is not a lecture series. Nor is it a workshop. This is an opportunity to start your day with inspiration and lively conversation.

Join us for one of the most enjoyable art events in Connecticut coming up June 3, 2010.  Art After Hours sponsored by the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Phoenix Companies presents Justin Lowe – MATRIX 159 from 5-8pm and AIGA CT joins the mix with Bad Ass Movie Night at 8pm with a special screening of the award winning film Herb & Dorothy.

My last experience at the Wadsworth’s Art After Hours was a splendid evening.  Music and cocktails after work amidst an elegant museum setting. Attend a gallery talk, enjoy music and other live performances, take in Justin Lowe/MATRIX 159 and then join AIGA CT in the museum’s art deco theater for the film. Thanks to the Wadsworth, admission to the Arts After Hours reception and BAMN screening is free to AIGA members.

Many years ago, before even becoming a member, I would visit the website at AIGA.org just to read the articles.  There were brilliant design essays written by Steven Heller, business advice from Tad Crawford, inspiration from Milton Glaser, and resources I could download and put to use immediately.  Today the writing is as strong as ever, the topics are relevant and the site always serves as a starting point for me on the ever evolving industry of design.  Perhaps you have visited that web site as well.  Or perhaps you haven’t even heard of AIGA.

AIGA – The professional association for design, consists of some of the best designers and creative minds in the nation.  It not only embraces graphic design but a host of uniting disciplines such as photography, illustration, web design, programming, and writing. The organization works to promote professional development for designers and creatives at any stage of their career and it serves as a source for inspiration and education for its members and the public on matters of design value, best practices and The Living Principals.

Despite all that, I really couldn’t imagine what membership might bring to me… after all, I was already able to read all those great articles online. I could browse resources.  And if I really wanted to attend an event I’d just pay the extra $10, $20, $50 bucks as a non-member and go to the events that interested me. Finally, at the urging of Fred Caserta, I took the plunge and invested the $300 to become an official card carrying member.

We don’t know who started it. A jab here, a nudge there. But now they’ve gone too far—and there’s only one way to settle the score…

Join us for the very public, live action creative smackdown that will settle this once and for all. We won’t leave until one team is victorious (or at least better than the other one). The creative challenge? You’ll have to be there to find out. Let’s just say it involves happy hour, the finest raw materials and a really, really sort of kick-ass trophy.

This event is pay to play ($10) and free to spectate. Up to 15 players per team. Winning team takes all the loot for their organization’s scholarship fund. Game rules provided on-site before the challenge commences.

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 / 6:00 – until it’s over!

To spectate, RSVP on Facebook.
If you are a member of AIGA CT or the Ad Club of CT and want to join your team, sign up and pay at Eventbrite: http://xtown-aigact-ctadclud.eventbrite.com/

And, don’t forget to . . . BRING IT.

NOTE: This venue has changed.  We are now hosting at:
Nikita’s Bar and Bistro
484 Main Street
Middletown, CT

Visit the AIGA CT website for details

This article was created for this last weekend’s Career Strategies for Visual Artists Workshop presented by Greater Hartford Arts Council.

Every artist should have an online portfolio. Many artists however are either too busy making art or simply just don’t know how to get started. If you do have an online portfolio this article will help you make it the best it can be. If you don’t yet have one, the tips and resources here will help you as you begin to develop your artistic showcase.

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.

I had an excellent day yesterday!  It started with a productive morning with a good deal of client work accomplished… just like that!  There were many emails sent and replied to and phone conversations were exciting and on target.  It seemed like everyone was available at the exact same time I was.  I spoke with some incredibly smart people (always a pleasure). And I asked some questions of others that might have caused ripples.  I love ripples.  I question things… it’s what I do.

In considering the pros and cons of ripples, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe I’d be better off if I didn’t disturb the status quo; I have a tendency to do so.  Pondering this made me think however of one of the strongest attributes and most wonderful things about designers… And this is one of the reasons you want to hire a professional designer.

One of the designer’s great talents is to question things. They bring fresh eyes into a situation and often ask questions of their clients such as “Why are you doing things this way?”  From that question, comes much information about the client’s organization and that information is what designers use to create effective and successful visual communications. Designers can create a bit of ruckus sometimes with their curiosity but the questions we ask are not meant to be mean or judgmental. It’s fact finding. And it’s done with the intention of best being able to assist those whom we are working with.

It’s not like designers have had their jobs forced on them.  Not like the old days when an employee stayed at a job they hated for 20 or 30 years.  Designers choose to be designers and often design is our lifestyle… our air. We love to talk with clients about their dreams and their missions, to share goals together and to receive new opportunities to be our best creative selves.

So the next time your designer starts picking away at you asking questions, remember it’s because we want to create something for you based on your needs, your mission, and what you might be looking at for the future.

Do you need a creative sidekick?  Contact me… I’ll probably ask you some questions

AIGA Connecticut is doing it again and is presenting what promises to be another extraordinary workshop.  On March 10, 2010, award winning photographer and writer, Sean Kernan, will talk about real creativity.  This is not the creativity we learned in school or at work, but the stuff we knew from the start. The workshop will explore how our basic creative impulses affect our lives and our work and how new thinking can open our eyes to the wonderment of what might be an enhanced creative lifestyle.

According to AIGA CT, this workshop will not help you get work, fall in love or make you healthy, but it might just get you back in touch with those creative ideas that you perhaps might have had as a free thinking child.

Sean Kernan

Sean Kernan  lives and works on the Connecticut coast. His photographs have been shown in museums around the world, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Museum of Photography in Greece, and the Whitney Museum in the United States.  Mr. Kernan has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Communication Arts, Graphis, and the Atlantic Monthly. He is the author of Among Trees (Published by Artisan Books, May 2003) and The Secret Books, with Jorge Luis Borges.

This event is $40 for AIGA members and $50 for non-members. If you sign up to become an AIGA member at this event, the event is FREE!
To purchase tickets, visit AIGA CT Online