Business of Being an Artist Lecture Series: The Essentials

Saturday October 13th, 9am-4:30pm at VAE

Lecture topics are listed below. 

The Essentials

Etiquette when approaching a gallery. Don’t underestimate the power of knowing your audience! This topic will cover some often made mistakes, tips and suggestions for artists who are interested in starting a conversation with a gallery. Speaker: Adam Cave, Owner of Adam Cave Fine Art Gallery (www.adamecavefineart.com)

Applying for juried shows. Juried shows can be the perfect way to start your career. They offer emerging artists a chance to have artwork in established exhibition spaces, add experience and accomplishments to your artist resume, and give new artists a chance to network within the art community. However, finding and applying for juried shows can be tricky, so let us give you some tips and useful resources!

Photographing your art: lecture & hands on demonstration. Whether it is for your website, portfolio, galleries, clients or your own records, quality photographs of your artwork are ESSENTIAL. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from two experts about the steps you can take to photograph you artwork for websites, portfolios & more. We will also be offering a special demonstration for both 2D and 3D artwork. This is your chance to ask questions about your own cameras too. Speakers: Mary Kay Kennedy, photographer & development associate for Artspace (www.artspacenc.com), and Annie Frank of The Collectors Gallery (www.thecollectorsgallery.com)

Website basics. Websites are a necessary part of today’s technology driven art market. If the idea of starting your own website is too daunting for you to think about or if your own website could use some sprucing up, this lecture will help you figure out some easy (and often free) website options! Speaker: Sarah Powers, Executive Director of Visual Art Exchange (www.visualartexchange.org)

Resumes, artist statements, & bios. No artist should be without a good resume, artist statement, & biography! No matter how you envision your path (working with galleries, selling directly to clients, selling online, or working festivals) not having these three tools will cause you and your collectors huge headaches. We will break down each into simple steps and provide examples so that you can easily put together your own at home. Speaker: Sarah Corpron, Programs Director of Visual Art Exchange (www.visualartexchange.org)

Social media tools, tips & tricks. No matter how you feel about social media (think Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube & others), it has quickly become the best way to promote exhibitions, events and artwork. This talk will give you a fun introduction into the world of social media, and advice on how you can use these tools to promote your art and connect with the art (and art collecting) community! Speaker: Kestrel Lemen, Marketing Strategist for Bronto Software (bronto.com)

An introduction to PR (Public Relations). Public Relations is more than press releases and this lecture will explain the basic as well as discuss the ways in which good PR can help improve awareness about you & your artwork. Speaker: Kim Weiss of Blue Plate PR, (blueplatepr.com)

Resource Rundown. Sarah Corpron will give a quick review of some useful resources for artists & upcoming events at VAE and within the community for emerging artists. Bring your calendars!