CAA News

CAA is pleased to announce two more National Career Development Workshops, to be held next month in Pittsburgh and Detroit. Throughout 2009–10, CAA is offering eight workshops across America, providing essential training to emerging and midcareer visual artists.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: November 10

The next CAA National Career Development Workshop, entitled “Artists & Communities: Hybrid & Hyphenated,” will take place at the Society for Contemporary Craft (SCC) on November 10, 2009, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The workshop, held from 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM with a postworkshop gathering for networking, is a collaboration between CAA and SCC.

After morning registration and a light breakfast, the workshop will be introduced by Susan Schear, CAA national workshop project consultant. Topics for the day will cover networking, artist and digital communities, crafting an art career, community resources, and practical business application. Lunch will be provided, and a tour of the exhibition, Transformation7: Contemporary Works in Wood, will take place.

Workshop presenters include Elizabeth Perry, a writer and new-media artist; Brigitte Martin, a jewelry maker; Laura Jean McLaughlin, a ceramicist; and representatives from the Lawrenceville Corporation, the Penn Avenue Arts Initiative, Braddock Redux, and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.

General admission is $30; $15 for students and seniors. A limited number of stipends are available—please contact Susan Schear. To attend the workshop, please call 412-261-7003, ext. 26, or send an email to SCC. Credit cards are accepted through PayPal on the SCC website. Please make checks payable to College Art Association.

Detroit, Michigan: November 20–21

For the next National Career Development Workshop, CAA will host a two-day event in Michigan that will focus on students and artists living, working, and practicing in the greater Detroit area. The workshop takes place November 20–21, 2009, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and will include participation from several universities, colleges, and institutions, including the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Wayne State University, Oakland University, and Lawrence Technical University. The workshop runs from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM each day.

CAA spoke to directors and chairs of programs in the region to garner information and ideas regarding needs for professional development for students and communities. The workshops will address overall protocol; developing a strong and compelling professional portfolio (writing, photography, etc.); researching and writing grants; how to approach a gallery and getting into galleries and other locations; securing residencies and fellowships; marketing and networking; the role of technology and social media; how to transform skills for other jobs or positions in and outside the arts (including teaching, museums, galleries, and design); participating in fairs (e.g., fine arts, design firms, architecture); and listening to stories, dos and don’ts, and recommendations from successful practitioners, artists in various disciplines, and business owners.

The workshop cost, with a discount for students and seniors, will be announced soon. Breakfast and lunch will be included.

About the Workshops

CAA’s National Career Development Workshops are supported by a second generous grant from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. Topics are chosen in discussion with each venue and its constituents, and range in format and subject in order to provide relevant and useful career-development counsel.

CAA has received funding from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation to offer two additional years of National Career Development Workshops for artists in 2009–10. The grant allows CAA to continue the 2007–8 program in which ten workshops were presented at various locations in the United States.

Held in underserved areas, the workshops are designed to meet the specific needs of artists in each region. In the past, topics have included presentation skills, writing artist statements, networking, planning, grant preparation, and career options. The workshops have been highly successful, and CAA has forged partnerships with schools, art museums, co-op galleries, and art societies across the nation.

Artworks in Trenton, New Jersey, is the location for the first 2009–10 workshop. Scheduled for May 9, from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM, it will provide tools, tips, resources, best practices, and networking opportunities for artists. Also taking place is a postworkshop networking reception, just around the corner at the Mill Hill Saloon, 300 South Broad Street, in Trenton.

The cost for the complete day, including breakfast and lunch, is $25 ($15 for students and seniors). Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis; contact Artworks at 609-394-9436 to confirm your place. For details regarding the day’s schedule, write to Artworks or Susan Schear, CAA national workshop project consultant.

The Trenton workshop is cosponsored by the Arts and Business Council of Greater Trenton, in partnership with Artworks and the College of New Jersey.

With the Alaska State Council on the Arts, CAA will present career-development workshops for visual artists on Saturday, November 8, 2008, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The workshops will be held at the BP Energy Center, 900 E. Benson Boulevard, in Anchorage.

In a panel discussion “How the Heck to Sell Work Outside” (9:30–10:45 AM), artists and arts professionals from the Anchorage and national art community will discuss the challenges of making work outside an established art market. Strategies for finding new markets and venues will be discussed.

In “Career Alternatives: Beyond the Gallery” (11:00 AM–NOON), Susan Schear will cover the spectrum of artist opportunities available today; what a graduate school degree means in today’s art market; and how to navigate the exhibition world, including galleries, art fairs, museums, and other venues.

In “Beyond Slides: Technology for Artists” (1:00–2:00 PM), presenter Mariano Gonzales will demonstrate basic techniques for documenting artwork and creating digital portfolios. The session will introduce the computer-based technologies used in developing and distributing artists’ portfolios. Participants will learn to prepare digital images for presentation onscreen and in print using affordable hardware and software solutions. CD portfolios, web galleries, PowerPoint slides, and PDF files will also be discussed.

In “Collaboration as an Artistic Practice” (2:15–3:45 PM), Two Girls Working: Tiffany Ludwig and Renee Piechocki ask the question, “Why collaborate?” As a model for this workshop, they will use their national, interview-based project Trappings, which is a collaboration not only between two artists but also with project participants and commissioning organizations. The artists will discuss the advantages, concerns, and challenges of collaboration that they have encountered in Trappings.

For preregistration, please call the Alaska State Council on the Arts toll free at 888-278-7424.

CAA’s National Career Development Workshops for artists are supported by a generous grant from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. Topics are chosen in discussion with each venue and its constituents and range in format and subject in order to provide relevant and useful career-development counsel. For more information about the workshops, please write to Melissa Potter.

In locations around the country, CAA offers workshops for visual artists on a range of topics, from health and safety in the studio to grant writing to professional relationship building. Each workshop is developed in collaboration with regional institutions to serve the specific interests of their local constituencies. Please check back periodically as more workshops are announced for 2008. Below are two upcoming workshops.

Cleveland, Ohio
On October 22, 2008, 10:30 AM–3:00 PM, CAA will offer career-development workshops at the Cleveland Institute of Art. The program will take place at the Russell B. Aitken Auditorium and include “The Tools of Self-Promotion: How to Initiate and Build New Relationships,” with Jackie Battenfield; a lunch and networking event; and “Pricing Your Work,” with Susan Schear of ArtIsIn.

Anchorage, Alaska
On November 8, 2008, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, CAA will offer a day of professional-development workshops hosted by the Alaska State Council on the Arts at the BP Energy Center in Anchorage. The program will include a panel discussion called “How the Heck to Sell the Work Outside” and workshops entitled “Career Alternatives: How to Support Yourself as a Working Artist,” “Beyond Slides: How to Be an Artist in the Twenty-First Century,” and “Working in an Artist Collaborative,” presented by Two Girls Working. There will be an afternoon reception.

More Information
CAA’s National Career Development Workshops are supported by a generous grant from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. Questions regarding the workshops for artists should be directed to Melissa Potter, CAA career development associate.