BELLOWS FALLS — How to make a living as an artist or craftsperson in southern Vermont? Start here:
The Arts Council of Windham County (ACWC) is sponsoring a forum, “Business Training for Artists,” at the Windham Antique Center, 5 The Square, on April 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Co-produced by the Rockingham Art and Museum Project, the session explores the opportunities for arts-specific business training in our area.
The session coincides with Bellows Falls' Third Friday Gallery Walk, which starts at 5 p.m.
This roundtable is intended for artists across disciplines: visual, performing, media, literary, crafts, and traditional. Participants will learn how to achieve greater success in their current or desired arts business. The session also will identify needs for additional business training and services for both new and established area artists.
More good news for starving artists: the forum is free.
Information will also be available about a 12-week, three-credit arts entrepreneurship course ACWC is offering early next year.
ACWC is an all-volunteer organization that has worked to strengthen the environment for artists and arts organizations in the area since 1975. According to its president, Douglas Cox, the group's goal is to raise the average income of workers in Windham County, “specifically those who work in the arts, so that artists can contribute to their economic community.”
In the last three years, ACWC has provided scholarship funds to 20 Windham County artists accepted into the two-day Vermont Arts Council (VAC) professional development workshop for artists, “Breaking into Business: Professional Development Workshops for Artists” held in February and March.
From business planning to marketing
On the first day of “Breaking into Business,” in the workshop Business Planning for Artists, participants will learn how to create a business plan for an arts business, including how to describe one's work, hire experts, handle financial details, and structure the business.
On the second day, in the workshop Marketing for Artists, participants will learn fundamental marketing concepts such as analyzing customer and audience bases, program mix, and pricing strategies.
They will also explore promotional strategies in a supportive learning environment with peers.
The reviews are in
Cox said he has found that everyone who has taken the workshops is eager to sing its praises, from Halifax furniture maker Ron Demers, who said previous sessions got his business in shape and helped him set strategic priorities, to Cotton Mill's Steve Procter, who notes:
“I've worked as an arts consultant, but I found that applying entrepreneurial thinking to my own ceramics business and art work becomes very personal. The discipline of the process helped a lot, and doing it with a group of serious artists is very empowering.”
According to Elin Snow, of Dan Snow Stoneworks, VAC workshops “provide an invaluable two-day intensive overview of best business practices and ideas” for anyone working in the arts, and lauds the program's help with networking and in jump-starting ideas.
Grant money available
Artists who complete the program are eligible to apply for a Business Incentive Grant of up to $500 to implement part of their business or marketing plan, Cox said. Funding is awarded competitively.
Cox says a three-credit “Foundations in Arts Entrepreneurship” course, to be led by the Arts Extension Service of the University of Massachusetts, is on the agenda Friday. Starting January 2014, the course will offer basic business practice for those in the arts, promote entrepreneurship's basic principles, and include resources and expert guidance for building a successful business plan.
“This will not just be theory, but (rather) a step-by-step working-through of individual business and marketing plans,” Cox said.