EFFECTIVE CAREER STRATEGIES FOR ARTS FOLLOW UP!

Learning how to manage your life and life as an artist…say what?

Recently QCA had the pleasure of hosting Jackie Battenfield, an accomplished Visual Artist and Arts Consultant, for a Fall 2008 workshop.  Jackie teaches by no nonsense example, drawing from her own life experience as an artist, gallery director and mother.  The insightful lesson she shared with our audience is to have a career plan.  This seems simple enough, but consider how many plans you’ve made in your life and how many you’ve strictly stuck to.  Now I am NOT accusing anyone of failure, laziness, or some type of unsatisfactory completion of your plans or goals.  In fact, Bravo, Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve spoken to a several good natured pros on social networking and I’ve caught them all saying “wow, I feel like I’m giving dating advice.”  Networking is relatively simple, but for some of us it is nerve racking.  For me that best reminder when faced with a bout of shyness is to invoke dear friend Confucius, schmooze on to others as you would have them schmooze to you. 

Schmoozing isn’t exactly a fast track way of networking and promotion but is undeniably beneficial for whatever your career.  The big, big truth is that the relationships you make are almost as important as your work you create.  Read the rest of this entry »

Economic emergency looms overhead and we all are bracing ourselves. As artists and arts organizations, our intention is not to survive but to thrive. There are many questions skipping about the non-profit versus for profit models, and it’s not that one is better than the other it just depends on which suits your ideas best. Either endeavor requires the support of others, so my first suggestion is to realize the network of people you already have. Secondly, realize the value of what you’re offering and who you appeal to. Art is a big celebratory mashed potato of expression, opinions, activism [and on and on to what you think…] but it’s important to understand that art is also a commodity. If you’re going to take your individual ideas to the next business type level then be innovative and articulate with what you create and how you generate the cash flow. Have “a do it yourself” mentality and then maximize; build from the base. WARNING: you will wear many hats. Below is an outline of 411 on 501(c)(3), the second Art Builds Community Workshop by Queens Council on the Arts discussing the elements of both non-profit and for profit organizations. Read the rest of this entry »

An online presence is developed by adapting your resources within the virtual world. Your online presence has the ability to be, or rather it is, you. Depending on your desired visibility, it is a combination of mission, personality, effort, opinions, aesthetics, history, future, progress…if it’s possible, think of yourself as a pixel protein bar, you can fit a ridiculous amount of ingredients into some wittle itty bitty megabytes. With all of the options available, a web persona may feel daunting and incredibly consuming. Therefore Read the rest of this entry »

On Sept 23rd Queens Council on the Arts held an Information Session with Estelle Woodward Arnal, Arts Services Director, and Richert Schorr, Arts Services Associate of Dance Theater Workshop. http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org/.

The organization began in 1965 by the initiative of 3 independent artists (Jeff Duncan, Art Bauman, and Jack Moore) sharing their resources with each other and others. Since then DTW has flourished into an organization that presents over 110 performances by some 45 different artists and companies each year while also providing a multitude of services and resources to performing artists. Incidentally, the day after attending this session I found myself intensely rummaging through DTW’s website: resources, calendar, member profiles, and other pages, much like Oliver Twist salivating while shouting “FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!” I was clearly motivated and am now an official DTW member.

I am floored by the realistic and accessible Read the rest of this entry »

Jackson Heights Film and Food Festival

http://www.jhfff.org/film.html

Sept 13th began the Jackson Heights Film and Food Festival which runs until the 21st. Now in its third year, The Jackson Heights Film Festival continues to strengthen the Jackson Heights and Western Queens’ neighborhoods as a prime location of quality films, arts and culture.

Films wil be showed Friday and Saturday with a special Kids Film Festival on Sunday. Saturday evening will include a Q&A with Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, Executive Director of Queens Council on the Arts. Check the website below for more details…

http://www.jhfff.org/film.html

Mad About Dance at Laguardia Performing Arts Center

Opening Sat, Sept 20 at 7pm

Sunday, Sept 21st at 3pm

http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/lpac/entire_season.aspx

Mad About Dance is a Queens-based multi-ethnic modern dance company known for its varied repertoire. Artisic Director and Choreographer Michiyo Tanaka incorporpaorates the influences from both western culture and her birthplace Kamakura, Japan. Read more about this dynamic dance company at their website…http://www.madaboutdance.org/about.htm

“The highlight of the evening was Tanaka’s evocative exploration of Xoregos Moonflower.” - SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER.

“Ms. Tanaka Dance(s) with exceptional radiance”- BACKSTAGE.

“A crowd-pleasing choreographer.” – NEW YORK TRIBUNE.

“Her dancers are powerful and magnetic.” – DANCE MAGAZINE

Queens Dance Artists Anthony Whitehurst and Kristen Schifferdecker of Red Novae Movement Group with Megan Sipe of Dancing Fish Productions have assembled an occasion to unite as artists. Dance Community Activism will occur monthly/bi-monthly and function as grassroots movement for the dance community. These sessions will give precedence to issues faced by dancers and to the ideas of the community for relieving them. Those who gather Sept 10^th will word wrestle with the topic of space and then deicide on the subject of the next meeting. I’ve pasted the event description below, but first Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for something tasty this Friday, try buttering your bread with Passport Fridays 2008: 4th Annual International Film, Dance and Music Series.. (FYI: free event) http://www.queensmuseum.org/qmail/2008_08/#ev1. This will be the last Friday in the QMA series which began on August 8^th. The evening will commence at 6:30 with dance artists Laura Peterson, http://www.lpchoreography.com/ and Anthony Whitehurst. These performers took part in the annual summer residency, Dance in Queens. The residency is collaboration between Topaz Arts, http://www.topazarts.org/ and QMA, http://www.queensmuseum.org/index.htm in which the dancers choreograph inside the museums triangular gallery giving spectators an inside to the individual artistic process. Music by Mariachi Oro de Mexico founder and film Under The Same Moon / La misma luna will show afterwards.

You know what isn’t so good, non-paying curators, especially the non-paying curators who charge an application fee. I am not the property of a slum lord, nor am I the kids bop version of a Britney Spears “Toxic” lullaby (shudders.) There are the exceptions to my “this sucks” theory (depending on who you ask) such as collaboration with a non-profit, working to provide a free show/service, charity, fundraisers, etc…but I am specifically commenting on those who make a profit off of an artist that is working for free. Personally, the phrase “working for free” is nonsense since NO artist can provide work without paying for things like space, materials, travel, time, Red Bull and band aids. Regardless of the oodles of hard work a successful artist plunges into their career, it is not complementary to be shouted at “whoa what a workhorse!”

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The Arts Services Fiscal Year 2009 Comprehensive Plan is complete. It took several weeks of scheduling, the gracious input of a small battalion of hardy partisans, and any number of moments where my mind and eyes would stray from the screen and ponder baseball scores, blogs, or Bob Dylan lyrics, anything, but the task at hand. Like all good television shows, I’ve taken a bit of a summer hiatus as I planned and planned and planned some more. Now I’m ready to get back out there again, out in the community where I belong.

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