Art Tip Networking for Artists and Social Phobs

To be an agent of change, to follow your dreams and your creative endeavors, (I personally always need to remind myself of this one) you must become a pragmatic visionary.  What does that mean? Well, as an artist and creative how do you find the support you need--the collector, the art dealer, the gallery, the funder etc?  One essential ingredient to your success is to develop a practical business strategy that is symbiotic with your vision (i.e. become a pragmatic visionary). An important aspect of your art business is the networking and self promotion plan. This is a weakness of mine since I am social phob and an artist. 

Connecting with the right people to support our art career is essential. 

I feel so uncomfortable talking about my work to strangers, I wish it would magically just speak for itself and I could be swept up by an art dealer like Picasso’s -- Ambroise Vollard. There is a good chance that this just ain’t gonna happen.
You must learn to talk with confidence about your work as well as your goals to the world. One simple and effective way is the creation of your own elevator speech.  I know this is difficult since you have to put yourself out there and “work the room” as they say.  It takes a lot of courage, persistence and resistance; but as an artist you cannot be an island, you must start connecting with the world to find the support you need to aid you in the manifestation of your dream.

What is an elevator speech?
It is 30-60 second speech that talks about your work and why it is important.
How do you craft an elevator speech? 

• Reflect on "What are your goals with your art and art career?" 
  My answer: Get Museums, sell your work, change the world or all the above.
• Think about, "How is your art different, new, and unique? Why is your art important?"
• Create a short 30 second speech that is a description of yourself, your art or your project. Include your goals and a short vignette, the positive benefits others have gained from your work.
• Practice with friends
• Communicate with pride and enthusiasm

Good Luck All!! Also never forget your business cards and always be prepared to meet your own version of Ambroise Vollard.  You really never know who will be in the next elevator with you!!

Value!

HS Student of the Year Nomination:
To Lisa Rasmussen:

Lisa,

Five years ago, you entered the Department of Arts & Consciousness as a student in the Transformative Arts program. As your creative process unfolded, your paintings grew ever more compelling. By the end of three years, you transferred to the MFA program to more deeply engage your artwork. During this period, you continued to develop a program in transformative arts for clients at the Lincoln Child Center in Oakland. Your program bridged the gap between art as a transformative tool and art as a form of cultural expression. Your Lincoln Child Care Center students exhibited their work in a Sausalito Gallery and were the focus of an annual benefit for the Center. Because of your dedicated and creative work with the students at Lincoln Child Center, they have experienced the invaluable joy of self-expression and the all-important process of being seen in their fuller humanity. You have been a profound, transformative influence in their lives.



As an artist, your work has gone far beyond the limits of traditional painting. Your final MFA Exhibition entitled Caol Ait (Thin Spaces) reveals the full scope and power of your artwork, moving beyond the genre of painting into installation and environmental art, as well as movement, ritual and sculpture. In your teaching and in your artwork you celebrate the realization that art lives at the edges of life and spirit. You explore and then dissolve the boundaries between inner and outer, self and other and in so doing represent the highest ideals of Holistic Studies. You are an outstanding individual, and we are proud to nominate you as Student of the Year. Congratulations and best wishes for continued success.



Peter M. Rojcewicz, PHD

Dean, School of Holistic Studies