Wednesday 8 May 2013

"Art is Your Business"

The conference, "Art is Your Business," was hosted by Island Mountain Arts in Williams Lake last weekend.



I was one of about 30 registrants who were mostly from Williams Lake and area, but others came from Quesnel, Fort St. James and Burns Lake. As the keynote speaker, Bill Usher from Golden worked with participants to help them overcome different barriers to reach their next level, and he also outlined the steps in successful grant writing and submission.



Other speakers covered a wide array of relevant topics, including the importance of building community to build a business, business principles and practices, social media, business diversification - the benefits and pitfalls, artist considerations for both private and public galleries, policy development as a business tool, and making marketing work for individual artists based on their preferences and comfort levels.



The two days clearly addressed a wide variety of topics on the business of art at both the community and individual levels. I found it inspiring and informative, and I came home with many ideas to consider, big and small, and from speakers and other participants.  We had some great chats!

Saturday was also the day of the annual spin-in hosted by the Spinners and Weavers Guild. The spin-in had a record number of registrants along with some new vendors. I counted 42 spinning wheels when I stopped in briefly.



And there was more in town that weekend! I sure enjoyed what I could attend.

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