Artist Access Grant
Artist Access Grant
Blind Spot Creatives Online Portfolio.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, cultural programming coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Kathy Neff: musician, director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
The purpose of this grant is to develop a platform that will increase the accessibility of my artwork. This grant opportunity will allow me to complete a cohesive online portfolio. By compiling and uploading twenty photography pieces and eight written works I will create a comprehensive gallery of my work. This will allow my audience to gain an all-encompassing visual of the scope my work. This will raise awareness and credibility of my artistic vision by showcasing the breadth and depth of my narrative, illuminating my accomplishments while also promoting my evolution. Finally, this grant will be used to promote my work via social media and in-person events. This will increase visibility of my work, allowing the opportunity to grow my audience and professional network. In and of itself, compiling and uploading the work to Blind Spot Creatives will be marked as a success. I will upload twenty photographs and eight written works. Having an online portfolio will increase my credibility and solidify my message and vision for creating. I will use this portfolio as the foundation and roadmap for future projects. Once completed I will have two local artists review and critique the portfolio. Ryan Tischer, professional photographer, will provide recommendations on the photography portion. Tina Higgins-Wussow, writer and teacher, will provide insights on the written pieces. After reviewed and edited, I will begin promoting the online portfolio through monthly spoken word events (total 5), scheduled exhibitions (1) and social media. Designing and printing business cards will allow me to begin networking, opening the door to collaborate and connect with other artists. Finally, I will use Google Analytics through Squarespace to gauge portfolio visits, noting which pages are viewed most often and how people move about my website. My goal is to have a monthly average of 30 unique visitors. In addition, I will track my Facebook and Instagram analytics, with a goal to increase following by 15% on both platforms. (87 new followers on Instagram, 57 new followers on Facebook). In the future this platform will allow me to readily share community events and exhibitions, new work and grant the opportunity to make online sales.
2 separate mentorship meetings, each lasting 2.5 hours. One with Tina Higgins-Wussow, discussing a written portfolio and one with Ryan Tischer, discussing a photography portfolio. two art exhibitions. One at Blacklist Brewing, a collaboration with Kyle Allah. One at Red Mug Coffee house, a collaboration with Cory Coffman of the Cuckoo Bees. Designedprinted business cards. Website updates. two Blind Spot Creatives Newsletters. twenty Blind Spot Creatives social posts. 35 new emails added to Blind Spot Creatives Newsletter Sign-Up via live events and website form. 10% increase in Facebook followers. 16% increase in Instagram followers. 40+ unique visitors to my website page per month.