Artist Initiative

Goal: Minnesota artists are able to develop business skills needed to support their professional arts work. Achieved: My business skills were developed by individual consultations with Springboard for the Arts' Andy Sturdevant focusing on strengthening the skills and materials learned in the Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists workshop series I just completed prior to beginning my grant period. We worked on identifying curators, galleries, and museums to introduce my artwork to through promotional packets and strategies for approaching; identifying resources for researching other exhibition venues; using social media tools for networking and marketing; updating email list including media, curators, and gallery directors; identifying newsletter programs for marketing; and identifying resources for grants, fellowships, and additional revenue streams. Purchased GYST software and manual. Evaluated: A plan is developed for approaching curators and exhibition spaces and the resources established to move this forward. My art business is now well represented on social media with a Facebook Studio Page and Twitter Handle and Account. News and events have successfully reached a much wider audience through these tools and can be evaluated with statistics from the Facebook Studio Page, and “Mentions” or “Retweets” with Twitter. 2: Achieved: Through exhibitions, television program, open studios, events, and online. Exhibitions: Works on Paper/ 7 Artists, Burnet Gallery at Le Meridien Chambers, Minneapolis Looking at Food: Recent work by Karen Gustafson and David Luke, Normandale Community College, Bloomington, Minnesota The Music Series, Foxy Falafel Restaurant, St Paul, Minnesota Fall Fine Arts Show, Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association, Solar Building, Minneapolis Events: A New Perspective, Burnet Gallery at Le Meridien Chambers, Minneapolis Opening Reception, Works on Paper/ 7 Artists, Burnet Gallery at Le Meridien Chambers, Minneapolis Opening Reception, Looking at Food: Recent work by Karen Gustafson and David Luke, Normandale Community College, Bloomington, Minnesota Art 4 Shelter, Burnet Gallery at Le Meridien Chambers, Minneapolis Opening Reception, Fall Fine Arts Show, Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association, Solar Building, Minneapolis Television Program Minnesota Original segment - see “Minnesota Original Airing” for specifics of original showing, rebroadcast at least twice: week before Art Attack- end of October/early November and then again in December Open Studio Events Art-A-Whirl Art Attack First Thursdays Online Website Facebook Studio Page Minnesota Original video – multiple locations Evaluated: Through attendance, press, social media statistics, discussions with individuals during and after events and open studios, and feedback received from social media, website, and email.