Spotlights

Individual artists are small businesses and contribute to the state’s economy. They often face many challenges as they balance the time needed to create or perform withthe time needed to promote and market their work. The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts supports the efforts of individual artists by offering professional development workshops for artists designed to help them improve their entrepreneurial and marketing skills.

Workshop topics can include how to: price work, market art work online, developa a high- quality portfolio, approach galleries, and keep up with insurance and business regulations. Some workshops are geared to visual artists, writers, and performers in the early stages of their careers, while others are aimed at artists who are well established in their fields.

Two Professional Development Workshops for Artists were offered in December 2009. Held back-to-back in the morning and afternoon, they included a 90-minute break to allow for networking opportunities that artists frequently request. The workshops were held in Concord at the Red River Theatres screening room, which afforded an opportunity for 50 artists to attend.

Luann Udell, a visual artist from Keene, N.H., presented the morning session, “Getting Your Story Out There.” She focused on encouraging artists to hone in on the “passionate story” behind their work and translate the uniqueness of their story into an artist’s statement. To get the attention of prospective buyers and audiences, she said, it is crucial to convey a memorable message, one rooted in the spirit of, and impulse behind, the artwork. From a compelling artist statement, strong press releases and other promotional materials naturally follow.

In the afternoon, Christine Halvorson, a social media consultant from Hancock, N.H., offered “Shoestring Personal Branding Online for Artists.” She highlighted the career-enhancing benefits of having a strong presence in social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, and other online, free services. She emphasized that the marketing demands of the day call for artists to carve out time to achieve higher online visibility for their work.

Upcoming workshops are posted on the State Arts Council’s homepage and announced via E-news. To learn more about past workshops, visit the Artist Workshop page.

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Last updated: October 10, 2016