professional practice

role

what is your job?what do you do?

goals

know what you want

visibility

let people know that you existillustrate activityadvertise your activities past – present – futureshare – give to get

visibility Showing work Giving work in progress a title Working with people (residency) The e-mail Printed Material Applications (selection panels) Catalogues/books Portfolio sessions Personal websites Collective websites e.g. Axisweb Press releases Blogs

networks

what systems/networks do you use now?who do you know?

the network

(as exchange) Write down everyone you know professionally. Tutors / peers / galleries / curators / writers / people you have exhibited with / discussed your work with ....also friends and relatives if appropriate

network

now identify who you would like to work with (remember working with someone is an exchange). If you would like to work with a curator - which one? books/fine art/photography/..... If you would like to work with a gallery which one(s).....This can form part of your mailing list for your MA exhibition.

investment and returns

how do you measure success?

how many shows/projects do you want to do a year?

will they get progressively bigger/push boundaries/increase your visibility?

identifying goals

(direction and progression). Identify key areas in which you would like to develop - exhibitions / artist talks / publicity / application success rate / number of projects each year / regional - national - international / financial goals also - mixed economy / workshops / teaching / also further study / travel / creative development / funding application.

taking or leaving opportunities

Consider the following Is it appropriate? How much time do I have? How much money will it cost? Is there an artist fee? Who will see/experience it? Reviews likely? (Is this one of my aims?) Will it lead to anything else? What can I contribute / gain?

applications and opportunities • Be selective - avoid the scatter approach - focus on your aims and goals. It’s not advisable to stretch your practice to ‘fit’ opportunities, applications or to fit funding criteria. Look around for something more appropriate.

• Where to find things - publications such as AN, also Axisweb if you are a member has opportunities, Artquest and individual gallery websites

• Consider a mixture of self initiated and opportunity applications. Self initiated projects you will likely need to finance yourself or make funding applications. Opportunities often already have the funding secured.

the artist statement

(as sorting process). statements are required for applications, feed into funding proposals, and are available in exhibitions and projects, on blogs, web-sites.

the artist statement

write a draft - you could start by identifying 10 keywords and building from there. asking a colleague to say what they think your practice is about can be useful and illuminating way to start. anywhere from 100-500 words usually.

the “elevator pitch”

compose a single sentence that sums up who you are and where you want to get.

the 30 second CV

just as you can develop a minimalist CV highlighting your key points to whet an employer's appetite or attract a funder, it is also useful to have a verbal version of this type of CV to communicate key points.

connections

keep notes of meetingspersonal database and mailing listsuse and build

digital tools

blog databases – appropriate?online portfoliossocial networks – appropriate?websiteforums – appropriate?

www.blogger.com

www.wordpress.com

www.jotta.com

http://www.artsthread.com/

http://www.artindustri.com/

www.artshole.co.uk

www.dedsignscouch.org

www.prospects.ac.uk

http://www.bookartsforum.com/

forum/

http://artistbooks.ning.com

www.axisweb.org

www.a-n.co.uk

http://www.a-n.co.uk/jobs_and_opps/shortcut/article/92660

http://www.a-n.co.uk/jobs_and_opps/shortcut/article/345238

http://www.a-n.co.uk/jobs_and_opps/shortcut/article/168331

http://www.ning.com/

www.shop.ebay.co.uk

physical tools

CVbusiness cardportfolioimages/statements

CV’s and statements

see Artquest www.artquest.org.uk it has information about ‘how to create a CV’. Also look at artist’s websites; axis has a particular layout in terms of headings etc. expect to be writing (or changing) your CV and statement for each application or opportunity.

paperwork

there is inevitably lots of paperwork being self employed as many artists are. financial, correspondence, applications, your own image banks etc. all need to have some kind of order so you can locate things and manage the volume that will accumulate over your professional careers.

paperwork is likely to include some or all of the following: • Tax returns - make sure you are aware of statutory requirements. In addition for each grant (from public money) they will expect you to keep accounts which they can request at anytime.

• Funding applications - keep copies of your application and proposal, award letters and evaluations. Remember to read the requirements of the evaluation so you know what data to collect during the project (audience numbers etc).

• Using funding marks - get into a habit of reading funding guidelines at the beginning of a project - (size, dimension, exclusion zones, reproduction etc) and include on all your PR materials and communications.

• Correspondence with galleries - it’s good to be able to refer back to what you have sent, the result and any ongoing dialogue. Perhaps they suggested you contact them in a year or 18 months in which case write this somewhere memorable.

• Records of applications / statements / proposals / CV’s - you can recycle and re-order a lot of the text you write so keeping electronic copies is very useful as you can copy and paste. Remember if you do this to closely proof read your final version so it reads coherently (and not like a copied and pasted document).

• Publicity archive - most professionals and practitioners keep a publicity archive, catalogues, postcards etc. Good for when you deliver professional development seminars or similar events. It can also act as a catalogue of your outputs which helps to celebrate your successes.

expectations of people

Personal artistic skills ExperienceCreative expertise Enthusiasm

Flexibility Initiative CommitmentCommunication skills Reliability

How to make yourself visibleKnow your audience Make contactHave clear marketing tools and be honestProject a positive imageProvide strong referencesShow your initiative/independenceBe aware of the competition

Following up

This needs to be done regularly, if you take the trouble to send a proposal/application/information, make sure you follow it up. You can use your follow up contact to let them know about any developments in the project you are proposing (for example) or other exhibiting or professional activities.

If someone consistently fails to get back to you, perhaps you don’t want to work with them.