Announcing Art Steady, Southwest Contemporary’s career development workshop series for artists.
We’re excited to invite you to Art Steady, our upcoming career development workshop series for artists. All workshops are held via Zoom for safe, easy participation!
Wouldn’t it be great to have as much business savvy as you do artistic talent? Make amazing art and also build a sustainable career? We think so, too. Thanks to an evolving art market, disruption within the creative industries, the internet, and social media, artists have more tools than ever to turn their practice into a profitable business.
We want to see more artists shine in all aspects of their work, so we’re excited to announce a series of five workshops that cover essential areas of successful career development. Join a brilliant group of experts who will guide you in learning about presenting your work, artist residencies, legal know-how, and decision-making skills as solopreneurs.
Join us March 25-27 for the series. You can sign up for workshops individually for $37 each, or for all five workshops at the discounted rate of $150. If you can’t make it during the live stream, all registrants will receive access to the recording. Read below for the workshop descriptions, and register via our online store.
Gift of Gab: How to Talk about Your Work in a Genuine and Successful Way
with Elaine Ritchel
Thursday, March 25, 10-11:30 am
If the idea of talking about your work at a gallery opening gives you the heebie-jeebies, you’re not alone. Being able to connect with art on a personal level is a huge motivator for buyers, and one of the best ways to help people to connect with your work is to talk with them about it. But figuring out what to say during gallery openings, studio visits, and art fairs doesn’t always come naturally. In this workshop, the queen of talking about art, Elaine Ritchel, will show you what to talk about and how to turn awkward “small talk” into genuine, fruitful conversation. This workshop will be interactive and several participants will have the opportunity to practice talking about their work.
Elaine Ritchel is an arts educator with over fifteen years of experience facilitating conversations about art in museums and galleries. She holds an MA in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin and has worked as a gallery teacher and art museum educator in the U.S. and abroad. She specializes in discussion-based teaching and encouraging visual literacy. As founder and owner of Santa Fe Art Tours, she talks with hundreds of people about art every year and loves every minute of it.
Tell it Like it Is: How to Craft an Artist Statement with an Impact
with Angie Rizzo
Friday, March 26, 10 am
From calls-for-entry to residency applications, to text on your own website or social media, accurately and eloquently writing about your work is a critical part of career development. Learn how to follow through on the art you’ve created in the studio through successful written communication with industry pro Angie Rizzo. This workshop will include a presentation, plenty of time for open Q+A, and attendees will receive a handout with actionable tips and guidelines.
Angie Rizzo was raised in San Francisco, CA and received her BFA from CalArts in Southern California. She has been based in Santa Fe, NM since 2014, where she works with contemporary artists as a curator, writer, and arts administrator. She has over 10 years of experience in the field of contemporary art and has helped emerging to established artists reach the next level of their careers. She is currently finishing her MA in Art History at the University of New Mexico and is happy to be involved with Southwest Contemporary as the Community Liaison.
Ask a Lawyer: Common Legal Issues for Artists
with Justin Muehlmeyer
Friday, March 26, 12 pm
What is worse than creative block? Lawyers! And what is worse than lawyers? Not knowing how to protect yourself when it comes to your work and intellectual property. Get essential and valuable legal advice in this workshop that will address the legal issues artists most commonly face, including how to protect your work, how to collaborate and avoid problems, how to control your brand, how to prevent others from using your work in ways you do not approve, how to use others’ works, and more. This workshop will include a presentation, plenty of time for open Q+A, and attendees will receive a copy of the presentation slides.
Justin Muehlmeyer is a partner of Peacock Law P.C. and a Registered Patent Attorney practicing all aspects of intellectual property, including patent, trademark and copyright prosecution, licensing, and litigation. Committed to encouraging the growth of Albuquerque’s growing tech and creative arts communities, he speaks regularly on intellectual property to inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, dancers, authors, and engineers. Justin has served on the Board of the IP Section of the New Mexico State Bar for years and directs the State Bar’s annual Pro Bono Intellectual Property Law Clinic. He came to Peacock Law in 2015 from the New Mexico Supreme Court, where for two years he served as an attorney judicial law clerk to Justice Charles Daniels. When Justin is not helping his clients generate value from their great ideas, he is either playing classical Spanish guitar, taking a tango lesson, exhausting himself practicing Muay Thai, or backpacking in a remote corner of the world with his wife.
Make Art Somewhere Beautiful: The Ins and Outs of Artist Residencies
with Andrea Hanley
Saturday, March 27, 10 am
Artist residencies can be incredible opportunities for emerging and professional artists to develop their artistic practices. They can also provide you with a community of collaborators, support for your work, and a robust creative network. That sounds great, but applying for them can be an overwhelming task! This workshop will provide a rundown of all things artist residences, with practical tips for successful applications. This workshop will include a presentation, plenty of time for open Q+A, and attendees will receive a copy of the presentation slides.
Andrea R. Hanley (Navajo) is the chief curator at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her career has been guided and dedicated to the work of contemporary Native American artists and the Native American fine art field. She started her career at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., as both special assistant to the director and exhibition developer/project manager. She was the fine arts coordinator/curator for the city of Tempe, and the executive director of ATLATL, Inc., a national service organization for Native American arts. She was the founding manager of the Berlin Gallery at the Heard Museum and the membership and program manager for the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. She currently serves on the Santa Fe arts commission. Hanley is on the board of directors for the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts Santa Fe Indian Market, the Santa Fe Art Institute, the Roswell Artist in Residence Foundation, and Axle Contemporary. She sits on the following committees: 516 Arts ambassador council, Native American advised fund for the Santa Fe Community Foundation, Ucross Foundation national advisory council, and the Native American advisory board for Voices in Contemporary Art (VoCA). She is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.
Pro Moves: Decision Making as an Artist Entrepreneur
with Tamara Bates
Saturday, March 27, 12 pm
It’s time to embrace that as an artist, you are an entrepreneur. Every day, you have to make critical decisions about how, when, and where to spend your time, energy, and money in order to make it all work. Instead of scrambling between sales, being unsure of how to manage your time, and not knowing which business directions are right for you, learn how to make decisions that more clearly align with your overall goals and values. In this interactive session with workshop activities and a Q+A, you will learn about issues such as if and when to take on debt, how to plan for uneven income flows, and how to integrate different lines of business for well-rounded support.
Tamara Bates is a former financial advisor for UBS and Raymond James. She also spent much of her career in nonprofit fundraising and philanthropy as VP of Strategy and Programs for Innovate+Educate and as a Program Officer at the Schott Foundation for Public Education. She founded The Dots Between, a six-month fellowship on financial sustainability serving its first cohort of nineteen artists across New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. She holds a BA from the College of Santa Fe and an MA in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning and Child Development from Tufts University. She is an Arts Commissioner for the City of Santa Fe and recently joined the National Advisory Council for Creative Capital.
