VCU and CAA Present a Professional-Development Workshop for Artists

By Tom Gresham

Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts is partnering with the College Art Association to host a national professional development workshop. The one-day event for artists will explore strategies for launching and sustaining a career in the arts.

“Toolkit for a Sustainable Life in the Arts: Ideas XS, S, M, L, XL,” will be held on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Grace Street Theater, 934 W. Grace St., from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Speakers and topics include:

• Aaron Landsman, playwright, actor and teacher, “Exploring How a Life in the Arts Can be Sustained”
• Michelle Hinebrook, assistant chairperson in Graduate Communications Design at Pratt Institute, “Analog Toolkit: Pragmatic Strategies for Creating Opportunities”
• Peter Baldes, associate professor in the Department of Painting and Printmaking at VCU, “2.0 Toolkit: Extending Opportunities through Social Media, Web Presence and New Distribution Channels”
• Sarah Cunningham, VCUarts director of research, and Melissa Potter, assistant professor in the Interdisciplinary Arts Department at Columbia College Chicago, “Solvent Toolkit: Realizing Grant Opportunities”
• Jack Risley, VCUarts associate dean of academic affairs, will moderate a panel discussion with Kendall Buster, professor, and Corin Hewitt, assistant professor, from the Department of Sculpture + Extended Media at VCU, and Hope Ginsburg, assistant professor in the Department of Painting and Printmaking at VCU, “DIY Toolkits: Innovative Models for Making Art and Collaborating with an Engaged Community”

Following the workshop, VCUarts will host participants at a networking reception at the Anderson Gallery, 907½ W. Franklin St., where the exhibition “Environment and Object: Recent African Art” will be on view.

The workshop is free for all VCUarts students, faculty and staff, and $25 for all other participants. Lunch is included.

Spaces are limited, and advanced registration is encouraged. Those interested in attending should contact Susan Schear, CAA national workshop project consultant, at (973) 482-1000 or susan.schear@artisin.com.

The CAA’s National Professional-Development Workshops for Artists, which focuses on supporting visual artists in underserved areas, are sustained by a generous grant from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.

For more information, visit http://www.collegeart.org/workshops/richmond or http://esterknows.com.