Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists

The Work of Art program is a professional development curriculum developed by Springboard for the Arts to teach business skills to artists in all disciplines. Artists can take the whole series, customized combinations, or individual workshops that best suit their needs.

This series will be facilitated by a cohort of Central Coast artists as part of the Central Coast Creative Corps program. Learn more about the workshop facilitators here. The series is free and open to the public.

To encourage conversation and sharing, these workshops will not be recorded. If you can't make it this time around, keep an eye out for future Work of Art workshops.

Dates: February 1, 2024, through June 6, 2024 [Thursdays, bi-weekly, 12–1:30 PM PST]

Workshop Descriptions and Zoom Links:

1. Thursday, February 1 - Career Planning - Register

   • Where do you want to be both artistically and professionally? Learn how to define your values, identify key choices and develop a plan to achieve your career goals. Facilitated by Adrienne De Guevara.

2. Thursday, February 15 - Time Management - Register

   • Discover analytical and tool-based approaches to manage your time. These tools will help you tackle hurdles related to efficiency, flexibility, and structure to help you reach your artistic goals. Facilitated by Jenny Chang.

3. Thursday, February 29 - Portfolio Kit - Register

   • Your portfolio is the core of your promotional material and professional calling card. Focus on the essential elements: sharpening your artist statement, tailoring your artistic resume, and curating and formatting your work samples. Facilitated by Monica Galvan.

4. Thursday, March 14 - Marketing and Promotions - Register

   • Define your product, discover your target audience, make decisions about how you sell your work, and identify a budget and strategy for your artistic business. Craft persuasive messaging and create a strategy for how you will get the word out about your work, events, and news. Facilitated by Alfredo Avila and Christy Sandoval.

5. Thursday, March 28 - Pricing - Register

   • This analytical approach isn’t intended to be the only way to price your work. It’s intended to show you the factors of product production that apply to everything in the marketplace. Once you understand what each of the variables are you’ll be able to customize a formula that fits your business model. Facilitated by Kenji Tanner.

6. Thursday, April 11 - Recordkeeping - Register

   • Learn how to track revenues and expenses, make informed projections, and gain a clearer understanding of your artistic business finances. Facilitated by Alicia Trujillo.

7. Thursday, April 25 - Legal Considerations - Register

   • Obtain general information about your intellectual property, contract basics and structuring your artistic business. Facilitated by Diana Diaz.

8. Thursday, May 9 - Funding and Grantwriting - Register

   • Learn how to think creatively about diversifying your funding streams by exploring different models for generating value, resources, and revenue. Learn the essentials of grant writing along with resources for searching and structuring your grants. Facilitated by Summer Red and Adrienne De Guevara.

9. Thursday, May 23 - Business Plan Essentials - Register

   • Learn how to prepare a simple business plan, in arts-friendly language, to help you organize all the various aspects of your artistic practice and make informed business decisions. Facilitated by Charlie Rugg.

10. Thursday, June 6 - Engaging Customers and Selling Your Work - Register

    • Learn tools and techniques to communicate the value of your work to potential customers. Facilitated by Doranda Martin.