Free Crisis-Focused Financial & Business Webinars
for artists in
ESSEX COUNTY, MA
With the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating effect on practicing artists, Assets for Artists has redesigned its business and financial education programming to provide artists with new, crisis-focused, distance-learning opportunities that largely retain the intimate cohort-focused style of our in-person workshops. Let’s come together to discuss current challenges, relief efforts, and opportunities for artists’ financial futures.
These workshops are only open to artists who currently reside in Essex County, Massachusetts.
All workshops are FREE and held via Zoom, with pre-registration required to keep the webinar cohorts at a size that maximizes participation and peer support.
Learn about Assets for Artists’ accessibility resources
for artists who live with impairments and disabilities.
“The Essentials of Digital Marketing” w/ Francesca Olsen
Tuesday, August 11, 2020 | 3:00 - 5:00 PM
Learn how to successfully market yourself and your creative practice online during this time of social distancing through branding, social media, and SEO optimization, By the end of this workshop, participants will have the tools to build an online audience, evaluate what digital platforms are best for their work, use analytics to determine future decision making, and put together a marketing plan that covers multiple platforms. Best suited for artists of all disciplines with basic social media knowledge. Francesca Olsen is a writer, musician, and textile artist who is also the Creative and Brand Strategy Manager at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Suitable for artists in all disciplines.
Attendees of this workshop will be offered free 1-on-1 business coaching with Assets for Artists’ staff.
Only open to Essex County, MA artists.
Photo by Cat Laine, Painted Foot Studio
“Creative Practice Within Virtual Communities” w/ Shey Rivera Rios
Thursday, August 20, 2020 | 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Participants will renew the tools and knowledge to which they already have access in order to answer the question, how can community-engaged artists extend their work into virtual spaces? Drawing inspiration from the successes of artists already using digital tools, this workshop will create space for participants to push their creative power, expand the horizon of their creative practice, embrace fear, and see the opportunities at their disposal. Shey Rivera Rios is an interdisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and arts administrator whose artistic creations span a myriad of topics, from home to capitalism to queerness and magic. Best suited for community-engaged artists.
Only open to Essex County, MA artists.
“Making a Plan in a Time of Uncertainty” w/ Laura Baring-Gould
Wednesdays, August 26 & September 2, 2020 | 2:00 - 4:00 PM
(this is a TWO-part webinar experience)
Over two webinar sessions, artists will develop the building blocks for a strategic plan for their creative career. This highly interactive course will help artists examine their goals and values, inventory their skills, and practice budgeting with an eye to maximizing opportunity and stability in the midst of crisis. Laura Baring-Gould's practice includes award-winning installations, public artworks and small bronzes sold in galleries, juried shows and through private commissions. Suitable for artists in all disciplines.
Attendees of this workshop will be offered free 1-on-1 business coaching with Assets for Artists’ staff.
Only open to Essex County, MA artists.
“Online Sales and e-Commerce for Craft Artists” w/ Ayumi Horie and Alicia Goodwin
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 | 3:00 - 5:00 PM
Sell your handmade work online! With so many in-person sales opportunities shuttered or limited, craft artists are turning to various online marketplaces to sell their creative wares. Join a conversation with two artists who have thrived in selling work digitally. Learn how to sell on your own site or through a third party host (e.g. Etsy), how to engage customers and bring sales year round. Ceramicist Ayumi Horie has been making pots for 20 years and been in business for 14. She was Ceramics Monthly’s inaugural Ceramic Artist of the Year and is currently on the board of the American Craft Council and Haystack. Jeweler Alicia Goodwin has been selling work through her shop Lingua Nigra for 17 years, with major recent success on Etsy. Her work has been displayed and sold at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, featured in Essence and on Good Morning America. Best suited for craft artists.
Only open to Essex County, MA artists.
Our Essex County programming is made possible in partnership with the Essex County Community Foundation’s Creative County Initiative. Our Massachusetts programming receives additional support from the Barr Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Development Grant program, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation.