““I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the thoughtfulness of the curriculum for these seminars. The quality of instruction is fabulous, both in terms of relevant content, organization, as well as setting an example of values for artists who respect themselves professionally, creating a community that openly values equity and justice, and acknowledges the emotional and financial challenges of being an artist. I feel proud to live in a state with institutions that offer programming like this.””

— Annie Cardinaux | Textile Artist

Free Artist Financial & Business Online Workshops
SPRING 2022 OFFERINGS
for MA, RI & CT

We’re excited to offer several NEW workshops alongside some fan favorites this spring!

All workshops are FREE and held via Zoom, with pre-registration required to keep the cohorts at a size that maximizes participation and peer support.

NEW IN 2022
WORKSHOP RECORDINGS AVAILABLE!

In order to better accommodate artists unable to attend the live workshop, we now record the majority of our online workshops! To have access to the recording, you will need to register and be approved to attend the workshop as if you were attending live—this will allow us to send you the recording link plus any follow-up materials that the instructor wants participants to have. Registration will still be limited based on each workshop’s specific geographic area served (with A4A grantees and recent alumni of the Studios at MASS MoCA also receiving priority). And we will still have capacity limits on the number of artists able to register for workshops, so don’t delay your registration request! All registered participants will have 60 days after the live workshop date to view the recording on Zoom.

Why wasn’t my workshop registration approved?

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION PRIORITIES

Our workshops are open to artists who currently live in the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Connecticut or are current/recent Studios at MASS MoCA artists-in-residence. In general, space is limited, and your registration is not guaranteed to be approved.

Please be aware that priority will be given to:

Artists whose practice best matches the focus of the training.
Artists of color. A4A recognizes that the dire impacts of the pandemic have disproportionately affected BIPOC communities, and our 2021-22 programming is especially focused on supporting artists of color.
Artists who meet additional geographic priorities due to partnerships with organizations in a given region. These will be specified with individual workshops.

Learn about Assets for Artists’ accessibility/translation resources
for artists who learn best in a different language
or who live with impairments and disabilities.

The Ultimate Guide to Artist Publicity
w/ Ariel Hyatt & Maya Azucena

Thursday, March 10, 2022 | 2-4 p.m.

Learn how to generate press and land publicity! In this workshop, participants will identify the basic materials needed for a solid press kit and ways to set themselves apart, including generating a succinct press pitch, graphics, and brand. Participants will have a chance to draft their own effective pitch (the foundation of your PR) to catch the eye of bloggers and journalists alike, as well as learn how to avoid common mistakes when sending out a pitch. Next we'll discuss how to use an international lens for marketing, research and select media outlets to target and how to design a manageable timeline for generating publicity. Finally, participants will explore what to do with any publicity they receive, and how to leverage those successes to achieve broader career goals. Over 25 years Ariel Hyatt, founder of Cyber PR Music, has executed public relations campaigns for over 5,000 artists and published multiple books on PR, marketing & social media for artists. Award-winning musician, singer, and songwriter Maya Azucena has performed across the world in over forty countries and collaborated with Marcus Miller, Brass Against, Jason Miles, among others.

Suitable for artists of all disciplines.

Open to artists across Massachusetts.

THIS WORKSHOP HAS PASSED.

The Business of Writing: How to Successfully Research and Submit to Literary Journals, Publishers, and Agents w/ Kristina Marie Darling

Wednesday, March 16, 2022 | 2-4 p.m.

This workshop will take writers through the basics of writing convincing and persuasive pitches, as well as submission etiquette and best practices for presenting your writing to decision-makers in your field. It will address such topics as crafting cover letters, writing compelling queries, how to research opportunities for your career development, strategies for building an audience for your work, and ways to improve the odds for your submissions. Participants will leave the workshop with a packet of resources for discovering opportunities in their chosen genre, as well as examples of successful pitches and submissions, and next steps relative to their goals and career point. Poet, essayist and critic Kristina Marie Darling is the author of 35 books of poetry and literary criticism and is the Editor-in-Chief at Tupelo Press.

Best suited for writers of all genres.

Presented in partnership with the Essex County Community Foundation’s Creative County Initiative

Open to artists in Essex County (MA), with select additional slots for rural artists in Connecticut & Rhode Island.

THIS WORKSHOP HAS PASSED.

Social Practice Art: Toward Individual Healing, Community Dialogue and Social Change
w/ Nancy Marks

Thursday, March 24, 2022 | 2-3:30 p.m.

Using The Opioid Project: Changing Perceptions through Art and Storytelling as a model, this workshop will explore how to plan and execute a project that uses art to promote dialogue and community response. Participants will explore how to identify an important issue, build relationships, work with a community partner, run a workshop for community participants, and use the art created to promote dialogue and move a community advocacy agenda forward. Nancy will take participants through the successes and learning moments of her ongoing Opioid Project, including how and why it evolved. Following this overview, participants will brainstorm their own ideas/goals to create a project that uses art and storytelling as a vehicle for bringing voices into a community to create change and/or amplify an issue. Nancy Marks is a public health activist, community organizer, and visual artist who has been making art for over 25 years. In 2016, she co-founded The Opioid Project as a way to weave the strands of art, healing and community change.

Presented in partnership with the Essex County Community Foundation’s Creative County Initiative and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.

About The Opioid Project: Changing Perceptions through Art and Storytelling: The Opioid Project was created as a response to the escalating epidemic. The Opioid Project’s main goals: support individuals affected by opioid use disorder; increase public awareness about substance use disorder and addiction; decrease stigma by fostering and creating space for community dialogue; and contribute to policy change to increase access to mental health services and substance use treatment.

Best suited for artists interested in social issues and community-based creative work.

Open to artists in Essex County and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

THIS WORKSHOP HAS PASSED.

Decolonizing Creative Practice Retreat: Urgency w/ Haus of Glitter

Saturdays, March 26 & April 9, 2022 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Presented in partnership with the Barr Foundation’s Creative Commonwealth Initiative.

In this two-part virtual retreat, participants are invited to join the Haus of Glitter Performance Lab to unravel and heal from urgency, a symptom of white supremacy culture, both in our creative practice and in the ways we move through the world. Nurturing our mission to shift the energetic center of the universe towards collective liberation, this series is an invitation to slow down, listen and transform with us. Using the creative practices that ground our work, participants will explore urgency as it shows up in ideology, in institutions, in interpersonal relationships, and from within.

Alternating between whole-group creative experiences and reflection in breakout affinity spaces for white allies and for BIPOC, this series seeks to rehearse what an equitable distribution of energy can look like in anti-racist work for artists, arts leadership, arts educators and arts activists. While there will be opportunities for blended discussion, BIPOC participants can trust that there will always be a BIPOC-only discussion group, led by a BIPOC facilitator, available for all discussions throughout this two-part workshop. The Haus of Glitter is a community of artists, educators, counselors/therapists, performers, and healers dedicated to using art, play, and processes of mindful creation as tools for equity and justice. Please be prepared (and dress accordingly) for a virtual yoga + meditation offering for the first hour of each session.

Suitable for all creatives in any discipline.

Open to artists across Massachusetts.

In order to create a safer space where difficult questions can be tackled, this workshop WILL NOT be recorded. You will need to attend the live workshop in order to participate in this offering.

THIS WORKSHOP HAS PASSED.

Portfolio Power / The Artist Portfolio w/ Anabel Vázquez Rodríguez

Wednesday, April 6, 2022 | 2-4 p.m.

Our portfolios represent our vision and most compelling work. The quality and effectiveness of a professional portfolio is crucial, whether you are seeking an art related job, applying for a grant, trying to get a show at a gallery or seeking gallery representation. In this workshop, participants will learn best practices for creating and presenting a portfolio that has a lasting impression while being accessible. Taking away guidelines and industry tips, participants will leave inspired with practical solutions on how to present their work with impact. Anabel Vázquez Rodríguez is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and educator with over 20 years of work as a curator, cultural manager, grant panelist, judge, guest lecturer, and portfolio reviewer.

Suitable for artists in all disciplines (although most examples will be based in the visual and performance art field).

Open to artists across Massachusetts.

THIS WORKSHOP HAS PASSED.

Level Up Your Virtual Presence w/ Todd Reynolds

Friday, April 8, 2022 | 2-4 p.m.

Whether we like it or not, it’s time to admit that the internet is now the artist’s stage. In this foundational course, digital musician Todd Reynolds will help creatives of all types understand the technological tools and techniques of crafting an engaging online presence without having to pay for an in-house tech expert. Whether a performer, visual artist, speaker, or writer, participants will take away essential video and lighting techniques that lead to a more professional presence on camera, solutions to achieving affordable, pro-sounding audio, and the secrets to projecting confidence when appearing and performing online. Todd Reynolds, violinist, composer, educator and technologist, is one of the founding fathers of the hybrid-musician movement and one of the most active and versatile proponents of what he calls ‘present music’ - music created in the ‘now’. In North Adams, where he makes his home, he’s well known as a member of Bang on a Can and a long-time collaborator with MASS MoCA.

Best suited for artists showing and performing work online.

Open to artists in Essex County (MA), with select additional slots for rural artists in Connecticut & Rhode Island.

THIS WORKSHOP HAS PASSED.

Instagram Basics: Build a Following, Increase Engagement, and Understand Analytics” w/ Francesca Olsen

Thursday, April 14, 2022, 2-4 p.m.

Instagram is a visual social media platform with over a billion monthly active users. How can artists best use this platform to grow their audience and make the most out of the time they invest in the platform? In this workshop, we’ll cover both the basics of Instagram growth—designing varied content; best use of hashtags, reels and stories; “Link in Bio” best practices; and the difference between personal, creative, and business accounts—before moving on to IG analytics, the platform’s changing algorithm, and “hacks” to make stories more graphically appealing. The workshop will begin with an informational presentation and then shift into a Q&A discussion to work through specific challenges participants are facing in their own engagement. Artists will leave with direct action steps and a copy of Francesca’s “IG Best Practices for Creatives.” Francesca Olsen is a writer, musician, textile artist, and digital marketing consultant.

Best suited for artists of all disciplines who currently have 3,000 followers or fewer.

Open to artists across Connecticut & Rhode Island. (Don’t worry, MA artists — we’ve got an iteration coming for you this summer!)

THIS WORKSHOP HAS PASSED.

*Presented in partnership with the* *U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Office,* *Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the* *Connecticut Office of the Arts* *(COA),* *Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, and the* *Cultural Coalition*.

Taking Collective Action to Build Community and Fight Racism w/ Daniel Park & Deen Rawlins Harris

April 13, 23, 27 & May 4, 2022 | 6-9 p.m.
(with 10am - 2:30pm on Saturday)

White Supremacy is the air that we breathe and present in every aspect of cultural production. This intentional, BIPOC-only affinity group and structured conversation aims to support a community of practice and bolster the work BIPOC artists are already doing to name and interrupt white supremacy in their own artistic practice and sector, while providing a “Brave Space” for discussion. Participants will leave this intensive with a network of activist peers, tools, strategies, and concrete next steps to intentionally build liberatory practices into their own creative practice, including both the creation and performance of artistic work. Daniel Park is a queer, bi-racial, theatre and performance artist whose work combines live performance and game design to create hybrid experiences that explore the boundaries of human agency. Deen Rawlins is an artist-educator who builds workshops that are interactive, accessible, and grounded in a trauma-informed approach.

For BIPOC artists in all disciplines.

Open to artists across Massachusetts.

THIS WORKSHOP HAS PASSED.

The Art of Submission for Festivals, Museums and Beyond w/ Catherine T. Morris

Wednesday, May 4, 2022 | 2-3:30 p.m.

Ever dream of having your art or music featured at a festival, museum or large public event? It’s important to be prepared and have the right mix of content that makes your work stand out. From your artist statement and resume, to building rapport with curators and event producers, this workshop will provide some best practices to prepare, package, and submit your work and helpful tips to get you in front of the right audiences. Over the last 20 years, mother, entrepreneur, and visionary Catherine T. Morris has focused her time and energy on creating platforms for BIPOC artists, producing shows, as well as mobilizing and engaging local audiences to experience the arts through a holistic lens.

Best suited for visual and performing artists.

Open to artists across Massachusetts.

THIS WORKSHOP HAS PASSED.

The Basics of Building a Grant w/ Yara Liceaga-Rojas

Tuesdays, May 10, 17 & 24, 2022 | 2-4 p.m.

This is a 3-part introductory-level series. Participants may register for all sessions or select the topic most relevant to them.

Part 1: Project Development & Where to Find Grants
Register via Zoom

Part II: Getting Your Materials Ready & Writing
Register via Zoom

Part III: Building a Project Budget & Addressing Financial Trauma
Register via Zoom.

Grants and other written proposals can feel daunting without a plan. In part one of this webinar, participants will learn about developing an appropriate project for the appropriate funder and where and how to search for opportunities. In part two, Yara will cover the basic building blocks that make up a proposal, including how to get organized, what the review process looks like from the inside, and how to persevere through rejection. The last webinar of the series focuses on a project’s monetary and non-monetary needs and how to build a corresponding proposal budget. Participants will discuss how to set artist fees, as well as the barriers – financial trauma, the devaluing of the arts, and systemic inequities – that come into play when we build our own project budgets. Participants will leave empowered to fight for their worth and prepared to take advantage of creative opportunities. Based between Boston and Puerto Rico, Yara Liceaga-Rojas is a writer, performer, and independent grant-writer who works in both English and Spanish. A4A’s fundraising & marketing manager, Molly Rideout, will be a guest speaker for this workshop, as both a professional grant-writer and practicing artist.

Suitable for artists of all disciplines.

Open to artists across Connecticut & Rhode Island.

This workshop will also be recorded! If you're unable to attend the live session, you can still register via Zoom and, if approved, we’ll send you a link to access the recording after the workshop is complete.