Cashed up: Money for Artists,
3rd August 2012
CASHED UP: MONEY FOR ARTISTS
The Behind the Scene program, presented by Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre and Canberra Contemporary Art Space, will deliver a series of presentations and panel discussions by industry leaders and experts on Friday 3 August and Friday 10 August 2012.
These are my notes from the day
Using
the internet:
·
searching the internet, searching for opportunities for exhibitions
·
take every opportunity you can for getting your work seen in your local
communities as well as on the net/galleries etc
·
just work and make sure it's shown, by whatever avenue you can
Sales and commissions,
grants and awards and prizes
OZCO The price is right ? _
about pricing your work
Top
ten tips to sell your art
·
make good art
·
be ethical
·
don't have suppressive people around you - be aware of where that comes
from (personal tastes, envy)
·
promote, promote, promote the law of the universe - outflow =inflow, the
more you put out the more you will get back
Explore
how to price your work competitively.
Value
of price - our tendency is to undervalue
our work, due to a lack of confidence.
Making
art on commission, tips for artists
Discounting
your work - be careful about doing this indiscriminately because it can
undermine the value of your arts practise.
Promoting
yourself and the gallery with which you are involved.
The
collaborative nature of the networks who support each other through using and
shareing resources.
Crafts council UK check out
their website
research
regarding the current craft market in the current market conditions
Who
are your buyers? what are their characteristics? What can you give them? What
is the ripple effect of that buyer?
Sales
& Commissions
Crafts
councils and art organisations can be very supportive in promoting and
networking for you. Keep CVs up to date with arts organisations.
Commissions:
Be
aware of different types of getting money
Get
to know one another. Meet the people who can sell your work. Have the people
selling your work done this before? Make sure that you have a portfolio of
different types of work you do.
At
the end of the negotiations write and sign a contract -
·
characteristics of the art,
·
payment schedule (how are you going to be paid and when and how much)
·
completion times
·
delivery
·
don't change the art between negotiated commission and final artwork
Grants
Check
websites because that is where grants are advertised. Subscribe to websites and
constantly apply, even if you are knocked back once. Don't take it personally.
Grant
websites
www.arts.gov.au/funding/opportunities
www.australiacouncil.gov.au/grants/case_studies
www.arts.act.gov.au/arts_grants
The Ian Potter Centre
Awards
and Prizes
www.visualarts.net.au
Sign up for newsletters
JJJ
radio station , realise your dreams
Fullbright
Association has a visual arts award association to study in America
ACTWagl
Hans
Heysen award for the interpretation of place
ACT
arts awards
Philanthropy
and Crowd Funding
Philanthropy
Australia
- http://www.philanthropy.org.augood list of links to
philanthropic organisations
Australia Council:
one
on one membership
great
links page to some resources
www.australiacouncil.gov.au/philanthropy/autsupport-australia
you
can register to apply for a grant by proposing a project etc. Ever Brickhill
heads up the Abaf office here in Canberra.
people
do wnat to give if you give people a platform to do it through
pozible
·
an Australian based platform
·
informative website
·
primarily for creative projects and ideas
·
any types of arts
·
you need a particular project, a timeline (40-50days) tips on how to get
it out there
·
if it successful you get the money,
·
if it is unsuccessful you don't lose anything
Keep
your finger on the pulse:
become
members of industry associations
Arts
Hub -ResArtis (Worldwide Network of Artist Residencies)
Ausdance
Craft
ACT
Asialink
Arts Experimenta
MBAmag
QL2
CCAS
How
to succeed in the art world?
·
set yearly, five year and ultimate career goals
·
be Committed to realising your goals
·
Understand where your work fits into the market - who is actually
interested in your work; what galleries are going to be a good fit for your
work
·
document your work and
career -
this is very important!! take professional photos
·
work with your own mailing list - develop your own mailing list, force
your friends to appear at your openings, a big audience looks good
·
find role models and mentors - ArtStart - mentoring, latch yourself onto
people
·
network with your peers
·
be a visible participant in the art world - turn up to shows, get to
know gallery directors, be in people's faces make approaches to people
volunteer to work at a gallery or arts organisation
·
make efforts to promote your work
·
secure appropriate representation at each stage of your career - people
working for you, maybe an organisation or dealer, get introduced to the right
people
·
Always have work ready to show, 'always have a show ready to go'
Standing
out in the Crowd
Ten
Tips in Ten Minutes
"In
all my years in grant funding I am yet to see a bad idea" but they can be
underdeveloped or bad applications
·
1. Refine your idea so that
it is clearer than crystal. Plan your idea, talk to everyone you can think of,
get feedback and refine before applying for a grant or arts body, be able to
explain your idea to someone in two sentences, have a back up paragraph that
elucidates it a little more
·
Have the two sentences visibly displayed
when you are planning. Use very positive language
·
Tell your story starting with what you want to do, then say why you want
to do it to capture the attention of the panel, sell yourself in five minutes,
get the attention straight away
2. The Best
Fit
·
Consider the context of the funding panel - how does your work fit with
the organisation's aims?
·
find a fund that fits your project
·
who is going to be reading your grant application and write for your
target audience
·
avoid jargon if possible
·
make sure you can answer the funding bodies questions articulately
3. You Are a
Professional - look and behave like one
·
behave like a professional, be prepared
·
develop a thick skin
·
ask for feedback about the quality of your work and the quality of your
application
·
make sure your pictures/photos etc are the highest quality possible
4. Business
Bran/Creative Brain
·
develop your business brain
5. Crunching
the Numbers
·
make sure you approach an arts organisation that has the fund that you
need for your projects,
·
know the numbers about what you need for your project, that is
appropriate to your level of practise
·
substantiate your costs with quotes and be prepared to explain that to
the panel
·
Don't over inflate your costs or undervalue your costs; be realistic and
informed
·
using a staged approach to funding
·
planning research development - production - exhibition documentation
publication
6. Living in
a Virtual World
·
label your attachments
·
film a short piece that can be accessed by crowd funding organisations
·
use your best skills
·
have a website
·
stick to the limits for file sizes etc
·
allow for possible technical glitches
·
make sure links work
·
email address referencing your name (sensible)
·
quality control your website
·
it is about how you present and how the funding panel
·
7. Ask the right people
for help
·
Don't be frightened to ask any questions no matter how silly it might
seem
·
persist with getting through to the right people to get answers and help
8. Inspire
·
make sure it is your best idea, make sure it is exciting
·
inspire confidence in your ability to develop a project and bring it to
fruition
9. If at
First You don't Succeed
·
expect to not get every grant
·
have a contingency plan to get your projects up
·
how are you going to make it work anyway?
·
keep your good ideas alive
10 Keep
Trying
·
be think skinned
·
get on with it
·
put rejections behind you and move on
·
you can't control who you are up against
·
second round applicants who have requested feedback on their first
application are more likely to get a grant
*Carolyn
Stacey - Street Theatre artistic director and CEO
·
Grants bodies, arts organisations don't necessarily have something that
they are looking for ; you as an artist can come up with an idea that they
might want to engage with
·
value your own originality
·
'There is something about a bureaucrat that does not like a poem' Gore
Vidal - use the right language to sell your work
·
in any grant round you have to succeed and succeed again
·
be persistent
·
you can learn how to use the grant process even if you initially feel
that it is something that doesn't sit well with your practise
·
do you really want or need the money? if you can get the money without
going through the grant process maybe you are better to just do it
·
make a conscious decision and set the time to do the grant
·
elevator pitch - between one floor and another you need to be able to
sell the idea
·
frame the idea in a question - pose a question in a way that will
stimulate someone to ask 'What's next?'
·
structure of your grant
·
have rigour in terms of the conversation you have around the idea
·
the intention is to illuminate, not confuse
·
don't get bogged down in art speak
·
understand the context you are working in and match your idea to the
grants that are out there
·
identify your collaborators and partners - really know how you want to
work as an artist and be able to articulate it. Do you like strong structure to
work within or are you an open, organic 'let it flow' sort of person. Know
yourself.
·
have your ideas and some work ready a year in advance
·
the idea is not the only thing that is responded to - the way you
present, your timing
·
don't shape a project to fit the criteria of an organisation or grant
·
the integrity of your own ideas and practise are important
·
relationships with arts organisations are very important - get yourself
known and know what is happening in the art scene around you
·
deal with getting quotes and know your budget, it reveals the way you
are thinking about your project - it shows what you are prioritising and how
you expect your project to look and work - be realistic about how different
elements of your project work together (advertising)
·
letters of support, your group of mentors, who can support you? in the
grant process; establish useful working relationships and nurture them
·
choose what you put in your application carefully - people will look at
stuff if it is interesting so make sure that your couple of key images that
capture the fundamentals of your project (time is everything)
·
relationships are
fundamental
·
it is possible to pay someone to write a grant if it is something you
don't know how to do. What are you prepared to spend on your own career?
Esther
Anaslitis? Regional Arts Victoria Director, Co-curator of Architecture and
Philosophy
Artist profile, artist
career
developing your public voice across your practice and throughout your artistic
career
·
Setting an agenda that is yours and set your own scene
·
what about you? who is your work for ? How are you going to impact on
the Australian/international community? These questions are not separate from
your career. The need to be integrated with your profile and self advocacy.
Know yourself and your development and document it well before applying for a
grant
Deep practice/Studio
immersion/Focusing on the work
·
If you resent the work put into accessing grants, philanthropy, you will
not likely do it well so recognise that that is a strategic decision you have
made. If you are going to apply, make sure it is something you feel good about
Build a profile
·
you will already have a language about your work when you apply for a
grant, you won't need to create it under pressure
·
how do you want to develop a profile in an ongoing way
Hone Your language for the selection criteria,
for the media -don't be easily frustrated or compromised when discussing your
work with different audiences. Put yourself in the place of journalist/ arts
person and use your language to encourage them to support you
Build long term
relationships with mentors and peers. Some of them will be on a selection panel.
Panels want to know that they are making a significant impact on the
world/local artistic stage, remember that when writing/speaking to the panel.
Sell yourself, ring people and suggest meetings where you can talk about your
ideas/projects.
Access
letters of support from people who are relevant and know what to write and who
know your work and can talk about it.
Think
about applying to the right organisation. Don't waste time writing applications
to organisations that are not going to want to partner with you.
Crowd funding - takes a lot of time so
plan for and timetable the time needed to integrate the information and ideas
you are selling.
Plan for unintended
consequences. Work on your language, networks and profile as a long term investment
in your career.
Respond to the criteria that are in the grant
process, they have been designed to engage you in a process which will access
the funds being offered.
Each
grant application is part of a continuum that you drive.
Talk
about your work as if it is already done when you are applying for grant money.
Organised people, those who know what they want and how to get there, are going
to stand out in a crowd.
Behind
the Scenes - do's and don'ts about applying for grants
Do's
What
the people who assess submissions for funding might consider:
1.
How well does this submission actually respond to the brief, briefs are your
2.
How does this submission deal with risks (the biggest risk is that the project
won't give you the outcome you want, what are you going to do if that happens?)
3.
Is the submission actually going to engage with the target audience?.
J.U.M.P.
Queensland director
Top
5 do's and don'ts of arts grant writing applications:
1.
Study - prepare, know the guidelines, examine successful. Force yourself to read the guidelines from start to finish. What kind of language does the organisation
use? Make it easy for the panel to match your project to their grant language.
Look at case studies and see what other people who have accessed the grants
have done. What was the extra spark in their application that pushed them over
- was it community collaboration? cross cultural engagement?
Funding
bodies won't fund you to do the same thing again. Make sure there is an element
of 'stretch' when you put an application in.
2.
Tell the story
Look
at the questions in guidelines/grant application and answer these questions first
who?
what?
where?
when?
how?
why?
Don't
forget to add the supporting information like planning timelines, budgets etc
so the panel can see how their funding can support your project.
3.
Truly Plan
The
language of grant applications is important.
Work
backwards from your finished project and then plan a realistic timeline which
includes, framing, possible technical glitches. A panel is not going to fund
something that is unrealistic, so be realistic.
4.
Budgeting
·
make sure that your income equals your expenditure, that your budget
balances; it is okay to include a payment for yourself
·
other sources of funding - funding bodies expect you to seek funding
from other sources. Applying for state and federal funding at the same time.
One application can be adapted for other organisations. (Myer foundation, Ian
Potter foundation - philanthropic organisations that 'talk' to each other)
·
in kind income - if you plan for a sum of money for a
particular aspect of your project make sure you use it appropriately, don't
behave as if it is cash in the bank to spend on anything you choose
5.
Evaluate the success of your project. Plan for a survey or something that is
measurable that you can present to the grant panel.
If
you are appealing to some aspect of the grant brief, be specific about how
you are going to meet that through your
application, don't just state that you will achieve it somehow.
Dont's
1.
Don't lose sight of where you are in the grant process, check that each of your
questions is responding to the selection criteria..
2.
Don't assume that the panel will know your work, or the history of it.
3.
Don't be unsupportive of yourself.
Use
good, relevant supportive materials to enable the panel to move you up the
list.
Use
the correct format which is asked for in the grant, not something that you
prefer.
4.
Don't disrespect your grant contact. Meet due date. If you are asked questions,
respond immediately. Don't send applications in late.
When
you read or get feedback don't be bitter. Take the notes, take it on the chin
and have a good think about what was said.
5.
Don't give up. Get feedback, reapply, there is nothing wrong with not getting
it the first time.
If
when you ring for feedback the grant contact recommends other grants you might
apply for, take it seriously. They are probably telling you that you are not
the best fit for this grant.
Catrina
Vignando
Creative Ventures Unlimited
aim
is to provide professional services to people in the creative industries
Blue Sky
·
you are working in a relationship with makers and funding/exhibition
bodies
·
meet the people who are making the decisions when you get the
opportunity, make opportunities to meet them
When
applying for funding:
know
your story - the story is when you
are going be persuading the panel that you can achieve what you are proposing.
Make sure the grant you are applying for
marries with your project, this will be in the guidelines.
Do your research;
You
are competing against many people for money. Include things like how feasible your project is;
does your application comply with 'working with children' guidelines or other
legal requirements? If you are doing public art work make sure you can comply
with OH&S requirements in the place that you want to stage the project. The
panel wants to know that you are aware that these things are going to be taken
into account. Have you got a venue, can you secure a venue? Make sure that
information is in your proposal. Use key words that are particular to the
brief.
Do
you have a reliable track record. Keep a record of what you have done in the
past to share with a funding agency so that they can see that what you are
claiming you can do has some substantive basis in reality. Make sure images
match the story you are 'telling'. Visual material supports the written application.
Get support for your
project:
Find
out who the people are that can help you to get where you want or to get
funding. Invite them to openings or introduce yourself when you get the chance.
Go to openings and network.
Believe in the idea:
If
you need approvals go out and meet relevant people or organisations which might
help you to achieve your outcome so that you can talk knowledgably about your
project, answer questions and name organisations to support your proposal.
Budget:
Make
sure expenditure and income in your grant budget balance. Get help from a
relevant person if you don't understand how that works. Arts council people are
available to support you, make sure you access those people if necessary. Make
sure you acquit previous grants you receive and report back on what you have
achieved with the grant.
Putting it all together:
Demonstrate
that the research and the work regarding your project has been done before the
panel meeting. Be prepared. What are going to be the benefits of your project?
Make sure you can answer this question.
Q&A
Reflect into past
successes
- personal testimonies, twitter responses, comments on blog/website
Don't
misrepresent yourself. Be careful that your paperwork/accounting is up to date.
Consult
with relevant organisations that might be involved with your project before you
write your application.
Living
Treasures project.
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