Workshops

The Arkansas Arts Council has partnered with Mid-America Arts Alliance to bring free, professional development workshops to Arkansas artists. Artist INC Express in Arkansas is generously subsidized by the Arkansas Arts Council, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts and Windgate Foundation.

Artist INC Express is a three-day intensive workshop created to address the specific business needs and challenges artists of all disciplines face every day. Building upon Artist INC’s experience working with hundreds of artists in the Midwest region through its core Artist INC Live seminar, Artist INC Express is designed to focus participants on learning the most essential skills in the shortest amount of time.

Led by professional artist facilitators, the live, online workshops are highly interactive and include activities and discussions focused on goal setting, writing about one’s work, and building a personal brand—the building blocks for a sustainable art practice and a successful arts business.

Interested artists must apply, using the links and application deadlines to the right. Each session will have twenty spaces available.

Upcoming Sessions

February 18–20: Bringing Artists Together Statewide. Apply by February 12
March 18–20: Bilingual/Spanish. Apply by March 12
April 15–17: Teaching Artists. Apply by April 10
May 13–15: Centering BIPOC Artists. Apply by May 8
June 3–5: Student Artists. Apply by May 7

GetSmART! is a series of workshops that cover art related topics for individual artists and arts organizations. The program, created in 2014, is designed to provide training and networking opportunities to Arkansans in an affordable and efficient manner.

The workshops are generally online during the day. Past topics have included crowdsourcing, fundraising, grant writing and Facebook marketing.

Topics for future workshops are always welcome. For more information or to suggest topics, please contact the artist services manager. The online workshops are free.

Testimonials

"The GetSmART! Workshop was a wonderful experience. I really appreciated how attentive the class was; responding and asking proper questions. It was cool how we were able to get on and off subject so casually. Being that I ran out of time before finishing the presentation, I'm excited to share more." - Damen Tolbert, instructor at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, director of Sound Recording Technology, Applied Woodwinds and Music Education

"I have had the privilege of facilitating several GetSmArt! workshop sessions – both in person and virtually – over the last few years and have enjoyed so much the opportunity to meet and get to know the participants. The opportunity the Arts Council provides to share knowledge, experiences, and challenges among the arts community and non-profit representatives is priceless. The GetSmArt! Series is a valuable resource for participants to expand their knowledge base and circle of colleagues throughout Arkansas." - Brenda Maudlin, Development Consulting

"Wonderful examples, good info, great variety of suggestions, good visuals. Fine Workshop" – Barbara Satterfield, individual artist

"The fundraising seminar sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council helped us manage our expectations in the planning stages of our Music Issue Kickstarter campaign. One panelist provided realistic statistics that helped us organize our social media strategy, and each panelist's campaign served as an example of a successful narrative— the essence of any crowdsourced fundraiser. We raised approximately $54,000 toward funding our music issue via Kickstarter.com, which was more than double our original $25,000 goal (which was reached in about a week’s time!)" – Caitlin Love, Assistant Editor, Oxford American

"Great information! Very impressive. Thank you for a bargain! I would have paid for a workshop this helpful." – Marsha Hines, Pulaski Technical College