This was the first talk of the Artists Access to Art Collages (AA2A) series, focusing on how creatives make an income from their professional practice, across the different areas of design. The AA2A series is run by Wendy Mason, National Director of AA2A, who specialised as a jewellery maker. The guest speaker for the talk was Elizabeth Jordan, a fine artist, who discussed her projects, work process as a creative and how she applies for funding.
Elizabeth talked about her self-employment and external exhibitions after she graduated from university, and how she wanted to raise her profile as an artist and experience 'reality' as she had been in higher education for a number of years. The biggest message from her was the importance of networks and partnerships as a creative, by connecting with the community through engagement with the art and the exhibitions, as well as attracting people from outside of the arts community to explore the creative projects and workshops. Building networks as a creative business will also help with finding exhibition space, and applying for funding, as a funder who would be reviewing the application will be looking out for partnership support by a trusted organisation.
A note to remember; there are funds available outside of the arts council.
When applying for funds there are things to consider, regarding the different means of funding; the first being 'Support In Kind', the possibility of using the building for the exhibition for free, access to materials, staff time or advertisement to promote the exhibition at no cost. The second means of funding is 'Matched Funding', this is based around the applicant who is applying for funds being expected to raise 10% of the project cost from other sources, prior to applying for funding.
The main part of the talk which kept me thinking, was when Elizabeth spoke about valuing your own time spent working as a creative. When billing your clients, always factor in the cost and time spent preparing and planning work, not just the time spent with the client. Other factors to include are things like travel, both time and cost, and also cost of materials, as some clients will expect this to be covered by the quote you give them, and expect no other costs. Providing the client with your own 'Terms and Conditions' document often helps to get all the information across and allows work to be carried out smoother, with everyone having the same expectations.
The guest's top tips were; look at every interaction as an opportunity and to keep the conversation going, this is an important approach to networking, as its always good to have contacts, especially in the industry. To value yourself and your time, which was covered in the billing section of the talk, and has definitely kept me thinking. Lastly, to get everything in writing, this is a good habit to get into as it will enable you to ensure you have a copy of all of the communications with the clients.
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