#artsforce

[sarahlawrence-arts]

ArtsFORCE - 19th November 2014

This week in ArtsFORCE we were set the task of coming up with various ways to keep the participants in the young peoples' companies feeling like they are still involved and in the loop during the Christmas holidays when their usual groups don't meet. 

We brainstormed initial ideas for a range of ages (the range of participants is from 5-25!) and narrowed it down to three key ideas:

A teddy bear and his journal (Little Entertainers, age 5-7).

The children are asked to help name the bear in a competition-style format. The winner is the first one to take the bear home and documents their week with him. This then continues in a rolling fashion until Christmas, when one child gets to take it home for the Christmas holidays / passes it over midway through the holiday. This gives the children a sense of real involvement (they feel invested in the idea of the bear through having had a part in naming it) and gives them a hands-on goal to achieve before they meet again. 

Online interactive game / advent calendar (aimed 13+; COMPANY b (dance/theatre); COMPANY j; Junction).

Aimed more at those who are online, this interactive game in the lead-up to Christmas Day can be tailored to be relevant to the groups involved. The idea of elves kept recurring, and we toyed with the possibility of, amongst other things, having a "Where's Wally"-esque task involving the elves hiding within a photo taken in different areas of the theatre. Other ideas for daily advent doors included things as simple as a silly photo of a practitioner in a Christmas hat / jumper and trivia questions and puzzles. Elements of it could be competition-based, with prizes ranging from chocolate right up to reduced/free membership for a term.

Performance Training Christmas Party.

We discussed the idea of having two parts to this - younger members earlier in the evening, older members slightly later. It would be a laid-back atmosphere with everybody bringing along something to contribute food/drink-wise and just socialising with some music. We would then also invite some of the training practitioners to run some fun drama games, which could either stand alone as just a party task or could feed into an in-session scratch night when term recommences in January.

We planned in some detail how we could go about actioning each of these ideas and then delegated tasks to fulfil for our next meeting. My task was to compose an e-mail to the practitioners with a brief of sorts for the Christmas party to see what they could come up with.

[sarahlawrence-arts]

ArtsFORCE - 12th November 2014

In this session we looked over two different funding models and worked through the most effective ways to put together successful funding applications in the arts sector. As a producer this is a very key skill; without sourcing the funding, the production or project will not be able to go ahead.

Notes from the session:

In the initial 50 words summary you have to absolutely nail two key things; who will benefit from it, and who is supporting you.

Always work at the top end of what you want to achieve, but at the same time be realistic. You don't want to risk being underfunded or overfunded, as both are setbacks.

Overheads: covers any expenses that are necessary for the show to exist BUT don't contribute directly to the show as a piece of theatre (eg. accountancy, insurance etc).

Contingency: around 10% is a safe and realistic aim. It is very important to have a contingency plan.

Support in kind is also very important. It backs up your credibility as an organisation and can act almost like references; if these organisations believe in your project, it must be worthwhile.

Extensive level of detail about artistic craft is not necessary. It is something which matters and is important to you, but not to the people reviewing your funding applications.

In the long section of applications, include the following; outline, artistic craft in a very small nutshell, who is involved, aims. 

This section is, for all intents and purposes, a sales pitch.

Context is important; you should state where the piece sits in your development as an organisation and your progression so far.

Know exactly who your audience is. How do you get your audience to engage with you as a company? Be specific.

Continuously gather feedback to be able to evaluate, otherwise you will have no material.

'Making it happen' - Who? What?

Make it clear who is going to be in charge of finance.

[artsforce]

The Art Haus

Hey, CFA Students! Looking for an awesome place to live next year? Applications for the Emma Eccles Jones Fine Arts House (also known as Art Art Haüs) are due February 14th! Read more about it in the link above. :) 

[fivefoottwoandbulletproof]

[indirectroutes]

Those darn kids.

I’m finally catching up on some reading, and came across this article about the University of Utah’s student led ArtsForce conference.

What a fantastic idea!

Networking. Résumé and CV writing. Discussing both employment prospects and job satisfaction. 

An…

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[artsforce]

Registration table is in the Fine Arts Auditorium if you haven’t picked up your conference materials yet!

 Now go forth and have a great second day of ArtsForce, College of Fine Arts students! 

[artsforce]

Happy Day 2, ArtsForce! Are you enjoying the conference so far?

 What are some things you’ve learned so far in the workshops and keynote? 

[artsforce]

Reminding you that while the Steven J. Tepper PhD keynote IS open to the public, you still get the best seats in the house for being registered with ArtsForce!

When you get to David Gardner Hall, just look for an ArtsForce staff member to direct you towards some nifty ArtsForce reserved seats!