A new program for students and graduates of local art and design colleges to network with peers and heads of area business associations and arts organizations as well as build relationships with other young professionals.
These lively evenings feature guest speakers, workshops and seminars designed to help Philadelphia artists and designers make creative contacts in our community.
Presented by The Galleries at Moore in cooperation with The Locks Career Center and Moore’s new Business Scholars in the Arts student leadership program.
2010-11 NET Nights at Moore are supported by Your Part-Time Controller and Moore College of Art & Design. 2009-10 NET Nights at Moore were supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Meet the BSA Students
Business Scholars in the Arts (BSA)
The Business Scholars in the Arts is a new program at Moore College of Art & Design that supports a select group of transfer students. The program supplements the students’ art and design training with business-related experiences outside of the classroom. Our group is particularly interested in entrepreneurship. We encompass a wide range of majors, from Graphic, Fashion, and Interior Design, to Illustration, Art History, and Art Education.
Our goal is to acquire the skills necessary to network within the professional art world, which will ultimately aid us in opening our own businesses or taking on leadership roles in a company or organization. The first year of the Business Scholars program stresses this networking process. To that end, we have established a collaborative relationship with the Galleries at Moore to provide support for NET Nights. These lively evenings feature guest speakers, workshops and seminars designed to help Philadelphia artists and designers make creative contacts in our community.
The purpose of this blog is to continue the conversations started at NET Nights and to provide resources that will enable emerging artists and designers to profit from the expertise of the speakers. Look to our blog for our interviews with speakers, our suggestions for interesting upcoming events and links to useful web-sites.
The BSA Students:
Laura Bonvini
Amber Callahan
Melissa Chancer
Amanda Corropolese
Samantha Edmonds
Christine Ferri
Chriztie Kaufmann
Sara Stanton
Haoren Yu
NET Nights Advisory Committee
The NET Nights Advisory Committee is comprised of local artists, designers, curators and arts administrators, business professionals, professors and students from various disciplines and backgrounds. NET Nights programs are the product of thoughtful discussions between these committee members, sharing ideas, insights and suggestions to stimulate new relationships and networking between emerging artists and designers and business and arts professionals in Philadelphia.
The Center For Emerging Visual Artists (Philadelphia PA)
The Center is currently accepting applications to join our Regional Community Arts Program (RCAP) Artist Registry. Artists in the registry will be eligible to participate in The Center's Community Exhibition Program, which includes exhibitions in public spaces such as hospitals, schools, parks, and more.
Requirements:
-Must be interested in exhibiting in public spaces
-Must live within 90 miles of Philadelphia
-Works submitted must be available and ready to hang/install
Submission Guidelines: Please send up to 20 slides or digital images, a slide list (name, title, dimensions, medium, and price), and a resume. Application/Entry Fee: 0 Application
Deadline: ON-GOING
Contact: Genevieve Coutroubis The Center For Emerging Visual Artists Community Exhibitions 237 South 18th Street, 3A Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 546-7775 x11 Genevieve@cfeva.org
Beth Feldman Brandt is the Executive Director of the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation.
Can you tell me a little bit about who you are and what you do?
I’ve been the director of the Bartol Foundation for ten years, and before this I was the project director of a community arts education initiative. I was the after-school visual arts program director. Running that part of their school is what got me into the education drive. I went to school for business and economics and then needed a job my first summer after college. I was always an artsy person so this combination of art and business worked for me. Then it kind of spun out and one thing followed another. Then there were a couple of fortuitive moments where I got a call that got me into something I never would have really thought of, and then I would just go and follow-up. Just keep layering your skills and be open when one thing turns into another.
Do you feel that it’s an artist’s responsibility to advocate or is that a kind of spirit that you either have or don’t?
I would say first that artists are also citizens and every citizen has a responsibility to his or her community. For particular situations you are always deciding when your interests are separate from the general public. In other words, when are you speaking as an artist first and when are you speaking as a citizen first? All humans have a responsibility to give back and speak out against things that are wrong, so in that way artists aren’t different than anybody else, but they can do it in ways that are different and unique.
How do you bridge the cultural gap if you’re an artist entering an inner city neighborhood and trying to relate to kids that you have a completely different background from?
In addition to your artistic skills, you need to develop skills as a teacher, communicator, facilitator and collaborator. Some of those things are innate but a lot of them can be taught. I’ve seen artists teach with wildly different styles; some are very extroverted and some are very quiet. You build up your toolbox, things you know how to do and to teach. First, you need to be good at your craft, and then you can build skills around the other things. What is really important to develop is the ability to listen to what a community has to offer, as well as valuing the community’s stories. You also need to work around good people because you can do everything in the world, but until you’re in a classroom or an afterschool program you don’t realize how many tricks there are to it. There are all these things about communicating, engaging, passing out materials or figuring out the steps of what the project is going to be. Just being with a good teacher as an assistant or apprentice gives you so many skills. Everyday you need to go in knowing that teacher and student each have something to offer, and one of the things we try to talk to artists about in the teaching artists program is that you need to bring your whole self, your whole persona to the way you teach and not think of them as separate. There is also a balance between being super prepared and being flexible and able to think on your feet. You want to get to a point where you notice what the students are into at that moment and know that all that preparation has brought you to a point where you know how to work with them on what they’re interested in at that time.
Do you feel that as a community we need to focus more on keeping/getting arts into our public schools or setting up more places for arts to be accessed outside of school?
Yes, both. The truth is that kids need access to the arts and the reality is that kids are in school, so why would you say let’s not use the schools? But at the same time there are obstacles even in a great school. Forty-minute periods put restrictions on what you can do in a school setting. If the project you are doing takes eight hours to complete and you don’t have eight hours, there should be a place where the project can still happen. At the same time we have to be really pragmatic and realistic and not set ourselves apart. If there are issues in school and we’re not part of the solution, they don’t have time for us.
What is your advice for young people getting out in the world as artists or teaching artists?
Well, health insurance is important, so it’s good that you can stay on your parents’ health insurance until you’re twenty-six now. Especially in this climate and in this environment, you need to be open to opportunities. At the same time know that nobody owes you anything, and sometimes you will have to take that boring job to take care of your finances while finding time to make art. You have to fiercely guard your creative time. This isn’t always possible, but if you let it go completely, it’s really hard to get it back.
Is there anything else you’d like to say to our NET Nights blog?
It’s not always put out there that being an educator outside of a certified art or music teacher is a possible career path, but there are a lot of very accomplished teaching artists today. They do it because it feeds their work, allows them to get out of their head and out in the community because they care about social change. If anything was gained from the panel, I hope it’s that those listening won’t dismiss teaching arts as doing less creative work or work less than worthy of their talents.
Alex Shaw is a musician, composer, and arts educator specializing in Brazilian music traditions. Growing up in a family of chamber musicians, he began his studies in orchestral percussion and then focused on Latin and Brazilian percussion. Upon graduating from SwarthmoreCollege, he joined Philadelphia's award-winning Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra, and later became the Artistic Director for Alô Brasil, a renowned 14-piece Brazilian ensemble. As a freelance arts educator, Alex regularly teaches and facilitates residencies and workshops in numerous universities, schools, and organizations throughout the tri-state region.
When asked what had been the most rewarding experience/event he had ever taken part in, Alex Shaw replied that it was bridge sessions, which is way to explore different themes and how they connect. It is a collaboration/community-based program. Examples of the different themes explored during bridge sessions include world of percussion, language of rhythm, rhythm in body, movement and rhythm, and inter-genre collaboration. The bridge sessions can also be adapted for companies; Bridge for Business.
After noting that Alex is constantly working and interacting with groups of people, the BSA students asked him what skills has he gained from this—what this had taught him. In his response, Alex explained that he had to change the way he communicated for children (5-6 yrs). He also had to learn classroom management, time management, how to turn his own process into a creative experience, and collaboration. Teaching also requires a lot of "thinking on your feet" since circumstances can unexpectedly change. Child, as well as adult, psychology also plays an important role in the experience.
In discussing Alex’s research and studies in Brazil, the BSA students asked how Brazilian culture is different from the American culture. Alex noted that not everyone that lives in Brazil is Brazilian. There are many different races, so you can't really tell who is Brazilian and who is not. As for music in Brazil, people act more as a family, whereas in America there are so many different genres and styles. There are many genres in Brazil, but there is also the traditional style America does not have that everybody can enjoy. People in Brazil can all listen to the same music and not have to worry about others complaining that they don't like it.
Asked if there were a lot of business owners who are entrepreneurs or are there mainly large businesses in Brazil, Alex explained that there are more entrepreneurs than there are large businesses. “I think because Brazil is so diverse that people do their own things. Plus, there is not that much money. I have a friend that owns her own business and makes Brazilian bikinis. We are known for the bikinis because they are very small. The fashion there is different as well. Brazilian women that come America have a hard time finding jeans because they have a different shape than the average American woman.”
The BSA students asked Alex how he discovered Live Connections and how he started working with them? His response: “Just through word of mouth and networking. That is how you make it as an entrepreneur. Also, I never know where I am going to end up or what state I’ll be doing from week to week.”
Barbara Bickart is an interdisciplinary artist, whose work is project-based. Her work takes on the form of video installation, video performance and experimental documentary. Her single channel video, installation, video performance and experimental documentary work have been presented in theaters, galleries and museums globally. In 2005/2006 she was Guest Faculty in the Film/New Media Department of Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY and consulted to develop the Radical Film/New Media Laboratory project.
Asked to describe herself as an artist to an outside audience that has never met her before, Bickart said:
“Barbara Bickart” is an interdisciplinary video artist, whose work is project-based. Her work takes on the form of video installation, video performance and experimental documentary. Her single channel video, installation, video performance and experimental documentary work have been presented in theaters, galleries and museums globally , in locations including London, Argentina, Israel, Croatia, Australia, Russia, Romania, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, and Memphis, Tennessee. Bickart received her B.A. from Douglass College, Rutgers University and was a Stanton Anthony Scholar. She received her M.A. from the New School for Social Research in Media Studies, where she received the Departmental Scholar Award. In 2005/2006 she was Guest Faculty in the Film/New Media Department of Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY and consulted to develop the Radical Film/New Media Laboratory project. She works as a teaching artist with the DreamYard Project, Bronx, NY.
Asked what had drawn her to video as a creative outlet as opposed to other art forms, Bickart recalled the memory of watching the family movies that were made by her dad on a projector. It has been a significant part of her childhood. She started as a 35mm black and white film maker. Images and moving images have become a language for her. She liked the idea of creating a poem by doing the film. Also it is the most suitable way in terms of story telling for her. Even though she has done all types of films, including documentary and performance videos, she thinks that her work is conceptual. She does not emphasize the literal aspects and the practical outcomes of films, but the meaning of them.
In response to a question about what she does in the role of "teaching artist,” Bickart explained that teaching gives her a network, not only with the students, but also with other artists. Bickart gathers inspirations from this network. Her students are also very helpful for generating new ideas. It is not simply a teaching job, but also a practice of making art.
Bickart’s advice for students and other potential teaching artists:
It is very important for young emerging artists to find communities and build their own connections at the early stage. Try hard to find the institutions, organizations, and funding for your own projects. Do not be isolated. You need to find your own supporting circles.
Be really resourceful and think out of the box. Find the resources that would be able to fit into your mission statement. Do not stick within your fields of expertise. Keep trying, and one day an open door will surprise you!
Beth Nixon (aka Ramshackle Enterprises) builds puppets, masks, piñatas, parades, pageants, magical lands and other spectacular, on her own, and in collaboration with other humans of all ages. She comes from Rhode Island, lives in West Philly, and travels frequently to places where exciting building, performing or facilitating opportunities arise. Mostly she uses cardboard, science, and the imagination. She specializes in beast building and suitcase theater. Beth has an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from GoddardCollege and was awarded 2008 Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts. Beth was interviewed by BSA student Melissa Chancer.
Why did you pick puppetry as your medium of choice?
Mostly because it is inclusive of many different art forms—sculpting them, designing them, animating with theatrical techniques, performing, directing, producing. It is a way to do all types of art forms that I want to do. It is a loose enough bag that I can do many different things, and it can be relevant to any subject.
What has been your best teaching experience?
The first one happened in 2002 where I worked with a small town in Montana. I worked with people from Yaak Valley, Montana and Troy, Montana to create a timeline pageant of their town. It’s an area with about 1000 people; 400 people were involved in creating it, and about 400 people came to see it, leaving only about 200 people who weren’t involved in some way. About 350 kids, parents, grandparents, and others from the community helped out. It was a really positive experience, and the community got behind it and made it so much bigger than it could have been. They really got excited and made it their own. In 2006 I went back to do another project with the town, but that wasn’t quite as mind-blowing an experience.
Another place I had a really positive experience was at the Fellowship Place, a mental health support facility in New Haven, Connecticut. It took place in one week and the workshop was comprised of 15 adults. The pageant they came up with was about overcoming stigmas largely connected to mental health issues. They presented the pageant in a local park, and it was really great how the community pulled together.
How do you find new teaching opportunities?
Most find me, which is awesome. But I also find them through my website, word of mouth, asking people if they might be interested, talking to friends who teach and asking if their schools would be interested, or talking to people who go to a community center I’m interested in. If I meet someone in a workshop who is really excited about it, I ask them to remember me if they ever want to do another program. It’s a lot of self-promotion.
How do your teaching experiences differ from the work you do on your own?
The difference often has to do with scale. The work I do on my own is small scale and can fit into a suitcase most of the time. It doesn’t involve as much stuff—more clowning and less cardboard. The result is also very different; participants in the workshops are building their own stories, while I focus on stories that are more personal. The process, though, is very similar. I am a lot easier on people in the workshops than I am on myself especially in the brainstorming process. Doing these workshops reminds me of the difficulties you encounter throughout the creative process. I perform more personal narratives, while they come up with collaborative narratives. Sometime I’ll help people come up with personal narratives and help them build their own, but this a rare occurrence. It’s always about what comes next in a group situation. In my own work, it’s usually my idea, my story or someone else’s story through my perspective.
What projects are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am working on a brand new show for the Banners and Cranks Festival in Chicago, the second weekend in May. Also I am collaborating with the Pig Iron Theatre Company on a performance for a festival. I am also working on my website with a friend, and I am doing some grant writing, staying on the administrative side of things. Plus there’s also the big project of raising my 1 year old.
Do you have any advice for young artists just starting out?
Go for it and keep going.
Seek out mentors and inspiring organizations, people and places that interest you and that you want to work with. Then see if there are ways to get involved. It definitely shaped me to work with people doing similar things to what I really wanted to do. It’s important to learn to find your own way.
Keep at the heart of things. Your reason for teaching is the passion you have for your subject, and you should always keep that as the reason behind your work. Maintain a balance of your own creative process and the work you do facilitating others. Don’t put up a wall between the two, and let them both inform your creativity.
Michelle Angela Ortiz is a mixed-media artist of Latin American and Caribbean descent that creates work connected to family histories and memory. As an arts educator, Ortiz uses the arts as a tool for communication to bridge communities. She has designed and created over 30 large scale public works nationally and internationally (Fiji, Mexico, Ecuador & Costa Rica) and is a recipient of the Leeway Foundation Art & Change Grant (2006) and Transformation Award (2008.) She has participated in the Cultural Envoy Program of the US Embassy in Juarez, Mexico and Suva, Fiji where she was selected to train local artists in techniques for engaging communities in the arts.
You note that your work represents those who have contributed to your journey. Who has helped you the most to become a successful artist and educator?
First and foremost, my parents, who are both immigrants, made the difference by giving me a lot of positive support and encouraging my success. My Mother told me, “Whatever you do, I know you will do the best you can." This motivated me and contributed to the drive I have.
Two women have become my mentors for the past seven years, Magna Martinez and Julia Lopez, who form the art collective Las Gallas with me. We are all first generation citizens who share common themes in our artwork and work to impact positive change in communities, as well as organizations. We work to create positive solutions to negative situations and help the community's voices be heard.
How did Moore contribute to your journey?
I started as a Young Artist Workshop (YAW) student and had an art teacher that truly believed in me and made me realize, for the first time, that I had the ability to make art into my career. This reinforced my decision to come to Moore for my undergraduate degree and pursue being a professional artist. While I was at Moore, I took advantage of every opportunity that was offered, which helped me grow as a person and artist. Moore played a key role in my ability to own and know my own skill.
How is working abroad different from working locally?
I went to Ecuador in 2001. That was my first time abroad. It was a different environment. I was working with children in an indigenous community. The adults were in charge, and the children did what they said. They had no fun and no voice. I train teachers in common arts or enhance their curriculum both locally and internationally. I build resources and knowledge, but I don't take over. I'm from Philly, so people are generally okay with me locally. Abroad, I'm a young American woman, so it's a little harder. I'm battling stereotypes on a larger scale. I don't just do a project and get out. I provide training for local artists and community leaders wherever I am. They sustain the teaching and learning after I leave.
How have the communities you've been to changed with art?
In Fiji, they already had artist studios, but they weren't occupied. The people had low self-esteems as artists. I held workshops to discuss stereotypes and the roles of an artist. Then we discussed how they defined themselves. We identified problems and found solutions. In Mexico, a collective emerged, and they've completed seven murals since I've been there. The community organizers and workers are still working on projects. When I'm there, I do intense work during short times. I can't do a project without the community's help. I don't really start with a concept for the mural. Instead, I work with the people. I give them the right mindset and enhance their skills. I give everyone tasks to contribute to the mural. After I'm done, I always stay connected with the communities.
Are you a fine artist? Designer? Musician? Dancer? Is someone not holding up their end of your bargain? Join us for a workshop at Crane Arts to learn more about conflict resolution options with the experts. Stephen Frishberg, shareholder at Deeb Petrakis Blum & Murphy, P.C.will serve as moderator with Associates Jenna Evans and Arthur Armstrong. The panel will present a guideline that can help you get paid, settle arguments, and move on to your next project. Following the steps is easier than you think. $10 covers 90 minutes of programming and light refreshment- and is redeemable towards PVLA service application fees. For more information, please contact the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia at 215 790 3620
Our next NET Nights program on May 21 is all about "starting off right" as emerging artists and designers in the city, featuring local artist Jordan Griska, local designers and co-founder of Print Liberation Jamie Dillion and Nick Paparone and representatives from PVLA.
What do you want to know about "starting off right" as an artist and designer in Philly?
Post your questions HERE and start the conversation! Questions will be addressed the night of NET Nights and all answers will be posted following the program.
Starting Off Right: from Contracts to Copyright Career Advice for Emerging Artists & Designers
6:30 pm –Join us for an informal conversation with area artists, design professionals and representatives from the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (PVLA) who share practical advice and first-hand experiences about everything from contracts and copyrighting to distribution and reproduction of your work; all crucial steps to starting off right as an emerging artist and designer.
Participants include: Jamie Dillion and Nick Paparone, co-founders of Print Liberation, a design studio in the Northern Liberties founded in 1999; they have appeared on the cover of The New York Times' style magazine T, and caught the eye of celebs from Kanye West to Chloe Sevigny; merging objects and performance, Jordan Griska, a graduate of PAFA and UPenn, is an active member of CFEVA who participated in the 2009 Philly Fringe Festival and had his first solo exhibition at Esther M. Klein Gallery in April; Miriam K. Hohag, Esq., Director of Legal Services at the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts; and Joan Tarka, Esq., volunteer attorney for PVLA.
Presented in cooperation with the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
About PVLA (Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts)
Part of the Arts and Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, PVLA provides pro-bono and low cost legal assistance, educational programs and business counseling to artists and arts and cultural organizations. For more than 30 years PVLA has provided legal services to thousands of artists and arts and cultural organizations in our region. With the dedication of over 700 pro bono attorney volunteers PVLA provides over $1 million a year in legal services.
