Save the Date | #ArtistHotline Returns June 20, 2018

Revisit themes from May’s chat, and then mark your calendar to join us next month!

Wherever this summer takes you, we hope you’ll schedule in some time for growing your arts career. What better way to move forward than by participating in #ArtistHotline? #ArtistHotline, NYFA’s Artist Professional Development Day, returns to Twitter on Wednesday, June 20. This online conversation takes place on the third Wednesday of each month and includes an Open Chat between 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST, a special Guest Chat between 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST with artists and arts professionals, and a Arts Administrator Q&A from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST. To participate, you’ll need a Twitter account and to include the hashtag #ArtistHotline in each of your tweets. Read more about how you can participate here.

May Topics

During the Open Chat portion of the May #ArtistHotline, NYFA staff and arts professionals shared a range of arts career tips, such as:

• If you have kids, look for opportunities and residencies specifically for parenting artists (they’re out there!) and create a system of support and network with other artists with children;
• If you feel like your C.V. is not extensive enough to apply for an award (maybe because you took a career break), look into opportunities that emphasize work samples; 
• Do your research! Find out who the previous awardees of a grant were to get an idea of what kind of artist a particular grant or award is looking for—and that person might be you.

Key Takeaways from the “International Opportunities & Travel Grants” Guest Chat

During the “International Opportunities & Travel Grants” Guest Chat, we heard from choreographer Jessica Chen, Artistic and International Programs Associate at Theatre Communications Group (TCG) Jessica Lewis, and artist and Res Artis board member Tooraj Khamenehzadeh. Chen, Lewis, and Khamenehzadeh gave pointers for expanding the horizons of your practice, such as these:

• Find travel grants and international residency opportunities with databases and directories like NYFA Source and Res Artis’ List of Residencies; 
• Cultivate international collaborations by researching potential partnerships thoroughly, and approach these artists with the patience needed to build strong relationships;
• Create successful proposals with a clear project description, a self-reflective narrative, and a firm idea of your project’s impact. Answer the question “Why there and why now?” and show why your project is timely;
• Reach out to program officers, like TCG’s Lewis for questions about programs such as TCG’s Global Connections and others;
• Look for the “unwritten language” of your new setting while abroad, adapting as appropriate, and be willing to share your own perspective so that the exchange of ideas is reciprocal;
• Use the difference inherent in your new environment, and the new skills you may be gaining, to reflect on your past influences and your current and future practice;
• Deal with any feelings of homesickness by integrating them into your practice and documentation in order to untangle them once you’ve returned, or, find comfort in familiar places that remind you of home;
• Reach out to representatives of international communities where you live, such as embassies, or economic and cultural offices;
• Participate in annual meetings of residency networks, like the annual Res Artis meeting;
• Though there are scores of international residencies, you can create your own opportunity if it doesn’t exist currently. Create a draft proposal and budget as if you were applying to an existing opportunity, and begin having conversations with your network.

“Resume Building” Arts Administrator Q&A

We close out each month’s #ArtistHotline with a one-hour Q&A with an arts administrator. Our latest Q&A, with Scott Malloy, Senior Career Advisor at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), generated actionable tips for those looking to spruce up their resumes, particularly recent grads, including:

• Highlight the skills and relevant studio/coursework that align with the skills or abilities potential employers are seeking;
• Seek out volunteer experiences, join professional groups (in person, online, and on LinkedIn), or assist cultural organizations as a way to beef up your resume and show your passions;
• Consider adding coding, tech, design, and fundraising skills to your toolkit. Knowing your way around these areas can be an asset to all kinds of organizations; 
• Consider low-cost services like Lynda or Creative Live to help deepen your expertise in certain areas;
• Assess the design of your resume and consider a one-page, two-column format, with punctuation in different colors and adequate white space to help your resume stand out;
• Create a separate “exhibition resume” that prioritizes history, awards, grants, residencies, press about your work, and other fine art-related content over past jobs or internships if you’re seeking grants, residencies, exhibition opportunities, etc.;
• Secure recommendations during or soon after graduation while you are still fresh in the minds of your professors, providing them with a short bulleted outline of your accomplishments.

Read the full day’s conversation on Twitter, and join us for the next #ArtistHotline on Wednesday, June 20, 2018. As part of the day, we’ll host an “Building a Social Media Presence” Guest Chat from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST, and a “Gallery Careers” Arts Administrator Q&A from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST. In the meantime, stay up-to-date with NYFA and get updates on this month’s #ArtistHotline by following us at @nyfacurrent on Twitter.

Inspired by the NYFA Source Hotline, #ArtistHotline is an initiative dedicated to creating an ongoing online conversation around the professional side of artistic practice. #ArtistHotline occurs on the third Wednesday of each month on Twitter. Our goal is to help artists discover the resources needed, online and off, to develop sustainable careers.

This initiative is supported by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.

Image: Chris Metcalf