Connect with #ArtistHotline: February 15 Professional Development Day and Guest Chat on Twitter

We’ll be all ears, all day, to your arts career questions, and hope you’ll participate in our afternoon Guest Chat on “Art Fairs, Biennials, Festivals, & Conferences.”

Networking: it’s more than a buzz word. So join NYFA and our online community on Wednesday, February 15, 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM EST for our monthly Artist Professional Development Day on Twitter. #ArtistHotline is an ongoing conversation around building a sustainable career in the arts. Whether you’re a visual artist, performer, or a member of the literati, #ArtistHotline is your day to ask questions and get the resources you need on a range of topics, from fundraising to tax time advice.

As part of the day, we’ll also host an #ArtistHotline Guest Chat from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST, on “Art Fairs, Biennials, Festivals, & Conferences” with Frederick Janka, arts professional and independent curator, and writer Amber Sparks.

During this Guest Chat, we’ll explore how to successfully network at major arts events. Here are just a few of the scenarios and questions we may consider:

• Visual artists: A gallery director expressed interest in your work at a fair and gave you their card. What do you do next?
• Writers: After attending a conference like AWP, what’s your plan of attack for organizing and following up with your new contacts? 
• Performing artists: How can you use festivals and conferences to build and expand your community?

Get answers to these questions and more during the “Art Fairs, Biennials, Festivals, & Conferences” Guest Chat. Here’s how you can participate throughout the day:

• If you don’t already have one, create a free Twitter account now.
• Follow the #ArtistHotline conversation live on Twitter here.
• Tweet your questions using the hashtag #ArtistHotline and get responses from our arts professionals, our partnering organizations, and your fellow artists.

And for those of you in New York City: if you’d like to learn more about NYFA’s professional development programs in person, stop by and visit us at College Art Association’s Book and Trade Fair. We’ll be there at Booth 1204 from February 16 – February 18, 2017. There are a variety of registration options for individuals, including a Pay-As-You-Wish Day Pass. We hope to connect with you in person or on Twitter next week!

Guest Chat Bios

Frederick Janka is currently Director of Development at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara. He received his B.A. in Visual and Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Prior to joining MCASB, he held the position of Associate Director at SculptureCenter, New York. His previous experience includes a strong focus on emerging contemporary art gained in his role as Membership and Special Events Coordinator for the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) and the NADA Art Fair, as well as working for contemporary art galleries in New York City and Mexico City and producing exhibitions as an independent curator.

Find him tweeting @sezfreddy.

Amber Sparks is the author of The Unfinished World and Other Stories, a short story collection, and co-author of The Desert Places, a hybrid novella written with Robert Kloss and illustrator Matt Kish. She’s seen more Gojira movies than you.

Find her tweeting @ambernoelle.

Inspired by the NYFA Source Hotline, #ArtistHotline is 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.

Images, from top: Ian Davis (Fellow in Painting ‘12); courtesy of Amber Sparks; courtesy of Frederick Janka and the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara