Save the Date | #ArtistHotline Returns April 18, 2018

Read our #ArtistHotline recap from March, then mark your calendar for April!

#ArtistHotline, NYFA’s Artist Professional Development Day, takes place on the third Wednesday of each month on Twitter. To participate, you’ll need a Twitter account and to include the hashtag #ArtistHotline with each of your Tweets. #ArtistHotline takes place from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST, and includes an Open Chat between 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST, a special Guest Chat between 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM with artists and arts professionals, and a Q&A with an arts administrator from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST. Read more about how you can participate here.

March Topics

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

• Creative ways of engaging your audience on social media;
• Artist opportunities in New York state

Key Takeaways from the “Performing Artist Resources” Guest Chat

After the Open Chat, we invite a group of virtual panelists to dive into a particular topic. In March, we spoke about “Performing Artists Resources” with David Engelman, Director of Communications and Marketing at The Actors Fund, and Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Creative and Programming Director at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Below are a few takeaways:

• Create your own opportunities, whether that be through presenting new play readings in your living room or approaching organizations and businesses to offer your help;
• Evaluate which unpaid opportunities or positions, if any, are valuable enough to justify the time;
• Prioritize financial wellness in order to free up more time and mental space for your practice, and avail yourself of organizational resources that can help you plan and tackle issues like student loan debt;
• Find affordable venues by reaching out to ones you admire with pitches for a show. Some venues will agree to a “split door” agreement, where the venue and performers split ticket sales;
• Make the most of a performing arts residency by taking advantage of program offerings and getting to know your fellow residents and creative people in the broader community; 
• Recast networking as a chance to connect with others, a give-and-take where you aim to give more than you take;
• Build community in part by connecting with artists from different generations and experience levels;
• Recognize that it’s ok to promote your projects, and that you can do so authentically. Share what you’re excited about in the same way you would with a teacher or friend, and ask others about their projects;
• Hone your storytelling techniques, and hook your audience by sharing “live content’ from your creation process, like rehearsal footage and writing excerpts

“Making Your Way as an Immigrant Performing Artist” Arts Administrator Q&A

We close out each month’s #ArtistHotline with a one-hour Q&A with an arts administrator. In our latest Q&A we spoke with Aryo Wicaksono, musician and Membership Manager at Grantmakers in the Arts, about building community and creating a career as an immigrant artist. See below for tips from Wicaksono:

• Wicaksono recommends Asian Arts Alliance, Asian Cultural Council, Asia Society NY, Chamber Music America, Opera America, Jerome Foundation, Dance/USA, and NYFA as helpful resources for performing artists;
• He divides opportunities into two: 1) teaching/administrative work/income-generating opportunities to pay the bills and 2) performing activities that can either generate income or enhance name/brand recognition/following (the two inform each other);
• When weighing opportunities and priorities, Wicaksono suggests that immigrant performing artists have their End Goal in mind. List all your resources (money, time, sponsors, supporters, etc), and then create a timeline/workflow to decide where to focus;
• On the networking front, Wicaksono adheres to the 80% sharing/helping/informing others and 20% self promotion rule of Sabrina Kizzie, MPA and Angela Beeching;
• A top tip for immigrant performing artists: learn structures of finance, resources, time management, and technology. See how the things you learn from other fields can be applied to your craft and mission

Read the full day’s conversation here, and join us for the next #ArtistHotline on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. As part of the day, we’ll host a “Community Building” Guest Chat from 1:00 PM – 3:00 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: Hitori Sushi