Wondering what sets you apart when it comes to potential clients, galleries, juries, and publications? Learn how to create, improve, or perfect all the pieces of your Artist Packet: • Artist Statement • Bio and Resume • Images of Artwork • Press Releases • and more… Enjoy a fun evening of hands-on learning and leave prepared to apply to juried shows, festivals, and grants, and seek out the right gallery representation, feature articles about your work, and great press coverage. Bonus: Bring an image of your favorite work to jump start your new and improved Artist Packet! Presented by Angelique Tassistro, ceramic artist and founder of, and, founder of giveArtfully.com, the online gift registry of handmade art & craft. Add Comment Be a Part of the Artist Alliance’s Steering Committee 01/15/2010 0 Comments We invite you to join our steering committee to help create unique workshops and events to support local artists enhance their business skills. In this meeting, we will be working on the final touches for our February workshop. The Asheville Artist Alliance mission is to provide assistance and opportunities to WNC artists for the development of business skills needed to succeed in their venue. The Asheville Artist Alliance is in its sixth year of producing Artist Seminar Series workshops and events, which are designed for WNC artists to provide assistance and opportunities to develop successful business skills. RSVP by January 22 or Free and open to the public. Light finger food provided. January 27 @ 6 p.m. • 153 S. Lexington Ave. * Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the SBA. All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made of requested two weeks in advance. Contact the staff member listed with said event to request accommodations. Add Comment (Holiday) Party Like It’s 2009 11/20/2009 1 Comment Artists CanvasWorks & the Asheville Artist Alliance Announce A Holiday Party & Art Sale – Dec 17th at Jubilee! Thursday, December 17th Holiday Art Sale: 2-7pm Holiday Party 5-7pm Jubilee! 46 Wall Street, Asheville Light finger-food provided Event Contact: RSVP for the Holiday Party Naomi Langsner www.ashevilleartistalliance.com (Asheville, NC) Come enjoy Artists CanvasWorks’ Holiday Party featuring the Holiday Art Sale! This is your chance to buy local and support WNC artists by doing some holiday shopping and getting that unique arts gift for your loved one! Finger food, light refreshments, cash bar, music, awards, and more will happen during the Holiday Party portion of the day, but feel free to come early and do some shopping! This event takes place at Jubilee! located at 46 Wall Street in downtown Asheville. The Holiday Sale will take place from 2-7pm, feel free to drop in at anytime! This is a great opportunity to get to know some of the participants in the Asheville Artist Alliance and to informally meet the staff at Artists CanvasWorks. The Holiday Party starts at 5pm going through 7pm. During the Holiday Party Artists CanvasWorks will be honoring and thanking their clients, staff, and community members. There will also be awards given out for noted businesses of 2009 and supporters. The Holiday Party is open to the public; please RSVP to to let her know that you will be attending. For 20 years, Artists CanvasWorks has been in the hope business, the dream business, the opportunity business. Artists CanvasWorks values serving all individuals who aspire to be entrepreneurs and they believe that people should be able to create a better life for themselves and their families through business ownership. Artists CanvasWorks believes that successful businesses create long-term social benefits and economic prosperity, particularly in under-served communities. They value the dignity and work of each individual and encourage self-sufficiency, accountability, and cooperation. Furthermore, they value being a community that bridges the gap between entrepreneurs of varying incomes, geographies and ethnicities. Artists CanvasWorks is an entrepreneurial, non-profit organization that operates with a double bottom line of social impact and financial viability — ensuring a permanent resource for the Western North Carolina region. In 2008, Artists CanvasWorks was able to provide its services (such as business development classes) to 988 entrepreneurs (65% were low-income, 61% were women, 22% were racial or ethnic minorities) Those individuals created 159 businesses and expanded 310 businesses. In turn, those businesses created 292 jobs and sustained 780 jobs. They also made 64 loans totaling almost $1,002,000 and leveraging $1.3 Million. The Asheville Artist Alliance is a collaboration between Artists CanvasWorks, Arts2People, and the Asheville Area Arts Council. The mission of the Asheville Artist Alliance is to provide assistance and opportunities to WNC artists for the development of business skills needed to succeed in their venue. The Asheville Artist Alliance is in its fifth year of producing Artist Seminar Series workshops and events, which are designed for WNC artists to provide assistance and opportunities to develop successful business skills. For more info visit: www.ashevilleartistalliance.com Come celebrate 2009 with Artists CanvasWorks and the Asheville Artist Alliance! 1 Comment WHO puts on a great workshop??? 10/29/2009 0 Comments It’s Wendy H. Outland, of WHO Knows Art! Much thanks to Wendy for a great presentation Wednesday evening, on “Surviving and Thriving During the Holiday Season.” Picture Wendy spoke to artists about how to reach new audiences for sales and opportunities, how to approach clients this holiday season (and keep them coming back), and even selling techniques to improve your bottom line. Workshop participants had this to say about Wendy’s workshop: “Outstanding.” “This was an information filled presentation that used the allotted time well.” “Very good business suggestions i.e. examples, how to talk to customers, and conversation ideas.” Wendy H. Outland has over 25 years experience in the visual arts and is owner of WHO KNOWS ART, providing career development services to visual artists and helping galleries and arts organizations function more effectively. She presents a wide range of career development workshops and offers her expertise as exhibition juror, festival judge, curator, editor, and project manager. As an alumna of Artists CanvasWorks’ Foundations program, this is her sixth year in business, and to date she has clients in eighteen states. Find out more at www.whoknowsart.biz Add Comment Surviving and Thriving Workshop with Wendy H. Outland 10/17/2009 0 Comments O c t o b e r 2 8 , 6 p . m . – 1 5 3 S . L e x i n g t o n Av e n u e Worried about your art sales this holiday season? Come learn ideas, tips, and techniques from a local art pro on how to make the most of your sales process. Topics include: • reaching new audiences for sales and opportunities • how to approach clients this holiday season (and keep them coming back) • selling techniques to improve your bottom line Wendy H. Outland has over 25 years experience in the visual arts and is owner of WHO KNOWS ART, providing career development services to visual artists and helping galleries and arts organizations function more effectively. She presents a wide range of career development workshops and offers her expertise as exhibition juror, festival judge, curator, editor, and project manager. As an alumna of Artists CanvasWorks’ Foundations program, this is her sixth year in business, and to date she has clients in eighteen states. Seating is limited so do not wait to save your space, call or email today! RSVP by 10/26, admin@artallianceworks.org or Light finger food provided – $25 per person Add Comment Social Network Marketing Workshop – Wow! 08/28/2009 1 Comment If you missed it, you missed out! We had a full house for this workshop. Paul van Heden gave a great presentation on Social Networking, covering all the bases – including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Etsy, LinkedIn, blogs… You name it, he answered a question about it! Here’s some of the feedback from the very interactive audience: -Hilarious. Fun and charming to attend. Class was interesting and relevant. -Great job in allotted time. -Speaker is engaging, passionate, charismatic. He should continue doing workshops with you all. -Outstanding. -Such a great presentation! Paul Van Heden is a web-marketing consultant who leverages his experience to sell products produced from his own manufacturing company. You can follow him at twitter.com/brainshrub and check out his rain barrels here: rainbarrels.etsy.com 1 Comment Social Network Marketing: Easier Than You Think 07/29/2009 1 Comment Overwhelmed by the digital age of marketing? Want to know what social network marketing is and how to utilize it to effectively increase sales in your art business? Then come to this workshop where you will learn the relevant technologies and marketing applications needed to deliver results from social network marketing. You will also learn to be able to plan, execute, measure and budget for effective social marketing campaigns. In addition you will have a clearer perception of the commercial and marketing opportunities of social marketing campaigns. August 26th, 6-8 p.m. – 153 S. Lexington Avenue – $25 per person (Light finger food provided) RSVP by 8/21, admin@artallianceworks.org or is a web-marketing consultant who leverages his experience to sell products produced from his own manufacturing company. Come spend a few hours with him and learn advanced web-marketing techniques. This will be a fun, multi-media presentation that will detail what you need to do to sell your product or service online. Agenda: * The basics of social marketing – trends, stats and message formats * How to integrate an online (or brick-and-mortar) store with a social-network * Vulnerability – the biggest threats to organizations that use social marketing * Permission marketing – what is it and how does it work * Acquiring data – registration processes, third-party lists and other opportunities * Testing social marketing for continuous campaign improvement * Personalization with dynamic campaign management tools * Viral marketing campaigns – the two key approaches and key considerations * Really Simple Syndication – the role of RSS within the email channel * Email measurement – key metrics * Virtual worlds (Second Life and Social Networks) * What is social media and why should I monitor it? * Monitoring social media and managing brand reputation * The advantages and disadvantages of the company blog 1 Comment Want to get involved? 07/13/2009 0 Comments We invite you to join our steering committee to help create unique workshops and events to support our local artists enhance their business skills. In this meeting, we will be working on the final touches for our August workshop. The Asheville Artist Alliance mission is to provide assistance and opportunities to WNC artists for the development of business skills needed to succeed in their venue. The Asheville Artist Alliance is in its fifth year of producing Artist Seminar Series workshops and events, which are designed for WNC artists to provide assistance and opportunities to develop successful business skills. RSVP by July or admin@artallianceworks.org Free and open to the public. Light finger food provided. July 22 @ 6 p.m. • 153 S. Lexington Ave. Add Comment Is Your Identity in Crisis? Workshop a Success! 06/26/2009 0 Comments Picture Thanks to all for coming out to Greg Vineyard’s workshop last night at Artists CanvasWorks! The Asheville Artist Alliance is proud to have hosted Greg, whose workshop focused on a “back to the basics” approach to dealing with your logo, your marketing and sales collateral (business cards, art cards, flyers, brochures) and your communications. Workshop participants enjoyed Greg’s relatable, informative and fun presentation. Some comments from the audience: Specific Feedback: “Thoroughly enjoyed it.” “Don’t change your style. It is so refreshing to be taught by an honest, authentic, present, person.” “Great on all fronts! The “low tech” presentation was quite refreshing.” “Thank you for bringing and mentioning resources (books, mags).” Anything else you’d like to share? “Thanks for being here.” “This answered a lot of my questions! It was very specific but broad in content. Thank you!” * * * * * * * * * * * * Greg Vineyard is a visual and ceramic artist in the River Arts District who escaped to Asheville after over twenty years in corporate and creative positions that focused on design, logos, identity, branding, creative direction and design project management. Greg sums up his consulting work with the words: “Branding Triage & Creative Wayfinding: Unflinching Analysis of Your Visual and Marketing-Communications Materials.” To talk to Greg about working one-on-one with him: Add Comment Is Your Identity in Crisis? 06/14/2009 1 Comment Then come learn about Visual and Marketing Communications Materials for Artists! This “back to the basics” approach to dealing with your logo, your marketing and sales collateral (business cards, art cards, flyers, brochures) and your writing is intended to help you assess and attack getting off the ground with strategic, consistent and effective materials that relate specifically to you and your art. This is part one of a progressive series hosted by Artists CanvasWorks’ Asheville Artist Alliance featuring different experts on marketing topics for artists, with future sessions to include social networking and the web. Wednesday, June 24, 6-8 p.m. – 153 S. Lexington Avenue – $25 RSVP by 6/19, admin@artallianceworks.org Light finger food provided * * * * * * * * * Greg Vineyard is a visual and ceramic artist in the River Arts District who escaped to Asheville after over twenty years in corporate and creative positions that focused on design, logos, identity, branding, creative direction and design project management. Greg sums up his consulting work with the words: “Branding Triage & Creative Wayfinding: Unflinching Analysis of Your Visual and Marketing-Communications Materials.”