Free Workshops in Your Community

The Maine Arts Commission is committed to supporting artistic endeavors in every Maine community. We are reaching out into communities to find out what is needed. Agency staff and our partners have the ability to help artists and cultural organizations in many ways and professional development workshops are just one of those.
In response to recent request we are providing workshops in three regions in the coming months: Portland, Bethel and Bangor. The workshops are free to attend.
The first of these workshops is in at Portland Stage from 4:00 to 7:00pm on Tuesday, January 22.
As we all know, programs and administration must constantly change in order to support the ever changing nature of the arts. To make sure that artists and arts organizations have the best support possible, we have joined forces with Creative Portland to openly discuss the needs of the field.
From 4:00 pm onwards, the Maine Arts Commission’s new Executive Director, Julie Richard, will be on hand to discuss future plans for the agency. She will introduce some new initiatives and gather input from the field to ensure the agency continues to provide the services needed by the field. She will be accompanied by other agency staff members and together they will answer any questions from those in attendance.
At around 5:00 pm, Creative Portland will ask attendees to stay on for an information gathering session as they introduce the organization’s new website and seek feedback about it. This will be another in a series of Creative Portland’s public events in service to Portland’s cultural community.
More details are on our website. If you would like to have staff from the Maine Arts Commission visit your community, you can contact Kathy Ann Shaw at 207/287-2750 or kathy.shaw@maine.gov. Kathy will be glad to listen to your needs and work with you to arrange a workshop in the near future.

Professional Development Series

Creative Portland has received a grant from the Quimby Family Foundation to launch a professional development series, in partnership with Maine College of Art and the Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, designed specifically for professional artists.

The professional development series will consist of 12 workshops held in MECA’s Osher Hall on the second Wednesday of every month from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m., beginning in October. Selected from a survey of artists this summer, topics will range from grant-writing and social media, to contract law and business start-up basics. On October 10, the inaugural session will cover the top-rated need identified on the survey by 79 of the 215 respondents: grant-writing skills for artists.

With support from the Foundation and a sponsorship from MECA, the cost will be $10 per session for participants and free to all MECA students and alumni.Registration is required for all attendees.

Creative Portland is a nonprofit organization founded in 2008 to grow and support the city’s creative economy. In July 2012, Creative Portland merged with the Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance to become the city’s official arts agency.www.liveworkportland.org

The mission of Maine College of Art (MECA) dates back to 1882 and is rooted in delivering a transformative learning experience that prepares students to thrive in the areas of artistic excellence, creative entrepreneurship, and civic engagement within an intimate and demanding educational environment.www.meca.edu

Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts offers pro bono and reduced fee services to professional artists in Maine. www.mainevla.org

Americans for the Arts Marketing Advice

Americans for the Arts holds an annual marketing convening for artists and arts organizations. These meetings delve into every aspect of the ever-changing marketing landscape. Within this landscape is a wealth of new techniques and ideas of how artists can use new communication methods to address needs that they may have in their career.

There are ways in which artists can use various outreach methods to raise awareness of their work, assist in securing gallery shows, or even for selling their work. With an expansive toolbox to work from it is left to the artist to define their goals and to select methods most suitable for achieving them. In this mix is the question of time and money. It is all too easy for all of us to get caught up in the doing, before we allow ourselves to step back to think and plan.

To help us take that step back, Americans for the Arts have released a simple document that takes a look at our return on investment when we are marketing. It can be helpful to read these documents from time to time. We hope you find it useful.

Americans for Arts decided to use a friendly pig to convey their message, so in their words we will let them introduce this booklet:

In this e-Book, Take the Fear out of ROI, you'll learn how to measure the ROI of a number of different marketing campaigns that you can apply to your own work. You'll:

Absorb just what Return on Investment means and why it is so advantageous to your everyday work.

Allow our friendly pig Stuart to guide you in measuring the ROI on his e-mail marketing campaign, a direct mail piece, social media marketing, and more!

Understand key points (we call them truisms) about return on investment that will dispel any lingering FEAR you may have!

You probably will not learn much about pigs though. We hope that does not ruin your enjoyment:

Download the PDF.

Strengthening Maine’s Nonprofit Arts Boards

The Maine Arts Commission is offering a series of free board development workshops throughout the state to bolster the strength and effectiveness of Maine’s nonprofit arts and cultural organizations.

Board members, leaders and directors from cultural organizations are invited to attend the workshops that begin on September 8 in Portland and move on to Norway, Lewiston, Bangor, Belfast, Presque Isle and Camden.
With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission has organized this series of workshops to address both board development and the training of future leaders within organizations. The all day sessions will be led by Tony Scucci, a senior governance consultant with Board Source. Scucci has an extensive list of clients that have included the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the American Red Cross.

The board development workshops will focus on increasing the board’s understanding of it duties, roles and responsibilities and clarifying expectations. These workshops will take place at the following times and locations:

• September 8, St. Lawrence Arts Center, Portland
• September 9, Western Maine Art Group, Matolscy Gallery, Norway
• October 19, University of Maine Museum of Art, Bangor
• October 26, University of Maine, Presque Isle
• October 27, Waterfall Arts Center, Belfast

The leadership training sessions will help participants understand their own leadership qualities and styles; it will also provide clear guidance on the five core leadership competencies. These sessions take place at the following times and locations.

• October 7, Olin Arts Center, Bates College, Lewiston
• October 28, Camden Opera House, Camden.
Complimentary luncheons will be provided for attendees at all venues. Those wishing to attend should sign up soon as space is extremely limited. Full details, including registration, for each location can be found on MaineArts.com.