Titled the Business of Being an Artist, this training course focusses on critical aspects artists need to consider when looking to effectively develop and manage a professional visual art career.

Whilst talent, dedication, technical expertise and hard work are necessary to create an artwork; industry information, a focussed strategic career plan and an understanding of the entrepreneurial business of art develops a professional career! This is what the training programme offers – practical advice on how to do it to achieve success!  The course is focused on key aspects of professional career development. It talks to understanding what it takes to develop a successful art career as a professional, how to work towards financial sustainability, career development, business strategy, marketing and industry information; all necessary knowledge for an artist to engage and navigate the contemporary art world and to manage their careers successfully.

The training is offered over a 4-month period, from August to November 2023. The course will focus on artists in the early stages of their professional art careers. Aspiring emerging professional artists most require the kind of knowledge and expertise that the course content will cover to enable them to learn best practice, how to professionally manage and successfully develop their art careers while navigating a challenging industry.

A call for applications will be sent out online 8 weeks prior to the course start date. Participants will be required to submit a CV, a small portfolio of their work and a letter of motivation to attend. The selection committee, made up of Les Cohn and Sara Hallatt, will assess the applications and review the suitability of each candidate. Candidates will then be notified in writing three weeks before the start date of the course. Candidates will be provided with a brief course outline in order to prepare for the course.

The Selection Criteria:

• Selected participants will already be practising artists at an early stage of their careers
• Participants will be expected to commit to the whole course with full attendance mandatory. Please see the attached course calendar
• Selected artists will be required to sign an MOU
• A practical career end goal will be identified by each participant when compiling a first draft of their individual career Strategic Career Plans. This will become a road map for their career going forward.
• Preference will be given to female artists and artists from the LGBTIQA+ community

Click on the link to complete the application form. Applications to include the following:

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• A representative portfolio of your work including images of at least three original works of art (no more than 10). Ensure that all the images submitted are captioned with the year, medium, dimensions and title of the work
• Artist Statement about your work
• A motivation giving the reasons why you wish to participate and how you believe this programme will benefit your career.

This workshop is being funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and we are extremely grateful for their support.