Dear CP and Ideas & Resources for Art Workers
Happy New Year… ? I’m tip-toeing in, knowing I want to show up for my work but also knowing there are certain to be unknown unknowns that will continue to make themselves known as the year presses on. In the spirit of moving forward, here’s an introduction to my new advice column Dear CP, my ongoing compendium of ideas and resources for art workers, and upcoming offerings. (And a quick P.S. …)
Dear CP I love advice columns, from the classic (if flawed) Dear Abby to Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugar, Roxane Gay’s Work Friend, Kwame Anthony Appiah’s The Ethicist, and more. The anonymous write-in Q&A format is a space that allows us to gauge, confirm, and evolve our cultural frameworks and individual behaviors. So, I’m starting Dear CP! Of course, this tiny newsletter isn't a major newspaper or magazine, but I hope I can shine some light on the art world for those of you reading here. Email me with “Dear CP” in the subject line. I’ll anonymize the emails I publish and respond to your questions in upcoming editions of the newsletter. (P.S. Someone out there offered this suggestion in their client survey response last year—If you’re open to making yourself known to me, I’d love to thank you!)
Ideas & Resources for Art Workers I’ve been collating an ideas and resources document that I share with art students. I realized that I typically overlook sharing this document with clients, and that led me to think that I’d like to share it regularly in this newsletter so that it might reach an even broader community. The list is ongoing and will never be finished. There is a little commentary, but mostly it’s links to stuff that seems worth knowing about, in my opinion. That IMO is important: I make no claim to objectivity here, and it’s not intended to be a clearinghouse. Rather, it’s a reflection of specific lines of inquiry that have informed my work and life and a selection of useful tools. The complete document is here. I welcome you to bookmark it and return now and then, as it’s evolving all the time. I’ll highlight an item in each of my newsletters going forward.
For now, since we’re at the beginning of a new year, it seems appropriate to uplift one of my favorite resources so you can make the most of your $22 investment: the Artist Grant Deadlines Subscription from Virginia Broersma and The Artist’s Office. For $22, you’ll receive emails each month with upcoming grant deadlines, followed by 2 reminders ahead of each deadline. I recommend to everyone I work with that they apply for grants for three reasons: 1. Applications give you the opportunity to organize and revise your thoughts, documentation, and other materials that communicate your work; 2. Grant jury panels are typically made up of curators and other art professionals who you probably want to see your work and who may not otherwise see it; 3. You can’t win if you don’t play, and receiving grants is one of the many factors that can sustain your studio by providing a little (and sometimes a lot of) financial capital and a little (and sometimes a lot of) cultural capital.
Upcoming Offerings this winter into spring:
+ Based on feedback from my last Growth Planning Workshop, I’m expanding this workshop from 8 to 10 weeks with occasional breaks in the weekly scheme. I’m now calling it Introduction to Growth Planning, and the cost is $800 for 10, 1-hour meetings via zoom and 8 PDF/Google Doc workbooks. Email me to indicate your interest for the workshop starting in February. Meeting dates will be determined based on participant interest and availability.
+ For folks who have already taken a Growth Planning Workshop with me or who have been through the entire process in private meetings, I’m offering GP Level 2. This is a discussion forum to review and refine our understanding of growth planning; the forum will be open to questions about participants’ specific growth plans in addition to questions about the process more broadly. The cost is $280 for 4 weekly 1-hour meetings via zoom and a revised and updated set of 8 PDF/Google Doc workbooks; the 8th workbook will be brand new. Meeting dates will be determined based on participant interest and availability.
+ I’m offering a new Group Consulting cohort. The cost is $300 for 6, 1-hour meetings via zoom. Meeting dates will be determined based on participant interest and availability.
P.S. Are you following along with the Artist Pension Trust story? Me, too. Catherine Wagley’s investigative piece in Artnet gets into the weeds. I’m honored that she included Contemporary Art League in Part 2, her exploration of new models for support for artists and art workers. We’re forming volunteer working groups now, so sign up for the mailing list here and follow here for more information on CAL and to get involved.
Till next time…
