Artists Build Business Savvy

Posted on March 14, 2011

This story originally appeared on WCAX's website on Monday, March 14.

The business of art was the topic of a day-long event in Burlington Monday.

The Flynn Center, the South End Arts and Business Association, and Burlington City Arts put together a series of speakers to discuss what artists need to do to exhibit, market, and license their work. Vermont's top museum and gallery heads, and some of state's most commercially successful artists, spoke to a crowd of 300.

"What we've found is the city of Burlington offers a lot of small business workshops but artists aren't taking those workshops," said John Killacky, the executive director of Burlington's Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. "They don't necessarily think of themselves as small businesses or entrepreneurs. So the whole thing is to kind of change the mindset; to get people to think 'What do I need to do to make my work and then place it in the world?'"

The arts organizations will host two more seminars this spring: one on performing artists who want to go on tour, and one aimed at artists with disabilities.

Jack Thurston - WCAX News