Island Mountain Arts

Judging by the turnout of the Art Is Your Business Conference, held October 14^th – 16^th in Wells BC, artists do need business training. If you are a painter, photographer, musician, writer, actor or any other type of artist this comes as no surprise. Most artists have not focused on business, accounting or marketing and are too busy with their craft to firmly grasp the importance of the free social networking opportunities available to bolster their business. In fact the mention of yearly projections and HST calculation is enough to get most artists running for the hills.

Island Mountain Arts in partnership with Community Futures of the North Cariboo and with support of many local (Wells) Businesses and the Cariboo Chilcotin Beatle Action Coalition (CCBAC), 75 artists and arts administrators from as far as north of Fort St. John, Dunster, Grand Forks, Vancouver and Terrace and many from the Cariboo made their way to the Historic Wells Community Hall to share experience and skills and to learn how to run an Arts Based Business. ”Basically we want to better equip the Creative Sector with tools for success.” Explains Julie Fowler, Executive Director of Island Mountain Arts. Research presented in CCBAC’s 2008 Mitigation Plan shows that an Arts Sector with strong business skills has a positive effect on a region’s economy including attracting and retaining both tourists and new community members.

Beginning with a reception, the weekend introduced business and marketing skills through a series of workshops presented, for the most part, by regional experts with hands on experience building a creative business in rural BC.

Like everything in life, there is always room for improvement and more to learn but as the Conference organizer I was extremely happy to read so much positive feedback from participants.

“Whether you are a visual artist, writer or performer, I recommend Art Is Your Business. You get qualified professional advice from those who have been there and know exactly what you are going through, and want to see you succeed. Also a great networking event amongst artists, galleries, media and other businesses.” Anonymous Participant

“I loved it, the mix of topics, the varied presentational styles, and the people. I wish I had gone to something similar when I was first starting out, but I am thrilled I got to go now.” Another Anonymous participant

Now the basic business foundation has been laid and it is time to explore the option of presenting a series of more in-depth workshops. We would love input from potential participants and presenters to help develop the next step in building rural British Columbia’s Creative Sector. To take part in a survey or to provide your thoughts and comments please contact coordinator@imarts.com or call Island Mountain Arts at 1-800-442-2787.