Think it’s easy to be a professional musician, writer or visual artist? Do you imagine that the creation of art flows magically through the fingers of the guitarist’s fingers or paint brush? Well, sometimes it does. That’s the fun part.
But how do you turn this creativity, stack of music sheets or plethora of canvasses into cold hard cash? Ah, there’s the rub….
With the advent of the internet and technological advances, the average artist has been forced to move with the times, often wearing many “hats” that tend to take valuable time away from the actual act of art-making.
Today’s artist, whether in visual, music or other mediums, needs to be a business person, accountant, grant writer, a marketing expert well-versed in social media, website management and photo editing.
He/she also needs to maintain memberships in art groups, networking, volunteering and the list goes on. Sales are often few and far between, competition is fierce, and many worthy charitable organizations knock on the door requesting artwork donations for auctions where the work is sold for much less than its value.
Thanks to the informative and challenging seminars offered by Community News Commons, it is now possible for ordinary people to take a mini-journalism course that equips them with tools and ideas to tell their own stories. I was one of the students in last spring’s sessions, and I am using my new “hat” to promote the local arts in Winnipeg.
I am also a participating in this year’s Manitoba Art Expo, which takes place at Assiniboia Downs October 24 – 26th. The new theme for this year’s showing is human rights, which rides on the heels of the grand opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Angela Cassie, Director of Communications and External Relations for CMHR will officially open Art Expo and the Showcase Gallery, Friday Oct. 24 at 1 pm.
Photo by Hans Arnold is part of the Human Rights Showcase
Participating artists in the show this year had the opportunity to submit works of art aligning to the theme, and are the main feature of the event in the Showcase Gallery.
So I donned my new reporter hat, with camera and digital recorder in hand, to bring some of the stories behind the artists and their works of art to life.
Other articles by Faye Hall:
Steve Bell – “Winnipeg’s Keith Partridge makes good – we should be proud”
The Bros. Landreth “On a runaway train” to success
Kudos to Dan Lett, reporter with the Winnipeg Free Press, and to Noah Erenberg, convenor and editor for the CNC website, who share their time and wealth of knowledge with new citizen journalists in these sessions. Classes take place twice a year. Click here for CNC workshop details.
