People don’t spontaneously show up at a church on a Saturday afternoon at 1 pm and get married—someone had to ask. And people don’t spontaneously drop bags of money at your doorstep—you have to ask. Solicitation is the smallest step in the fundraising cycle, but the only step that yields results. Come learn how to make the ask and drive results for your arts organization.

About the Presenter: 

As a career fundraiser, Melanie Doerner has raised more than $10M to support arts organizations. As a member of the senior management team of NC Theatre in Raleigh, Melanie is a strategic thinker, a powerful advocate, and a passionate fundraiser. Melanie has grown NC Theatre’s contributed income budget over 30% since joining in 2011.  She launched NC Theatre’s planned giving initiative, and in 2016 the company received is first transformative legacy gift of $1,000,000. Melanie has expanded NC Theatre’s major gifts and annual fundraising programs, as well as grant awards that underpin the company’s growing outreach activities. Melanie takes great pride in engaging the board, staff, and the greater Raleigh community in activities that advance NC Theatre’s mission and vision. Melanie holds a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School and formerly practiced as a corporate attorney in her native Canada. Prior to joining NC Theatre, Melanie worked with Carolina Ballet, Children’s Musical Theater of San Jose, Arts Council Silicon Valley, and the Jose Limon Dance Company. Her husband Michael Doerner is a ballet dancer, having performed with the National Ballet of Canada, Alberta Ballet under Mikko Nissinen, and Ballet San Jose. Melanie has been privileged to work in support of the arts and continues to be inspired by the courage, genius, and generosity of both artists and donors alike.

We have all felt some form of loss. A friendship. A job. A loved one. During this pandemic, loss may be taking on a new meaning as isolation and inequities continue to grow. The good news is that we can, and we will get through this, but it takes a community. Participants will learn about common types of grief, what it looks like and when it's unhealthy, and how to help someone you know who may be experiencing these intense emotional feelings. There will also be opportunities for audience participation to learn more about your specific situation.

About NAMI

NAMI Wake County is an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the largest grassroots mental health organization in the U.S. For over 30 years, NAMI Wake County has provided support, education, and advocacy to individuals, families, and caregivers living with mental health challenges, to lead better lives. Mental illness is plagued by a stigma that prevents people from accessing the treatment and support to lead a life of recovery. NAMI Wake is committed to diminishing the discrimination and improving access to resources so that all those affected by mental illness feel welcome in the community.

Are you a comic artist who wants to connect with other comic artists in our area? Do you have recent work that you want feedback on?

About this Event

Triangle ArtWorks and Durham County Library present Comics Critique with The Triangle Comics Creator Network. Join fellow cartoonists for an afternoon of feedback and constructive criticism, hosted by Triangle ArtWork's Cynthia Deis and Durham County Library's Patrick Holt. Participants will present up to four pages or images (or two 2-page spreads) from an in-progress or completed comics project for open discussion among the group. All genres and approaches are welcome, and we use a very broad definition of "comics" for the event, but participants are encouraged to select excerpts that approximate (at most) a PG-13 movie rating.

As a program co-presented by Durham County Library, participation is free and open to the public, though registration is required and spaces are limited. Participants are NOT required to be residents of Durham or members of the Triangle Comics Creator Network, but you can learn more about TCCN at https://durhamcomicsfest.org/tccn and https://www.meetup.com/Triangle-Comics-Creator-Network.

Has COVID upended your arts organization? Are you struggling with creative, family and pandemic challenges while trying to manage the needs of your arts career and the mission of your organization? Join Triangle ArtWorks and the Pratt Mindfulness Collaboratory for a 3-week, intensive training on mindfulness specifically for arts administrators. Learn about the role of contemplative practices as a cornerstone of productivity and resilience and how creative self-care aids focus and positive uplift can build intentional adaptive change for arts administrators.

Our Triangle Collective is part of the Mindfulness Collaboratory, a Pratt Institute program supported by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and led by Rhonda Schaller, Esmilda Abreu, and Sam Harvey. This training will help you develop a contemplative practice and deepen your connections in our community. As part of the collective, you will look at contemplative practices, including mindfulness and meditation, sitting and walking practices, formal and informal expressions of self-awareness to aid arts leaders in reimagining self and practice, business and audience during COVID and post-COVID contexts.

Limited to a collective of up to 16 arts administrators from across the Triangle, these sessions are designed to support those who support artists. 

What participation will entail:

We request that applicants commit to participation in all meeting dates and responding to pre-and post-event surveys to allow for full participation in the mindfulness work. The program includes an introductory Collective meeting, followed by 12 practice sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 8:00 - 8:45 am.

• Introduction meeting - Week of October 5

• Oct 12, 13, 14, 15

• Oct. 19, 20, 21, 22

• Oct. 26, 27, 28, 29

Cost:

We suggest a $29 donation per participant to help offset the cost of program administration. 

How to apply:

Deadline to apply is September 30, 2020. You will be notified of your acceptance by October 2nd. 

Questions?

Email us!. 

What is an arts administrator?

Arts administration is a field in the arts sector that facilitates programming or runs the business and administration of cultural organizations, including not-for-profit organizations, government agencies, corporations and foundations. Individual artists can participate in this Collective if they also work in arts administration

About the Pratt Mindfulness Collaboratory

The Collaboratory is a Pratt Institute program funded by Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. Previous research has suggested that developing a mindful way of being through mindfulness practices could help individuals boost creativity in multiple ways including increased focus, idea generation, and flexible thinking. Our project, The Mindfulness Collaboratory study, will help connect the body of research on the impact of mindfulness practices to scholarship on creative economy development. This is particularly relevant given the current COVID19 crisis and its impact on the national and global economy.

ArtSwell Craft hosts a monthly informative call for art and craft market runners from around the NC Triangle area. Focused on the business of creating and implementing public markets, this call brings together the people and entities that run these markets to foster stronger ties and enhance the markets for all artists and artisans.

If you run an arts or craft market in the Triangle region, this call is for you.

Join Triangle-based marketing experts for a panel discussion on the current state of marketing and how it affects artists and craftspeople. Hosted by Susan Flower from Carusel, this discussion will focus on the challenges of marketing your work when in-person events are difficult or unsafe and your customers can be hard to connect with. Marketing experts David Baldwin, Christopher Everett and Alexis Jenssen will talk about the challenges and opportunities that our current world presents to artists. 

Panelists: 

• Christopher Everett, Filmmaker, Wilmington on Fire, and Communications Manager of Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

• Alexis Jenssen, Owner of Bowerbird Agency

• David Baldwin, CEO of Baldwin &

Like many of our events, this one is sponsored by donors and artists like you. To help keep our event fee low and open to a wide variety of artists, please consider making a donation to Triangle ArtWorks.

Business education for craftspeople. This course is an intensive business processes class, aimed at beginning and mid-career craftspeople.

About this Event

Are you a mid-career craftsperson struggling to leave your day job or a new-to-the biz creative with dollar signs in your eyes? Join ArtSwell’s experienced instructors in an intensive business school experience aimed at you. From business structures to support systems, from credit cards to cash flow, this course will walk you through the process of creating a craft business that makes money. Each week you’ll work on activities and projects that lead you to a business plan. You’ll leave the class with a binder full of worksheets, ideas, contacts and checklists and be energized to make your craft business succeed.

This course is based on the REAL Entrepreneurship courses program and is a hands-on, activity-based experience. If you've tried to understand business principles before and been bored or frustrated, this is for you. If you want tools to understand your own craft business better, this is for you. You will learn to become a better networker, how to set up a solid business structure, and about financial structures that can help you make better business decisions. Course topics will include cash flow, production, costs and pricing, inventory, local resources, sales and promotions and more. These arts-business-specific skills are not currently offered in most university fine craft and fine art programs, but are essential for artists to function as businesses.

Both beginners and more experienced artisans can benefit from this course.

Participants are strongly encouraged to attend all sessions.

About the course pricing:

The standard fee for this intensive, 8-week course is $295 per participant. City of Raleigh residents are eligible to receive a discounted price of $145 per participant.

All participants will receive all course materials, course binder, etc.

Triangle ArtWorks is a proud member of the 2020 City of Raleigh Economic Development Impact Grant award program.

Thank you to the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, the City of Raleigh Office Of Economic Development Innovation Impact Partner Program, and The Mary Duke Biddle Fund for making this class possible.

About REAL Craft Entrepreneurship Courses-

Developed in cooperation with folks at Penland School of Craft, Handmade in America, Haywood Community College and The Sequoia Fund, this deep curriculum takes basic business and entrepreneurship training further with activities and experiences designed for craftspeople. Our accredited REAL instructors are experienced, successful craft artists with strong ties to both the retail and wholesale markets.

Instructors for the Spring 2020 Session are Cynthia Deis and Tiffany Coley.

We set our workshop fees low to make them accessible to those working in the arts, but also recoup some of our costs of presenting these programs. Love our work? Make a donation here. Want to attend, but find the fee prohibitive? Shoot us an email and we can help you.

By registering for this event, you agree to Triangle ArtWorks entering your email into our mailing list, so you will receive our newsletter which is chock full of arts news, job openings and other relevant info, as well as mailings ArtSwell professional development events. We are a nonprofit, so you will also get occasional mailings requesting donations to support our work for the Triangle arts sector.

Learn how corporate sponsors are just like any other donor, but with a twist. This workshop focuses on how to identify potential corporate supporters, understand the differences between corporate sponsorships versus traditional grant awards, and navigate changing funding priorities.

About the Presenter: 

As a career fundraiser, Melanie Doerner has raised more than $10M to support arts organizations. As a member of the senior management team of NC Theatre in Raleigh, Melanie is a strategic thinker, a powerful advocate, and a passionate fundraiser. Melanie has grown NC Theatre’s contributed income budget over 30% since joining in 2011.  She launched NC Theatre’s planned giving initiative, and in 2016 the company received is first transformative legacy gift of $1,000,000. Melanie has expanded NC Theatre’s major gifts and annual fundraising programs, as well as grant awards that underpin the company’s growing outreach activities. Melanie takes great pride in engaging the board, staff, and the greater Raleigh community in activities that advance NC Theatre’s mission and vision. Melanie holds a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School and formerly practiced as a corporate attorney in her native Canada. Prior to joining NC Theatre, Melanie worked with Carolina Ballet, Children’s Musical Theater of San Jose, Arts Council Silicon Valley, and the Jose Limon Dance Company. Her husband Michael Doerner is a ballet dancer, having performed with the National Ballet of Canada, Alberta Ballet under Mikko Nissinen, and Ballet San Jose. Melanie has been privileged to work in support of the arts and continues to be inspired by the courage, genius, and generosity of both artists and donors alike.

Triangle ArtWorks hosts a monthly informative call for art and craft market runners from around the central NC area. Focused on the business of creating and implementing public markets, this call brings together the people and entities that run these markets to foster stronger ties and enhance the markets for all artists and artisans.

Our August call will feature discussions of social media marketing and virtual markets for the holidays. If you run an art or craft market in the Triangle, please join us for this conversation.

Are you ready to sell your art or craft work but don’t know where to start with pricing?

About this Event

Are you already selling your work but struggling with making a profit?

This 2-hour workshop is an introduction to basic pricing principles for creative makers who want to focus on their work, not on spreadsheets and sales charts. Find out how you can quickly determine profitability and price your work for both retail and wholesale sales. With activities and pricing rubrics created specifically for pricing one-of-a-kind and limited edition work, this course will help you to fairly and profitably price your items. Discussions include sales venues, taking payments and pricing custom work.

Taught by Cynthia Deis, Triangle ArtWorks staff member, artist and REAL Entrepreneurship educator, this course is for early- and mid-career craft artists.

Get the lowdown navigating the music industry and best practices for being a successful musician!

About this Event

The Musicians MBA in a Day is a 90-minute music business workshop, designed for both upcoming and professional musicians looking to familiarize and up-level themselves with industry best practices as a sideman, band leaders, booking gigs, contracts/negotiation, marketing/promotion, and taxes. The general public interested in learning more about the music business is also welcome.

About the instructor

Christian Tamburr is an internationally renowned vibraphonist, pianist, composer and arranger with touring and performances in over 71 countries around the world. Downbeat Magazine recognized him with the “Outstanding Solo Jazz Performance” award and is a 5- Time “Critics Choice Top Rising Star” award recipient on vibraphone. He leads his own critically acclaimed touring ensemble with recent performances at the Kennedy Center, The Newport Jazz Festival, and Lincoln Center where in August of 2019 Christian premiered Sounds For Sculpture “The Awakening” – new multi-sensory project featuring originally composed music inspired by the iconic bronze sculptures of famed sculptor Seward Johnson.

As a creative director and producer, Christian has been responsible for the development of multiple headline shows and touring projects around the world, including Between the Lines (Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas), Modern Warrior LIVE (On Tour), Soundtrack (The Westgate, Las Vegas) and collaborations with Cirque du Soleil, Spiegel World Productions, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. In addition to his public performances, Christian is CEO and facilitator of Sonic Leadership, a musically inspired program on leadership and inclusion with clients such as GOOGLE, Cisco Systems, Amazon and Starwood Hotels. Christian is currently the musical director/pianist for 2018 Double Grammy nominated vocalist Clint Holmes and singer song writer Shana Tucker.

The second installment of our fundraising series focuses on building a successful one-person development shop.

About this Event

Like it or not, fundraising is an essential skill for all arts organizations, especially now. In this workshop series, development and fundraising guru, Melanie Doerner will break down the steps and best practices to improve your fundraising today. In this second installment of our fundraising series, Melanie Doerner offers 12 steps to a successful one-person development shop. Learn both strategic fundraising techniques and how to achieve work/life balance.

About the Presenter

As a career fundraiser, Melanie Doerner has raised more than $10M to support arts organizations. As a member of the senior management team of NC Theatre in Raleigh, Melanie is a strategic thinker, a powerful advocate, and a passionate fundraiser. Melanie has grown NC Theatre’s contributed income budget over 30% since joining in 2011. She launched NC Theatre’s planned giving initiative, and in 2016 the company received is first transformative legacy gift of $1,000,000. Melanie has expanded NC Theatre’s major gifts and annual fundraising programs, as well as grant awards that underpin the company’s growing outreach activities. Melanie takes great pride in engaging the board, staff, and the greater Raleigh community in activities that advance NC Theatre’s mission and vision. Melanie holds a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School and formerly practiced as a corporate attorney in her native Canada. Prior to joining NC Theatre, Melanie worked with Carolina Ballet, Children’s Musical Theater of San Jose, Arts Council Silicon Valley, and the Jose Limon Dance Company. Her husband Michael Doerner is a ballet dancer, having performed with the National Ballet of Canada, Alberta Ballet under Mikko Nissinen, and Ballet San Jose. Melanie has been privileged to work in support of the arts and continues to be inspired by the courage, genius, and generosity of both artists and donors alike.

By registering for this event, you acknowledge that Triangle ArtWorks will be entering your email into our mailing list, so you will receive our newsletter which is chock full of arts news, job openings and other relevant info, as well as mailings for events like these. We are a nonprofit, so you will also get occasional mailings requesting donations to support our work for the Triangle arts sector.

We set our workshop fees low to make them accessible to those working in the arts, but also recoup some of our costs of presenting these programs. Love our work? Make a donation here. Want to attend, but find the fee prohibitive? Shoot us an email and we can help you.