The Business of Art Conference Returns to Advance Entrepreneurial Skills for Area Artists
ArtsPartners of Central Illinois in partnership w
ith ART, Inc. is pleased to present The Business of Art Conference on February 11, 2023 from 9am – 4pm at The Romain Arts and Culture Center. This will be the sixth in-person conference presented to the community since the program started in 2016. The conference is designed to equip artists with strategies and tools to help establish arts-based businesses and enhance profitability. “Our region has so many resources for small business and entrepreneurs, and this conference will really help to connect local artists with these assets”, says ArtsPartners Executive Director, Jenn Gordon. “The line-up of speakers and presenters is fantastic, including small business owners, lawyers, professional artists, teaching artists, marketing strategists, and small business development experts. This is a fantastic opportunity for artists of any discipline in downstate Illinois to network with experts and develop strategies to cultivate and grow their arts-based business.”
The event will kick-off with a keynote address entitled “Dream to Reality: The Story of ART, Inc.” with speakers Jonathon and Nikki Romain, providing attendees with a glimpse into ART, Inc.’s remarkable success story of exponential growth and impact in the few years since their launch.
Following the keynote, attendees will benefit from an all-conference session on Business Foundations featuring local experts Josh Herman, partner at Miller, Hall & Triggs; Eric Sampson, director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Bradley University; Kevin Evans, economic development specials; and Ross Miller, entrepreneur and consultant. The session is designed to either reassure attendees about the correct things they have done, or to open their eyes to areas that they need to focus on to help make their business thrive.
Attendees will be able to choose onsite from a variety of morning and afternoon breakout sessions including “Teaching Your Art”, “Store Design & Consumer Behavior”, “Portfolio Basics”, “Operating & Managing Your Arts Based Business”, Building Relationships with Galleries, Gift Shops, and Fairs”, and many more.
Additionally, lunch will be accompanied by a Q&A time with a panel of professional artists focusing on the topic of how to price your art and know your worth.
The day will conclude with an after-hours mixer for networking with conference speakers and presenters.
The registration fee is $50. A 30% discount code for local artists is available at artspartners.net. For tickets and information visit: https://artspartners.net/boa/the-business-of-art-2023/.
This program is made possible with support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. Additionally, this program is made possible through a generous grant from the Arts Means Business Fund from the Community Foundation of Central Illinois.
ArtsPartners of Central Illinois promotes the arts as a vital component of central Illinois’ cultural and economic development. Founded in 1999, ArtsPartners of Central Illinois, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to build awareness and strengthen the arts for the economic and cultural enrichment of central Illinois.
CONTACT: ArtsPartners | 309-676-2787 | [email protected]