Business for Artists, with Peter Morse

This is a five (5) week workshop. Sessions will be held Mondays, March 4, 11, 18, 25. There may be assignments between sessions.

This 10-hr workshop teaches students how to generate a formal business plan for a full-time or part-time art career, focusing on fundamentals such as audience, value, budgeting, pricing, marketing, and startup phase.

Students will begin by learning about the art market and several case studies of viable art business models, then brainstorm different products and services they could turn into revenue sources. Next, they will conduct market research and identify their target market, so they can clarify the realistic value of and demand for their work. This will inform the subsequent process of creating prices, budgeting expenses, and forecasting annual sales. Next, students will identify marketing strategies that will actually reach their target market and collate a portfolio of images, text, and networking contacts in order to initiate a basic marketing plan. Finally, students will pitch their business plans to the class and receive feedback and advice for next steps

Session 1: Business Planning and the Art Market

Session 2: Identifying Audience, Market, and Value

Session 3: Budgeting, Pricing, and Sales

Session 4: Marketing and Networking

Session 5: Presentations and Feedback

About the instructor: Peter Morse is a professional photographer and the gallery manager at the Barrington Center for the Arts at Gordon College. He earned his M.F.A. at the Univ. of Hartford and exhibits handmade books, fine art portraiture, and landscape photography throughout New England. He is passionate about supporting artists through business mentorship and has taught “Business for Artists” several times as a college-level course. He also teaches college courses in digital photography and Adobe Photoshop. www.petermorsephoto.com