Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition or a joke) or an original physical object (such as an invention, a literary work or a painting).
During the creative process, it encourages us being more brave, playing with ideas, keeping an open mind and making connections between unrelated objects.
Imagine how important these characters are nowadays, whether we are employees, managers, entrepreneurs, or freelancers.
"Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up"
- Pablo Picasso
Unlike adults, children's imagination is infinite because they carry less or no social burdens. Therefore, creativity should be developed since childhood. In fact, evidence also suggests that learning art will help children have positive experiences and good character traits:
Appreciation: seeing the world from different perspectives
Collaboration: developing ability to work with other individuals as a team who have different ideas
Alternative: self expressing using colors, diagrams, body language, and actions
Concentration: staying focus and being in the moment of creating
Initiative: developing good discipline and commitment, and willing to take more initiatives throughout the process of learning and practices
When it comes to high quality art programs for children, you can count on Arts Umbrella. This non profit organization is located in our beautiful Granville Island, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Background of Arts Umbrella
It all started in 1979 with five, young parents whose own artistic backgrounds show how arts shape a life.
The first class was 45 eager students, and today, they program reach more than 21,500 children and youth every year. It amounts to 785 classes per year in four locations. And students range from preschoolers to pre-professionals.
Programs
Photo credit: Arts Umbrella
Their programs have been sharing creativity through the following well-rounded focuses:
Visual arts - e.g. Art Camps
Music & theatre
Dance
Media arts
* Their funding comes from different sources such as events and exhibitions.
Events and Exhibitions
Other than regular programs, Arts Umbrella organizes different events to bring together artists and our community. Their current event, Splash + Pendulum Gallery Exhibition, is happening now:
Their Splash Event has been running as an art auction and fundraiser for 33 years! About 900 different artists have donated over those 33 years. This year we feature about 100 pieces ranging from paintings and photography to jewelry, carvings, ceramics, and furniture. All proceeds from Splash help more than 21,000 local kids take part in high-quality arts programming each year. Splash also helps Arts Umbrella fund bursaries for struggling families, grant scholarships for talented students, and provide free programming so kids can overcome socio-economic barriers.
In the 33 years, the event has raised more than $4.7 million in net proceeds.
To preview the art for auction on Oct 17, please visit the Pendulum Gallery, a free exhibition until Oct 02.
First 10 people to share their favorite piece from the auction page on social media and tag #splash2015 will receive an Art Book from Art Umbrella (Applicable only within Canada)
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"There's a saying, "work smart, not work hard"... but why can't we do both: work hard AND work smart? That's a double effect!" - Belle Fusion
Many of you might have heard about SMART Goals setting. It is well-used for businesses or individuals to set up a process to achieve certain result(s). The Goal should be Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. This is a great model and we here first of all wish to respect this acronym.
From the last blog, we have mentioned about "The 7 Tips on How to Boost your Value" and tip #7 was what we suggested for SMART Marketing.
We use the same acronym and hopefully it will help you remember the "5 pillars of SMART Marketing" without spending a fortune:
S - Sponsorship
M - Momentum
A - Affiliation
R - Research
T - Thank-you Message
Sponsorship
From time to time, many charities or non-profit organizations are in need of fundraising or a promotion campaign. You can act as a sponsor to them by donating one of your artwork, or your time creating a workshop teaching people about painting or playing music. This will help you build your portfolio and get yourself more exposure to the public by paralleling with the great charities or organizations.
A recent success story: One time an Artist helped out his students hosting a collective student art event, this was a win-win marketing for both the artist and the students to get known.
It's also ok to ask for or get sponsors. All you need is to present your value and your idea that the potential sponsor could benefit from or work together to bring business for both sides.
If you are an emerging artist, RBC has an sponsorship program where you can apply for funding. It's not just the financial benefit you will gain, but also building your credibility to your future sponsors.
Momentum
Evolve with time. Keep up the momentum.
As much as we prefer personal connection, it's undeniable it's a social media era now. Back in the old days it was really hard for Artists to sell globally. So now we might as well take advantage of these free platforms. Sign up with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Houzz, Google+, etc. We always recommend putting a water mark on each image though because most of the platforms do not provide copyright. There is no need to post in every moment but you cannot NOT post. Your clients can be ANYONE from ANYWHERE and transaction can happen ANYTIME.
It's an ongoing learning process . It's true that it takes quite a bit of time. However, you don't need to be a pro to learn about SEO, Google Ads, click through rates, website or blog traffic but you must have some fundamental knowledge on these terms so if one day you decide to hire a marketing personnel you will know how to track his/her performance and action.
Affiliation
Find one or two Artists organizations (e.g. The Federation of Canadian Artists) and join their membership. It certainly gives you a good reputation and they promote you on your behalf too.
Another good marketing platform is online market (shopping). Here are some examples: Direct2Artist, Etsy, Saatchi Gallery, ArtPal, Artspan, Absolutearts, Each of them have their strong benefits. Note: you can always join as many as you want depending on your needs and budget.
Research
Do you know Lululemon hired the Artist Ola Volo for creating a beautiful Art mural for their Robson and Burrard Store? Do your know Louis Vuitton’s belief in art too? Among other collaborations, their fashion house linked up with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama to create a limited edition of products. Spend a little time to read some news and articles or even search them up in Google, or subscribe to Vancity Buzz or Newsletters so you will get are related email / buzz from them. You will find something that can intrigue you. Learn from other successful Artists, it can lead you to the similar direction too. Some ideas might become your inspiration for your new marketing idea.
Thank-you Message
Say thank you to everyone including your clients, media, blogger, whoever posts your updates in Facebook for you (as long as it doesn't violate your copyright). As we mentioned in the last article, building rapport with people is extremely important.
Also send congratulations to other Artists or your client moving in a new home or receiving an award. Everyone likes compliment! That's how you keep people remembering you. This is a free marketing, yet the most powerful means of marketing.
Last but not least...
Event, Event, Event~~ actively participate in events whether you are just a goer or a vendor, you won't be disappointed with this action because you will always find great connections that might transport you to the next stop!
That's your SMART Marketing we create for you! Hope you find it useful :)
On a side note...
We found some really good recommendations on "How to Get Others to Visit Your Site" and "Links" on page 149 from the book "Secrets of Power Marketing", The book we mentioned during the "Intro" of this series. This book can be borrowed from a library or purchased online. If you are unable to find this book, please give us a shout and we will paraphrase it in our response to avoid plagiarism.
Hope you enjoy our blog so far. Any comment? We love to hear from you!
