Visions of Visionaries: Talib Kweli

MADE — a venue and artistic collective in the heart of Berlin — can be a gallery, a workspace, a studio, a stage or a laboratory. Most of all, it is an extraordinary venue that invites you to be inspired. Their interview with Talib Kweli (one of my favourite Brooklyn-based MCs) focuses on his thoughts about creativity, ambition and passion. It just hits the spot....

Arts & Upstarts: Julie Gladstone, Starving Artist Yoga

JULIE GLADSTONE
Mixed-Media Artist, Abstract Painter

COMPANY: 
Starving Artist Yoga
Creative and affordable yoga classes, held in alternative spaces, to feed body, mind and spirit. Started: 2009

What type of business do you run and why did you decide to start it?

Starving Artist Yoga provides yoga classes that most people can afford, in spaces that feel personalized and inviting. The classes are geared towards providing an alternative for people working in the arts, who are self-employed, students or both; however, everyone is welcome to attend, including those who aren’t artists or who have never practiced yoga.

Arts & Upstarts: Elspeth Duncan, Happy Hippy Productions

ELSPETH DUNCAN
Multimedia Artist, Filmmaker, Writer, Musician

PHOTO by Kris Alcantara

COMPANY:
Elspeth Duncan
formerly Happy Hippy Productions
Sole proprietor of a multimedia company creating artistic works and interactive experiences to uplift, inspire, shift perspectives, and raise awareness on issues of humanitarian importance.
Started: 1999

What type of business do you run and why did you decide to start it?

I am in the business of uplifting, inspiring, shifting perspectives and raising awareness in self and in others through a range of creative media: writing, photography, video art, filmmaking, and conceptual interactive installation art.

soJin Chun & the Top 10 Links of the Month

PHOTOGRAPHER: soJin Chun, Scarborough Thando

THIS MONTH: Goal setting for creatives; three tips for setting business boundaries; the simple reason why you're not reaching thousands of people; creating a better budget; and, more....

Arts & Upstarts: Tanya Pillay, HypnoSage

TANYA PILLAY
Theatre Performer & Creator

COMPANY:
HypnoSage
Motivational hypnosis for personal change.
Started: 2007


What type of business do you run and why did you decide to start it?

I became a Motivational Hypnotist to help people change, enhance, or achieve in any aspect of their lives. I say "motivational" to distinguish my work from stage hypnosis, which is usually only for the purpose of entertainment. I guide clients to relax using various suggestions, personalized imagery, and meditation techniques. Together we explore the obstacles holding them back and co-create acceptible solutions so that they can move forward. I started the practice after I tried hypnosis as a client; other attempts to address chronic stress and tension produced minimal results. After a few sessions, my life changed in ways I  believed to be possible but could not seem to achieve in any other way. I felt empowered with a vision of my ideal self. I also walked away with a more supportive inner dialogue.

Isis Rodriguez & the Top 10 Links of the Week

ARTIST: Isis Rodriguez, The Meditation

THIS WEEK: Endless requests to donate your work; 6 things potential buyers mean when they say they have no money; pricing secrets artists need to embrace; and, more....

Amanda Strong & the Top 10 Links of the Week

PHOTOGRAPHER: Amanda Strong

THIS WEEK: How NOT to use the Internet to find investors for your film or theatre project; 50 questions to evaluate the quality of your Web site; the seven deadly sins of submitting a self-published book; and, more....

A Fine Place to Start...

Elspeth Duncan, a wonderful woman and media artist from Trinidad, had this solid piece of footage from the TED Conference posted on her site. It's from a presentation by Ken Robinson on the "Killing of Creativity" in schools. I thought the video clip deserved a repost, serving as a fine place to start this business blog for artists.

As you will hear, he is quite spot on about the ways in which art education is not respected as academic pursuit. The recent completion of my MA in interdisciplinary studies was a sad statement to that fact. I was, and continue to be, thankful that my sole artist committee member out of three, a filmmaker, posed questions on my accompanying video project during my defense when the remaining examiners could have cared less.

It's ironic in so many ways now, Robinson's speech. Computer and tech-illiterate profs (believe me, there are way more than you can imagine), will soon have no choice but to catch up, learn and value non-textual language within the inescapable realities of image-focused communication in the 21st century. But his speech also made me think of the problems with art education in general: No one teaches you how to live the life of an artist, practically speaking. Art schools don't bother to teach students business (and I'm not talking CVs and gallery proposals). Business schools, on the other hand, only teach "the bottom line."

Unfortunately, too many artists are bred to believe that making a living from their passion is selling out, which is the same side of the disrespect-art-education coin, if you ask me. But many still don't see it that way.

Join me as I dispel that myth.