Springboard for The Arts

Registration Form: Register for any of the workshops listed below.

Funding through USA Projects
Last year, Los Angeles based United States Artists launched a new online fundraising platform, USA Projects. This new microphilanthropy website connects award-winning artists with friends, fans and followers. To date, USA Projects has raised more than $1.5M for artists. This session will feature USA Projects' online ecosystem: how it works for artists, how supporters have become engaged, and the opportunities the platform presents for the future of funding for outstanding American artists.
Date: Monday, January 23, 6:30 - 8:30 pm; Saturday, January 28, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Monday at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN; Saturday at McNally Smith College of Music, 19 Exchange St. E., St. Paul, MN
Presenter: John Spokes, United States Artists
Tuition: Free. Registration recommended. Beverages served.

Documenting Your Work (for Visual Artists)
Good work samples begin with knowing how to get the best result from the camera and equipment you have. Professional photographer Cal Rice will talk about the manual settings on digital cameras, white balance and getting the correct exposure, reading the histogram and deciding where to position the camera and the lights. Bring your camera along and an artwork that could  be used as an example, if you like, especially if there's one that's been giving you trouble.
Date: Saturday, February 18, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Location: Crane Ordway Apartments, 281 5th Street East, St. Paul, MN
Presenters: Cal Rice, photographer (www.ricephotography.com) and Kathleen Richert, Springboard for the Arts
Tuition: $45

Recordkeeping and Tax Preparation for Artists
CPA Brad Begley will explain the basic tools necessary to calculate the income taxes of your artistic business - receipts, recordkeeping, setting up your books, and reporting requirements, as well as updates on the tax laws that affect artists. This workshop is for people who want to make the most of their 2011 tax year situation and then be really ready for 2012 and beyond.
Date: Tuesday, February 21, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Location: Springboard for the Arts, 308 Prince St, #270, St. Paul, MN
Presenter: Brad Begley, JD, CPA, Begley Law Office  
Tuition: $45

Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists
(register through Hennepin County Libraries)

Kickstarter: Bring your Creative Idea To Life
Join us as we explore Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Kickstarter’s own Stephanie Pereira leads off the evening with a presentation on how to bring your project to life. Learn how to structure a project, what kind of rewards work best, and other helpful tips and valuable stats. Stephanie welcomes questions as we take a more detailed look at the anatomy of a successful project.
Date: Sunday, March 25, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Location: The Soap Factory, 514 2nd St. SE, Minneapolis, MN
Presenter: Stephanie Pereira, Kickstarter
Tuition: Free. Open admission. No pre-registration required.

Funding Outside the Box
The sometimes simple, sometimes complicated, always creative work of finding money for your projects. This interactive session will focus on ideas of value systems.  Through examples, exercises and lively discussion you will learn creative and effective tools to think about, talk about, and attract money to your artistic practice.
Date: Monday, April 9, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Location: Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN
Presenters: Betsy Altheimer and Noah Keesecker, Springboard for the Arts  
Tuition: $45, Free for Intermedia ArtsHub artists

CANCELLED: One, Two, Three, Go! Grantwriting for Organizations
This workshop has been cancelled. We will offer a new grantwriting and funding workshop in the fall. Please contact us if you would like to schedule an individual consultation regarding grantwriting for organizations.
Modeled on our very popular fall grantwriting series for individual artists, this workshop series is designed to help small and emerging arts organizations to understand and prepare strong grant applications. You’ll learn how to research grant opportunities, organize your application, prepare your work sample, and write a compelling narrative.  The series includes:

One: Researching Opportunities & Assembling the Proposal (Apr 11)
We’ll introduce research tools for finding new prospects. We will also discuss the elements of the proposal, how to bring them together, and select the most effective work sample – including a discussion of online grant submissions.

Two: Writing Your Narrative (Apr 18)
Participants will write the first draft of a project grant narrative for review in class.

Three: Grantmaker Panel (Apr 25)
Hear from the grantmakers themselves about what their organizations want to fund.  We’re inviting representatives from local funders for a panel discussion and Q & A.

Date: Wednesdays, April 11, 18 & 25, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Location: Springboard for the Arts, 308 Prince St, #270., St. Paul, MN
Presenters: Laura Zabel, Springboard for the Arts, with guests from local grantmakers
Tuition: $120 for the series

Build Your Own Website
And have it up and running at the completion of the workshop
Do you have little or no background in making a website? This three-part workshop with musician and website designer J. Anthony Allen will give you a nuts and bolts introduction to websites, and how to build and manage them. During the course of the workshop participants will be expected to purchase a hosting plan and domain name, if they don’t already have one, at an additional cost of approximately $50.00. Upon completion of the workshop, participants will have their own portfolio-style website up and running on the internet. Computers will be provided, but registrants are encouraged to bring their own laptops if possible.
Dates: Saturdays, April 14, 21, and 28, 1:00 – 3:30 pm
Location: McNally Smith College of Music, 19 Exchange St. E., St. Paul, MN
Presenter: J. Anthony Allen, musician, teacher and website designer
Tuition: $120 for the series

Artist Blogs
Blogging can be a great tool for artists. It's a means for showing behind-the-scenes processes, reflecting on the art world, exhibiting new work to the public, and communicating directly with admirers, all in way that's more in-depth than with other social media formats. It's a way to tell your story directly. We'll show you how to get an artist's blog going -- what platform to choose, what type of content works, how to incorporate photography and writing, and how a well-written blog can be part of a larger social media or marketing strategy.
Date: Monday, April 16, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Location: Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN
Presenters: Andy Sturdevant, Springboard for the Arts  
Tuition: $45 Free for Intermedia ArtsHub artists

Public Speaking for Artists
Not all of an artist's work is done from the solitary comfort of the studio. Often, artists are called upon to speak publicly: on panels, artist talks, Q&A sessions, interviews or presentations. The ability to talk about one's artistic practice clearly and confidently goes a long way. Nervous about public speaking? Clam up in front of a microphone? This workshop will teach some basic strategies and techniques to give you the confidence to speak about your work in front of any audience, large or small.
Date: Monday, April 23, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Location: Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN
Presenters: Andy Sturdevant, Springboard for the Arts  
Tuition: $45 Free for Intermedia ArtsHub artists

Registration Form: Register for any of the workshops listed above.