Yesterday I attended a wonderful (and free) conference co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition and the Kirstein Business Branch of the Boston Public Library. If you are reading this post today, there is still time for you to catch Day 2 of this conference: Creative Massachusetts: The Artists Congress 2009, which will begin at 1:00 pm at the Boston Public Library.
Unfortunately, I am up to my ears with some prep work to do for next week’s job, and a lot of yard work to tend to today, so must miss Day 2. Let me tell you a bit about yesterday though. The organizers of this conference worked very hard to pull together some great panel discussions that were entertaining and informative. Personally, I gained useful information about social networking, community networking, grant resources, and connected with some great people and local resources.
If you are a Massachusetts artist (all disciplines) you may want to get on board and join this free listserv for Artists Under the Dome. This website was launched in October 2007 and is an artist run website which informs Massachusetts artists of public policy initiatives that may impact your livelihood. The goal of Artists Under the Dome is to "empower individual artists to become more engaged with the democratic process and public policy making." The 3rd Annual Artists Under the Dome will be held on November 19th, 10 a.m. – 3:30 pm at the State House and invites all Massachusetts artists working in all disciplines to the State House to thank them for all they contribute to the Commonwealth’s economy and quality of life. The more artists present, the stronger our visibility and voice will be. Please plan to attend for at least part of this, if your schedule allows.
Another good source for information is the ArtSake blog written by Ja-nae Duane.