Eva Brandys 
Owner of Park Cities School of Music and Lakewood Conservatory
Eva Brandys is a Southern Methodist University graduate with a focus in Piano and Music Pedagogy. She also hired me to teach voice and piano to some of her students at her Park Cities location. Continue reading
Nov. 14, 2016, 12-4pm
Workshops by Gerald Klickstein, SMU, Meadows School, O’Donnell Hall 
12:00-12:50
Grant Writing Strategies that Succeed
Organizations worldwide offer funding for artists to develop and present their work, yet many artists lack effective strategies to access such grant programs. This session provides artists and arts faculty with essential know-how to discover funders, design fundable projects, construct budgets, and author winning grant proposals. A concise grant-writing guide and sample budget will be provided.
1:00-1:50
Creating (Arts) Events that Attract New Audiences
As attendance dwindles at many established arts institutions, it’s crucial that aspiring arts professionals learn to attract new audiences. In this workshop, Gerald Klickstein presents a practical framework to inspire and design arts presentations that appeal to diverse people. We’ll uncover avenues to make our work relevant to contemporary audiences and to stand out from other artists in our genres. Participants view notable programs developed by emerging artists, draft programing ideas of their own and receive feedback on the spot. Continue reading
This post is written in two sections: Observations and Thoughts.
Observations:
This weekend, I spent time with some remarkable artists, speaking with twenty-six—representing an array of mediums, but primarily painters. Most of the artists make the bulk of their money (art sales) by attending, and selling through, juried art festivals around the country. In addition to absorbing some of the illuminating and inspiring art on display, I took the opportunity to ask artists questions about how they are selling their art, what business models they have explored, if they are selling mostly online or in person and who their primary audience is. This is a handful of the discoveries I made:
With some exception, most of these artists are selling their Continue reading
The following is a message from the student Entrepreneurship Club Executive Board:
In the Arts Entrepreneurship minor, students take a number of important required
classes, one of which is AMAE 4390 or “Developing an Arts Venture Plan.” In this capstone class, students learn to ideate (come up with original entrepreneurial concepts), strategize (have a plan of action) and take action. Business plans, as students learn in this class, are antiquated documents the moment they are created. The paper document is not what is so important. Rather, the Continue reading
CLICK HERE to return to Meadows Arts Entrepreneurship program.
Artists must concern themselves with value, just as any other type of entrepreneur.
However, for the artist, they are not judging their creation by how much money they make alone (usually), but the impact their work has in their own lives (as an expression) and the lives of others (how it makes others think, feel, act). Artists must concern themselves with intrinsic value.
Intrinsic value is Continue reading
Ryan Cordill, 24-year-old developer of PartnerUp App. 
Ryan is the founder of a new app that supports promotion and an easy way to find creative partners or building teams for projects. Ryan has been working on the PartnerUp App for over a year now and is finally to the point of releasing his app to the market.
Me: Did you have a business plan when you started your business?
Ryan: Yes, it was a very rough draft of what a proper business plan would look like at first, but it provided Continue reading
In the following interviews, SMU student Tyler Kowalske explores whether business plans are necessary for creative endeavors and whether the creatives began with one when they started.
Javier Mejia 
Javier Mejia is a photographer and creative entrepreneur and was just featured in the Raw Festival in Dallas.
Did you have a business plan when you started?
When Javier first became a photographer, it was a complete accident. Javier happened to be at a conference where the photographer didn’t show up so someone handed him a camera and told him he would be the photographer for Continue reading
The following are three interviews with creative entrepreneurs and analysis, each conducted by SMU student Thomas Beckham. Interviews took place in the course Developing an Arts Venture Plan and were conducted to hear from the field, perceive if business plans are necessary and further develop network connections.
Ethan Schnitzer 
ALXNDR
DJ / EDM Producer – ALXNDR has previously opened for Marshmello and JAUZ in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico at The NoWhere Beach Club. He will also be opening for Knife Party at The Hard Rock in Las Vegas.
Did you have a business plan when you started your business?
“No I didn’t. Opportunities in the music industry are based off chance and networking skill. It is hard to force opportunities in Continue reading
