Sunday, August 23, 2009

Talented Folks Can Succeed While Making Their Communities Flourish

By Leigh-Ann Lemire

Would you rather paint full time than work at the office, garage, restaurant, etc.? Would you like to quit that day job because your artwork is so well known and bought by a lot of people?

In order to accomplish the above feats, you have to get your name out there consistently. You need to be very noticeable and attract lots of attention. This isn't as hard as it may seem, read on for a very simple but effective method to accomplish the above while also helping your fellow creative friends and making your community prosperous.

An example of such a scenario is the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District. The neighborhood started out in ruins, an unsafe area to be in, and since the artists moved in, over a period of ten years, it has become prominent, attractive, secure, well known and prosperous. When artists go into an area and start creating, the area stops going downhill. The empty building are leased or sold, the area gets renovated and commerce proceeds and expands.

Right now there are a lot of empty buildings, offices, car lots, shops in strip malls, many due to the recession. It would make a great impact if artists used these empty spaces for creating. What better use could you imagine?

Here is a workable project that is almost free to start. It can help your neighborhood, and bring success to you and your artist friends.

This is what to do:

1. Locate creative people in your own area - artists, poets, craftsmen, musicians, actors, etc. These people will help you with the project.

Place free ads at Craigslist.org, kijiji.com, local newspaper sites and do a google search for "free classified sites" to find more place to advertise. Be sure to put your zip code to keep it local to your area.

Create flyers to deliver door to door in your local area.

Put the postcards or flyers in the businesses nearby.

Ask people you know for any other artists they may know. You can knock on doors - go to your neighbors, even the ones you do not know well.

2. When you have gotten together a group of artists to assist you, you will need to create a presentation pack. It's not an expensive and complicated pack.

At an office supply store you can buy white glossy paper (about $10), clear plastic sheet covers (100 for about $11) and a presentation binder ($2-$5).

Make a separate page for each artist involved in the project which includes their contact info, pictures of the artist and his or her artwork, something written about the artist and any interesting notes. Put each page in your presentation pack.

3. Next locate vacant buildings in your neighborhood and find someone to be the salesperson. The artists will create in the empty building and the salesperson will be selling the artworks.

You are going to pay the salesperson a percentage of sales, with bonuses for selling over a certain amount per week or per month. To find the sales person, you can ask friends, family, neighbors - someone in need of work will pop up. You assign the salesperson to get a business license from the city and a tax license from the state. Sometimes these licenses are free; sometimes they require a fee, depending on where you are.

When you find the building you want to use, find the owner or real estate agent responsible for the property.

4. Set up a meeting with the owner or agent and do a presentation. Say that you are with a group of artists who want to do something to get the building leased - that will make the owner or agent interested.

5. Present your ideas to the agent or owner keeping the emphasis on the benefits for the owner, including these points:

Tell the owner/agent about the sure-fire way to get the building leased by letting artists into the area to create. It has worked many times - every time you get artists in there creating, the area becomes busy, buildings are leased, the community improves and the area is cleaned up.

You can bring up the Los Angeles Arts District as an example of a place where artists succeeded and raised the general standards of the area.

Then show the presentation pack to the realtor/owner of the artists that will be creating there.

6. If you find out that the realtor/owner wants you to have insurance in order to use the space, team up with a local Alternative School or local charity as either will have the insurance that is needed.

7. Make signs and post them.

Signs can be created on wood, poster board or A-frames. Create colorful signs with arrows indicating the way that read "Artists at Work", "Artists Ahead" and so on. The signs need to be put out on both sides of the street starting at about 50 yards and getting closer. If you created a sign on wood or poster boards, you can easily attach those to poles with bungee cords. Tying balloons to the signs will help to attract attention.

8. Create art.

First you need to bring in some art already done, to give the salesperson something to sell. Then you make your studio space ready, by bringing in all the things you need to paint, sculpt, etc. Attention will be on your location because as one creation of art inspires the next, wonderful energy will be created. The person in charge of sales only has to sell, and the artists only have to create.

9. Do not give up!

You will not have instant success within the first day and the first hour. However if you persist, you will get attention and then sales. Don't give up! It is persistence that pays off.

10. Things to do to get your neighborhood to notice you and your fellow artists.

Create flyers and place in the local stores.

Invite newspaper representatives, someone from local radio stations, galleries, gift stores, etc., to come visit.

Create a Press Release to send out. You can find a how to article for writing press releases at Help-2-Succeed by going to http://help-2-succeed.com/blog/index.php/press-release-tips-aamp-generator and you can find press release distribution services by going to http://help-2-succeed.com/blog/index.php/press-release-distribution-services

Social sites also give you free promotion. Put up posts about what you and your artists group are doing and about the newest artworks on which you are working. Especially use Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

If creative people stop by, invite the artists to join you.

The two things that will help you make your goals and get the show on the road are persistence and attention. You keep on doing what you are doing and you continue to implement ideas that will attract attention to your work and sales will expand and the community will begin to go up.

After a bit you may discover that your building has been leased or sold. Not a stop for your project. Since you will be helping the new tenant get business - something always necessary - have the agent or owner put in his recommendation that you stay in the space.

Help other artists and areas create and thrive by continuing to pass around this article. It is a free project.

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