VDA Workshops.

VDA Workshops are free and/or low-cost capacity-building workshops for self-producing artists/musicians, arts organization staff, and event curators in all disciplines. Attendees learn new skills, gain new resources, and meet and connect with other local artists.

Workshop Catalog

annual project planning

• - Identify your goals for the upcoming year and break them into achievable tasks
• - Plot your tasks on a timeline or calendar for the upcoming year
• - Create a plan to keep yourself accountable

​fundraising beyond grants

• Learn about six different categories of fundraising (including, but not primarily, grants)
• Brainstorm more than a hundred methods for resourcing your work
• Create a simple budget that will help guide your fundraising choices ​

grant writing - beginner

• Learn the language and process of grant writing
• Identify tools you can use to discover funding opportunities
• Read actual grant proposals to identify key proposal components

grant writing - ​INTERMEDIATE ​

• Review aspects of a good grant proposal
• Practice writing an actual grant
• Receive extensive feedback on your completed proposal

​taxes for artists

• Learn about which expenses you can deduct on your taxes
• Find out how and when to send out 1099s
  
• Get your individual questions answered
  

budgets & finance for artists

• Learn why and how to use budgets for personal and project use
  
• Look at sample budgets and learn how to interpret the story behind the numbers
  
• Create a simplified budget tailored to your goals for this year

​website design basics

• Learn about different software and platforms you can use to design and host your website
  
• Plan the basic building blocks of your website
  
• Look at other artist websites to learn what aesthetic appeals to you​

​somatic practice for artists

​Facilitated by Lee Fogel of The Visioning Body

• Connect with your body to support emotional well-being and clarity through all your badass work!
• Learn to sustain your energy by following your body's needs and timing
• Organically awaken to your creativity and visions by listening to your body and heightening sensory awareness

creating an artist statement

• ​Brainstorm new ideas about your work and meet other artists
• Develop an understanding about what makes a good artist statement 
• Practice writing or editing your own statement

social media & marketing

• Identify marketing techniques for building and keeping an audience
• Talk about the advantages of using various social media channels
• Troubleshoot issues with audience development that you may have had in the past

crowdfunding

• Learn how to tell if crowdfunding is right for your project
  
• Discover the pros and cons of  crowdfunding platforms
  
• Hear from a panel of artists who have run successful crowdfunding campaigns​

business & organizing models for artists

• Discuss the pros and cons of various organizational structures; pool experiences and get new ideas
  
• Clarify your mission to determine the structure that best suits your practice
  
• Sole-proprietor, LLC, 501(c)3: understand the structures and how your projects fit into them

The Rotunda Workshops

**ALL VDA / ROTUNDA WORKSHOPS ARE NOW ONLINE***
All workshops in the series are FREE and OPEN to the public. However, you must pre-register to receive a link to the webinar.  Scroll down for links to each event. 

Fall 2020 Workshops

Tips & Tricks for Teaching Art Online
Tuesday September 29, 6-8pm
Panelists: 
Briana Clarke (Program Manager, ArtWell)
Selekha Ramos (Director of Online Programming, Mighty Writers)

• Learn how two Philly-based arts organizations have shifted their programming from in-person to an online format
• Hear and share tips and tricks for teaching artists and arts organization

Nuts & Bolts of Online Performance
Monday October 12, 6-8pm 
Panelists: 
Eugene Lew (Director of Sound & Music Technology, UPenn)  
Styx Latte (Sound Engineer, The Rotunda)

• Learn all about microphones, audio recording and mixing software, and online performance platforms
• Hear and share tips and tricks for making your online performance sound great
• Ask questions of two Philly-based sound and performance experts

How to Podcast
Monday October 26, 6-8pm
Panelists:
 John Morrison (Co-Host of Serious Rap Sh*t)
Tezarah Wilkins (Host of Who Taught You How To Drive?!)

• Hear from two Philly-based podcasters about how and why they got started in podcasting
• Learn about podcasting technology, challenges, and fun aspects of the work
• Ask questions of our panelists

Art & Political Movements: Focus on Philly 
Monday November 9, 6-8pm 
Panelists: 
Naomi Sturm-Wijesinghe (Executive Director, Philadelphia Folklore Project) 
Jennifer Turnbull (Co-Director, Spiral Q Puppet Theatre)

• Learn about the role of art in political movements, particularly in Philly
• Learn about the power of the art-making processes
• Share your own experiences and ask questions of our panelists

2021 Planning
Monday December 14, 6-8pm
Facilitated by: Oskar Castro (Artist, Activist, Organizer, Bohiti Fotuto)

• Identify your goals for 2021 and break them into achievable tasks
• Plot your tasks on a timeline or calendar for 2021
• Create a plan to keep yourself accountable

“Thanks for having these sessions. I have been retired for five years, ...and these sessions are bringing me back to my GAME."  
--Vernoca, Workshop Attendee

More Events

I made a budget for this grant using the template and realized how incredibly useful the workshop I attended was! It made creating this program budget a breeze and I really felt like I understood how to do it to tell the story we were trying to convey in the grant. So YAY Culture Works workshops!
- Cara, "Creating a Project Budget" Workshop Attendee

CONTACT
​info@visiondrivenconsulting.com