Amy Rogers
Director, Self Employment in the Arts Conference
Posted 2.2.2008
What is the SEA conference?
SEA stands for Self-Employment in the Arts. The SEA
Conference brings together aspiring and student artists
with successful art entrepreneurs. The focus is on the
business of art. All areas of art are represented including
visual, performing, literary, and media. Topics vary every
year but include such issues as marketing & promotion,
self-publishing, legal issues, basics of business plans,
industry trends, and pricing.
How did SEA begin?
In the late 90s Dr. Gary Ernst from North Central College had an art
student approach him about starting her own business.
From that experience, he realized there was very
little information available about business for
artists. He created a DVD Series entitled "The
Entrepreneurial Artist." The response was tremendous.
He realized that if everyone felt the videos were
worth while - face to face interaction between
students and self-employed artists would be even
better. Through funding from The Coleman Foundation of Chicago, the
first SEA Conference was held in 2000 at Columbia College Chicago. Approximately
100 students, faculty, and artists attended.
How are students impacted by the SEA
conferences?
During the conference, students are immersed in a truly
unique environment. They are able to network and interact
with over 400 other individuals like themselves. Students
are able to not only learn about different business topics
but are exposed to new ideas about how to survive as a
self-employed artist. One of the largest impacts is the
inspiration the students receive. Many artists have heard
one too many times, "Yes, but what are you going to do to
pay the bills." At SEA, students meet a variety of
different artists who are making a living with their art.
They may not be making millions - but they are supporting
themselves. One of my favorite comments from a conference
feedback survey was something like, "this is the most
beneficial thing I have done while in college."
SEA has other gatherings across the country. Do
they differ from the Naperville conference? If so,
how?
During the 2007/08 academic year there will be four
different regional conferences. The coordinating schools
receive a small grant from SEA that they match and then put
on either a 1 or 2 day conference. Each conference is
unique and reflects the needs of students, the host
institutions and region of the country. The conferences are
coordinated by the hosting college or university and not
directly by SEA. SEA provides guidance and general support,
however. The overall content of the conferences are the
same - business of art. Topics are very similar -
marketing, pricing, self-promotion, legal issues,
resources, etc. With the SEA West BizArt Conference now in
its third year, we are starting to create a "national best
of" speaker list. For example, we have several speakers who
will present at more than one of the conferences this year.
In the Fall St. Olaf College in Minnesota held their first
regional conference. The end of January Everett and Edmonds
Community Colleges in Washington held their 3rd Annual
BizArt Conference. March 7th & 8th Drury University in
Missouri will hold their first SEA OzArts Conference. Then
on April 12th The University of Tampa will hold their 2nd
Annual SEA South Conference. The SEA L.A. conference will
be held every other year and will be held again in the
Spring of 2009.
How have these regional conferences been
received?
The response has been wonderful. I see the same reaction
from the attendees - "Wow, this is great and so
beneficial." and from the speakers "I wish this was around
when I was in school." This past weekend I was at the 3rd
Annual SEA West BizArt Conference and had the chance to
look through the surveys. I could not believe how many
sessions received straight 5 out of 5 (5 is the highest)
ratings. Attendees are always pleased with what they gain
in terms of business knowledge but I feel the real value is
getting the artists together to network and interact. This
is true whether it is the annual conference in Illinois or
the regional conferences.
What does SEA provide students that is unique to
Arts training in higher education?
The unique aspect of SEA is the focus on business and the
fact that it is artist-led. I always use the analogy that
if a student comes to a college and wants to open up their
own sandwich shop they will take classes such as
accounting, marketing, promotional strategies,
entrepreneurship, consumer behavior, etc. But, they will
never take a course in sandwich making. On the other hand
you have the artist. If they are a visual artists they will
take drawing, painting, etc. but most likely will never
take a course in business. Yet, many artists become
self-employed.
SEA has seen tremendous success and growth. In your
opinion, what is driving this expansion?
I think the idea that arts business was lacking is what has
helped SEA grow. I see more schools offering courses in
business/entrepreneurship geared towards artists. This is
great. More people are aware that artists don't have to
starve and need to learn some business skills (just like
the rest of us) to succeed. I also think the fact that it
(Arts Entrepreneurship education) is focused solely on the
arts yet encompasses all areas of art has made it a place
for artists (whether students or community artists) to get
together and network. This leads to great "word of mouth
advertising."
Last year SEA won the USASBE award for best
National Model Specialty program. How has that impacted
SEA?
I think it opened everyone's eyes to what we are doing.
North Central College is a small liberal arts school. While
we have a strong focus on the arts and are building a new
fine arts center, SEA goes well beyond our little school.
It is for all artists regardless of where they attend
college - large, small, community college, etc. I think the
award helped let some larger schools realize that our
program was having impact and worth hosting.
What do you see as the major factors in the growth
of Arts entrepreneurship programs across the
country?
I believe it takes faculty members from both the business
and the arts to work together on creating programs.
Sometimes this means breaking down walls and coming
together for what is best for the student and not the
individual departments. There are many great faculty that
are out there trying to do this. The more collaboration we
begin to see across campuses and between
colleges/universities, the more we will see arts
entrepreneurship programs succeed.
Are there plans to expand SEA?
Our vision for SEA has never been one large national
conference. Dr. Ernst and I envision many regional
conferences throughout the country that are regional in
flavor, yet share the database of great speakers. This year
we have two new regional conferences and we hope to
continue to add conferences each year. We then hope to see
the regional conferences grow in both size and also in
local funding. Currently, we are also looking at expanding
the website to provide more resources for students,
artists, and faculty. Conferences happen once a year; we
want the website to be a place they can go to and get
information any time of the year.
If you have any questions about SEA, you can email Amy
here.
