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1Berkshire holds its first Creative Resources Conference, a “how-to, where-to” for artists and creative entrepreneurs, at Hotel on North in downtown Pittsfield, Thursday, November 12, 2015.
The Creative Resources Conference is a day-long program that will connect over 100 regional arts and creative professionals to services, resources, and industry experts. Six panels will dive deep into issues such as finding the right partners and collaborators, cultivating buyers and investors, using images and stories to reach audiences, utilizing creative space, budgeting for growth, and managing legal and financial obstacles. The conference will also offer three hands-on workshops where attendees can learn about grant writing, auditioning, and developing a visual identity from industry experts. After the conference, attendees can network with other artists, panelists, and presenters at a post-conference cocktail reception at the Berkshire Museum.
The afternoon’s keynote address will be given by Matt Stinchcomb, Executive Director at Etsy.org. Etsy is known to many artists and consumers as one of the first digital marketplaces for unique, handmade goods. Matt was the longest-serving Etsy employee, striving with every position he held to empower artists, designers, and curators to start and grow businesses on their own terms. After nearly ten years with the company he shifted gears to found Etsy.org, a nonprofit organization building entrepreneurial education programs that foster the human capacity, wisdom, insights, and community needed to create regenerative businesses. Matt also serves on the board of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics in Great Barrington, Mass.
Tickets, panel and workshop options, and more information can be found on 1berkshire.com.
Julia Dixon is an artist, arts administrator, community convener, and creative advocate. She has worked on a variety of arts-driven economic development projects since her arrival to the Berkshires in 2009 including DownStreet Art in North Adams and the Storefront Artist Project in Pittsfield. In 2012 she became the Managing Director of Berkshire Creative, the region’s state-designated organization devoted to fostering the creative economy county-wide. She serves the creative community in her new role as Creative Economy Specialist at 1Berkshire, where she conceived and organized the inaugural Creative Resources Conference held in the fall of 2015.
1Berkshire’s Creative Resources Conference is supported by the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, Interprint, Jacob’s Pillow Dance, Berkshire International Film Festival, Berkshire Community College, Toole Insurance, and Common Capital. Cocktail reception sponsors include Berkshire Museum and Berkshire Magazine. Email Julia Dixon, 1Berkshire’s Creative Economy Specialist, at [email protected] for information on becoming a sponsor.
