Get Paid to Learn How to Market Yourself
Creative Artists in Endeavors from Hairstyling to Food Can Take Part
Have you ever thought, “I should get paid to do this”? If you’re a chef, visual artist, dancer, hairstylist, brewer, actor, architect, writer, graphic designer, floral designer, makeup artist, landscape artist, crafter, musician, vintner, in fashion, or active in an equally creative endeavor, you can indeed be paid to attend webinars that teach you how to market yourself — in other words, get your name and talents out there and visible so that people can hire you.
Drafting an artist statement, building resumes and portfolios, and working in community are some of what the web-based workshops teach. One of the other purposes is the compilation of a Central Coast Artist Directory. Among the final assignments of the series is to invoice the program for the $100 payment per workshop — up to $300 — and to create a profile in the directory.
“We never get funding for things like this,” Sarah York Rubin said, clearly thrilled to be able to offer paid workshops. “Ideally, the content is in some way relevant, or participants make new friends,” she said, “and there’s an overview of current funding opportunities for creatives.” York Rubin knows this territory well as the executive director of the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture; she is steeped in the arts grants available and knows how to actually land them. “All levels of experience are welcome to the workshops, as long as they’re 18 years old and above,” she said.
The webinars come out of a state grant, and York Rubin noted that, like many government funding sources, it doesn’t pay until later — after August in this case. “We have to follow all of the state guidelines but want to offer non-competitive artist dollars, so this is a way that we could do both. There’s enough funding for several thousand people to attend and get paid. But I think that those are all of the catches,” she said.
Another career boost under discussion will be the Individual Artist Fellowship program, which awards $5,000-$50,000 “for artists at different career stages to use as they see fit,” York Rubin said; the program due date is May 5. There are 19 fellowships available, and a call for the panels — also a paid position — will be coming up.
The next session for the marketing webinars takes place Wednesday, April 19, 5:30-7 p.m. and another is scheduled for some time in May. For more on the program, which is offered across six counties including Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo, visit CentralCoastCreativeCorps.org.
