Over thirty years ago, an ambitious vision for a community arts workshop to revitalize Santa Barbara’s art scene through rehearsal space, studio facilities and gallery exhibition space was first articulated. Now this dream has become a reality.
An effective plan for how your workshop will run is key to its success and should include how much to charge participants for participation.
Develop a Vision
Community arts activities can be an excellent way to energize communities, provide youth with a platform for developing self-esteem and allow people a place to express their creativity artistically. Projects utilizing visual art (fine, video and new media art), music and theater have proven especially helpful as a form of community engagement for many arts organizations both locally and nationwide or international.
Facilitators of community arts projects need a clear vision of how the arts will help meet community needs, what forms of artistic expression their participants will explore, and how this workshop or class fits within a wider social and cultural framework.
Community arts projects have long been utilized as an effective means to address civic challenges and seize opportunities, as well as effect change. Their purpose is to bring residents together through shared artistic experiences that encourage dialogue while simultaneously strengthening community spirit.
Community arts projects can help develop relationships and trust between citizens, foster empathy, encourage collaboration and foster understanding of diverse cultures. Facilitators play a pivotal role in this process by treating all participants with dignity, nonjudgment and generosity.
An art journal can be an ideal way to record and share your hopes, dreams and gratitude for the coming year. A perfect project for families of all ages to engage in together at home, school or in your neighborhood!
Over three decades ago, Santa Barbara residents dreamed of creating a community arts workspace to revitalize local arts activity, provide rehearsal, workshop and performance space as well as inspire. Today thanks to the efforts of various individuals and organizations that vision is beginning to come alive!
Find a Venue
Art workshops give community members an opportunity to design and construct artworks that enhance their surroundings, either alone or as part of a larger urban regeneration effort. Residents of all ages and abilities collaborate with community artists and architects in brainstorming ideas which are then presented at an exhibition for voting by residents; then the most popular designs are constructed and installed resulting in increased community pride and ownership.
This type of workshop provides participants with an engaging learning experience about various cultures, art forms, and celebrations while building connections as global citizens. Workshop participants often create exciting artistic products like gourd art, Russian matrouska dolls, painting on glass art pieces or Anishinaabe bead arts – usually taught by artists from their culture of origin; to find one, try asking friends for recommendations or searching online portfolios for artists from your culture of interest.
Find an Artist
Artistic creation can be an extremely therapeutic activity for community members. It provides them with an outlet to express their innermost thoughts and feelings while increasing confidence amongst members. Furthermore, creating art together promotes creativity as well as identity in neighborhoods – thus making starting an arts workshop beneficial to both the residents as well as any artists that participate.
To select an artist for a community workshop, begin by investigating local instructors of similar classes. When possible, visit multiple artist websites before meeting up with potential choices – it might even help if friends and family give recommendations!
Once you have found an artist, make sure you clearly communicate your vision and what type of workshop you require. Some artists may be wary about enrolling in workshops that do not suit their skill level; include information about this in your marketing materials to address this concern. Lastly, set an affordable fee so as to prevent students from leaving due to financial reasons.
Preparing and running a community art workshop requires extensive preparation. Make sure to stay focused on your primary objective while remembering that participants of your workshop have much to teach you as much as you have something new to teach them. Keep being an educator at heart while never stopping your pursuit of knowledge!
ArtStart’s ArtScraps Materials Reuse Center brings exciting, creative materials directly to your site for children and youth to use, giving them the opportunity to craft projects that stir their imaginations. Our workshops are tailored specifically for each age group and learning style of each participant – something we believe art is instrumental in doing. Our goal is to inspire them with love for learning so that they know they have unimaginable power beyond measure – this empowers them to test better in school, engage fully with education programs, graduate high school with degrees and secure employment afterwards.
Market Your Workshop
To make sure your workshop is successful, you must promote it actively – including making announcements through regular business announcements and email newsletters, social media promotion and handing out printed fliers during checkout.
Be sure to promote the workshop at times when its target audience will most likely attend, such as before and during school holidays. Offer separate sessions tailored specifically for different age groups; and ensure each session includes time for feedback and sharing between sessions (for instance allowing an intro at the start or time for questions and one-on-one interactions).
Consider how your workshop fits in with the overall mission of your business. For instance, your goals might align with company or brand culture or include exercises that force students to explore their personal creative processes more deeply – both strategies will increase participation and boost engagement among your workshop attendees.
Be a Facebook and/or Instagram Live star! Going live on these platforms is another effective way of increasing engagement with your workshops, and can be lots of fun too! Not only can it spread awareness about them quickly and easily, but you can use these videos as a great opportunity to market products or services, including including CTAs (call-to-actions) that encourage viewers to sign up for additional workshops or purchase your artwork.
Switcher streaming service adds an extra professional touch to workshops, making it simple and efficient to stream from multiple cameras, create slideshows with art pieces, and even incorporate advertisements or sponsors’ logos throughout videos.
Be sure to provide a high-quality experience for the participants of your workshop, and have fun doing so! Being enthusiastic about running it will increase attendees’ enthusiasm about attending, which may encourage more of them to come back for future workshops and spread the word about them.
