A collection of business and visual arts professionals will present a morning of expert insight into the business side of professional art careers, Wednesday, November 13.
From 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Missouri Southern State University Alumni Mansion, participants will have the opportunity to hear from art and business professionals from the region as they discuss opportunities and career challenges for artists. MSSU design students will also have an opportunity to participate in a separate breakout portfolio review session afterwards.
Presentations this year include:
Dave O’Ryan – Senior Preparator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR. O’Ryan has been working in the museum field since 2007. In addition to spending 13 years working in various Curatorial, Collection Management, and Preparation roles at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem MA, he has also worked part time and/or moonlit for the fine art shipping firm FAE, the ICA Boston, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and a small gallery in East Boston. Dave moved to NW Arkansas in late 2020 to take a position in the Preparation Department at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
Caroline Chandler – Web/Graphic Designer, University of Arkansas Global Campus Marketing and
Communications, Fayetteville, AR. Chandler is also a founding member and current Student Programs Director for the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the professional design association. Her 15-year career has spanned product development, packaging, and marketing. She works in both digital and analog mediums, making everything from animated GIFs to balloon arches. She volunteers with AIGA to help emerging designers develop and connect with their creative networks.
Communications, Fayetteville, AR. Chandler is also a founding member and current Student Programs Director for the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the professional design association. Her 15-year career has spanned product development, packaging, and marketing. She works in both digital and analog mediums, making everything from animated GIFs to balloon arches. She volunteers with AIGA to help emerging designers develop and connect with their creative networks.In addition, the event will include:
– “A Recent Graduate’s Perspective”, Cathleen Bailey, is the owner of Night Hawk Gallery, as well as studio manager and resident artist at The Clay Cup: A Coffee Pottery, both in Neosho, MO. Bailey graduated from MSSU in the fall of 2019 with a BFA in Studio Art and she also studied art abroad for five weeks as part of MSSU’s Summer in Scandinavia program.
– A Networking Luncheon serving as an opportunity to meet and mingle with representatives from local arts organizations such as Connect2Culture, the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, Joplin Regional Artists Coalition, The Post Art Library, and others.
– Design Portfolio Review, at the conclusion of the event as a break out session in the Fine Arts Complex, a portfolio review opportunity for MSSU design majors will be held with Caroline Chandler.
According to Professor Frank A. Pishkur, chair of the department of Art and Design, “The symposium allows for us to cover topics that sometimes do not fit neatly into our already established curriculum and is a service designed to expand our professional development efforts for our majors, highlighting some of the resources, issues, and concerns that artists need to navigate as they plan to pursue and/or continue their professional practice.”
The Nanette Philibert Business of Art Symposium is held each fall and was originally developed by former MSSU Management Professor, Nanette Philibert. It is now a joint venture by the MSSU Department of Art and Design and the Missouri Small Business Development Center at MSSU.
As making a living as an artist is challenging, since there is no single formula for success, this program is devised to educate artists and other creatives how to approach the business side of building a career around their talent. The topics surveyed any given year include; starting an art business/career, initially developing a presence in the art world, learning to sell their work directly to the public or finding suitable representation, connecting to exhibition and performance opportunities, marketing work, expanding networks through residencies or other opportunities, information on intellectual property and copyright laws, and more.
The MSSU Department of Art and Design integrates a university liberal arts education with professional training in art. We develop artists who then become designers, teachers, and studio artists. The department serves as a creative and cultural hub for the greater Joplin metropolitan area as well as the four-states region by providing relevant educational experience through quality teaching, experiential learning, and mentorship.
The Missouri Small Business Development Center at Missouri Southern State University is part of a nationwide network of SBDC programs and is affiliated with and supported by The Robert W. Plaster College of Business Administration. Our local center was established in April 1987. The SBDC provides existing and start-up small businesses in Jasper, Newton, Barton, Vernon, McDonald, Cedar, Dade, and Lawrence counties with consulting and training.
