WHAT’S GOING ON!!

Time for SFTA…this month’s topic is community building. We’ll be at Wonderroot on Saturday from 1-4pm. You can RSVP with a comment. Also, check out all the amazing things SFTA participants have going on!!!

CONGRATS to Tracie and the launching of her line!!!

We are happy to announce the official launch of our web site NAUGO at www.naugo.com

Visit and support our web site today. YES YOU CAN afford to be original in NAUGO gear including T-Shirts and Accessories for Women and Men.

Please share the good news with friends and family!

Thanks,
Tracie Greene Daniels and Lambert Greene Jr.

SUPPORT GREAT ART!
I’m in the ArtHouse Co-op Sketchbook show, “Everybody We Know” and I’m inviting you to come out and enjoy a great night of art. I’ve participated in a show with this gallery before and it was really cool to see all the sketchbooks in all their varieties. This is a traveling show, unfortunately I won’t be traveling too, but that mean if it’s coming to your city you can check out my art. Listed below are the exhibition dates and locations (these are one night only shows, so once it’s gone it’s gone). The opening/kick off of the tour is this Friday, Feb. 27 from 7-10pm at ArtHouse Gallery in the Castleberry Hill area in Atlanta. If you’d like a sneak peak you can check out my book here or here.

Thanks for your support and I hope to see you there.
Hugs Angie

p.s. Tell all your friends!!

TOOLS FOR ADVANCEMENT
Cultural Odyssey and The LOVE Project
Master Workshop for Professionals and Emerging Artists

Creating New Performance

with Rhodessa Jones and Idris Ackamoor
Sat 3/7 10am – 1pm @ 7 Stages Theatre
PWYC; Suggested Min $15; Value $50

“Creating New Performance” is a theater workshop for professional, aspiring and closet performers. The class is an introduction to the performance style and training processes of Cultural Odyssey’s Co-Artistic Directors, Rhodessa Jones and Idris Ackamoor. The workshop will utilize sound and movement exercises as the beginning of a creative exploration that includes theater games, memory exercises, autobiographical musings, storytelling and musical rhythm changes. At the end of the workshop participants will perform a five to ten minute mini-performance created during the process. In addition, participants will receive information regarding “personal survival strategies for performing artists”.

About the show:
7 Stages & Cultural Odyssey presents: The Love Project
Created by Pearl Cleage, Zaron Burnett, Rhodessa Jones & Idris Ackamoor
Directed and performed by Rhodessa Jones & Idris Ackamoor
02/25/2009 – 03/08/2009 Thurs – Sat 8pm; Sun 5pm; Matinees Sat 2/28 2pm & Thurs 3/5 10am

You don’t start a love story. One day you look around, and it’s started all around you.” With song, dance and storytelling, internationally acclaimed artists Rhodessa Jones and Idris Ackamoor detail the love story they’ve found themselves living after decades on the road. Partnerships, politics, history, family, and food – whatever your favorite lovesong, you can sing along in this show.

January SFTA

This month’s focus was marketing and development.  Though we had a small turnout, the discussion was motivational and information.  Kim Huynh and Anana Parris-Harris both gave presentations on marketing.  We discussed marketing techniques, guerilla marketing, and stages of marketing.  Below you can find more detailed information about the last session!  The next SFTA will be, as usual, on the last Saturday of the month from 1pm to 4pm at Wonderroot in Atlanta.  If you have any particular subjects you’re interested in discussing–feel free to leave a comment here!

- we browsed the top marketing terms of 2008 and specifically discussed the terms: social networking, intergration, core competency, this is how we roll, customer retention, organic marketing

-Kim gave us a presentation of her agency, Nomad Marketing Agency

-grassroots marketing…finding meaning. don’t do things conventional.

-can lose sense of humanity through the internet; people can craft a persona that is not entirely their own

-culture of short attention spans

-pros and cons of internet vs. talking to people

-for freelance artists, lack of strong clientele and having people know what you do

-culture of people. In gallery shows, the accompanying music often takes precedence and people look without discussing and really interacting. Art shows should not be presented in a party-like atmosphere.  The art should be seen as being valuable enough to be able to stand on its own.  We also spoke on some visual artists and others who have high visibility in the Atlanta arts scene and what are some of the things they do that keep their product original and sellable.

-what are people purchasing?

-poor marketing and poor culture=poor sales

-art shows having their own spotlight.

-people are more prone to purchase a product from a mainstream artist than independent ones

-using friends to spark other’s interests: hype people

-word of mouth can be good or bad

-get paid for what you love doing

-being grassroots and taking it to the next level

-brand and market research

-communication

-Anana Parris-Harris of AfriSalsa gave a presentation on the four stages of success from a business person’s standpoint.  She also spoke on not being a ‘schizophrenic artist’…sometimes we do things that others want us to do and that can create a rift between our natural skills and interests and those things we already know we want to avoid!  seek support, etc. in order to avoid creating a divide within your artist self

-cause-based marketing: smaller avenue than traditional marketing (t.v., radio)

-personal speed bumps can affect ability to market one’s own product

-challenge: knowing what needs to be done but still learning 
(e.g. life experience) 

-something that helps on a personal and entrepeneurial level is to be consistent as an artist

-know long-term what you want your product to be.  know what you want to do so you don’t do things you don’t want to, so you don’t become a ‘schizophrenic artist’

4 business growth stages

idea:existence, preliminary talks, minimum activity, planning

survival:minimum activity, basic internal structure, resource gathering/attracting

success:profit generating, maximum planned activity, implemented plans being regularly reviewed, maturity (many owners stop in this phase)

maturity: ventures 2 and 3, investments

goal: franchise brands and be public

The first step is to develop a cash cow venture based on a sellable product

parents can be schizophrenic: alternately sayong ‘get a job’ and ‘do what you love’

-making sure brand was right for first five years–money not a priority at this stage, brand was a focus

American Legacy Foundation (behind Truth campaign)…took leading agencies in five demographics before coming up with name (truth) and brought them together for a week (asian, black, hispanic, lgbt, white)

-had money and knowledge

-don’t burn your bridges with your marketer

-do work inside to overcome obstacles!