Why attend the Expo Symposium for Independent Arts?
When I first heard about the Expo for Independent Arts, and all that it’s been in the past I was immediately enchanted. “How cool is that?” I thought. A full day of really cool workshops and networking with other arts organizations…wow.
I spent some time going through the Expo Books we have here at the office, a history lesson if you will, and then we started talking about this year’s event. And the one thing that kept coming up over and over again, was this: it’s really hard for the exhibiting organizations because while they spend the day meeting new audience members and potential supporters, they don’t get enough time to really talk to each other. And what about the workshops? How can exhibiting orgs and projects participate in the workshops if they’re out there (wo)manning a table?
We went around and around on this point until the conclusion was made, maybe we need an event specifically for artists that meets their needs to network and get relevant, vital information about the arts, media and cultural landscape. Maybe, we need a SYMPOSIUM!
And so it was decided. And here we are many weeks later on the cusp of our first ever Expo Symposium for Independent Arts. We have an amazing Keynote Speaker, Arlene Goldbard, author of New Creative Community: the Art of Cultural Development; a stellar lineup of panelists and workshops, and high expectations of an amazing day that really addresses what it means to be an artist or culture maker in this time and beyond.
Personally, I couldn’t be more excited about how the Expo Team worked together to make this amazing event real. But we want to go beyond that. We want an event that will knock yours and our socks off, and that means bringing the Indy Arts crowd to town in Berkeley on Friday September 25th at the beautiful David Brower Center.
We chose this location for a couple of reasons. First of all because it is literally steps away from Berkeley BART. (I counted 76 steps, but I have short legs.) Coming to Berkeley from SF on BART is about the same amount of time as taking a Muni across town. In some cases, even less time, depending on where you start.
Although, The Symposium for Independent Arts is a new venture for us, it’s already a labor of Love. We love the idea of creating this special day, just for you, the independent artist, those who beat their own drum, those with amazing ideas, those willing to do very brave things.
Please help us share this gift. Tell your friends. Help us go viral via Facebook, Twitter, Digg, MySpace and all the other little icons you see on the share button below. And if you haven’t already, REGISTER ONLINE TODAY! It will be well worth the time. Then invite your artist, culture making friends to come along. Like all Indy Arts events, the Symposium is super-affordable, and NO ONE IS EVER TURNED AWAY FOR INABILITY TO PAY.
See you in Berkeley!
Clarisa
Indy Arts Boss Lady
Tags: Arts & Culture, David Brower Center, Director's Blog, Expo, Expo for Independent Arts, Symposium
