The Marshall University School of Art and Design, with Career Services and the Tamarack Artisan Foundation, will host a mini-conference titled Art Careers: Be Your Own Boss, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Friday, April 10 at the Visual Arts Center at 927 Third Ave., in Huntington.
“Our objective is to invigorate the entrepreneurial gumption of artists by introducing resources and modeling entrepreneurial success,” said Sandra Reed, director for the School of Art and Design. “The panel of successful entrepreneurs is the featured event of Be Your Own Boss.”
The panel is comprised of Judy Belcher, a polymer clay jewelry designer and the program director at the Tamarack Artisan Foundation; Seth Cyfers, founder of Ackenpucky Creative, a firm specializing in interior design, furniture repair and upholstery service; and Amanda Easter, owner of Inside Out Creative, a Charleston-based marketing and graphic design firm. Belcher is a finance alumna of Marshall; and Cyfers and Easter earned degrees from Marshall in graphic design.
The mini-conference will begin with a meet-and-greet preceding the official start of the event at 9 a.m. Before the panel begins, featured speakers will highlight resources that are available to students/alumni artists through MU Career Services, and to all artists/designers through the Tamarack Artisan Foundation and Unlimited Future, Inc.
At the outset of the panel, each panelist will address one or more of these topics:
- A pivotal moment or set of factors that accounts for their success as an entrepreneur
- What in school helped prepare them for life after graduation
- The source of their greatest professional satisfaction
Gail Patton, executive director of Unlimited Future, Inc., a business incubator and resource center for the Tri-State area, will moderate the panel with focus on bringing forth the practical and inspirational strategies that helped each of these individuals create opportunities for themselves and for other creatives.
Mentoring appointments with panelists and community leaders will be available by pre-registration following the panel’s conclusion at 11 a.m.
“I am confident this will prove a valuable resource for our students, alumni and area artists,” Reed said.
Reed noted a complementary event in the fall will focus on strategies to help artists find a great boss.
Art Careers: Be Your Own Boss is free and open to students, Marshall alumni, and community artists. Registration is requested by noon Monday, April 6, at www.marshall.edu/art/careers. For more information, call the Visual Arts Center front desk at 304-696-7299.
