“It’s not about working harder, it’s about working differently.”
-Workshop Leader Colleen Keegan, Strategic Planning Workshop

“Oh to have more of this. It has made me deliciously happy!”
-Rebecca Darlington, Artist Participant, Strategic Planning Workshop

On Tuesday, December 2nd, 33 artist participants gathered at Creative Capital in New York City’s Financial District for an evening of Strategic Planning. Led by Colleen Keegan and Ela Troyano, this Professional Development Program (PDP) workshop lays the foundation for creating a strategic plan: including (but not limited to) time management, budgeting and networking. Over the course of three hours, artist participants focused on the early stages of their plans, with a directive to form small teams in order to hold each other accountable for their progress moving forward.
In addition to connecting with other artists about their planning process, participants also have access to workshop leader Ela Troyano, who will hold a series of “office hours” in January and February. After the workshop, artist participant Leila Ghaznavi told us, “I wish I had this workshop on tape so I could play it myself. There were so many great pieces of advice and wisdom given at every moment.”

Colleen Keegan kicked off the workshop with a helpful exploration of what Strategic Planning means, and why it’s essential for artists. “Strategic planning,” she says “is about telling yourself what you want to do and proactively saying ‘yes’ to those things and ‘no’ to dozens of other things.”

“If anybody talks about your work with excitement, that’s really gold…
a curator will always believe another artist.”
-Workshop Leader Ela Troyano, Strategic Planning Workshop

According to Ela Troyano, your elevator pitch is “an entry into what you do.” Artist participants rehearsed their pitches, supporting Ela’s belief that “people need to hear your name three times before they remember it, and nine times before they act on it.”

“A budget should never be punitive.
There are very few billionaires that don’t have budgets.”
-Workshop Leader Colleen Keegan, Strategic Planning Workshop

“It’s been very inspiring. I am leaving the workshop feeling enthusiastic and feeling it is much easier to start making things possible and attain sustainability.”
-Maria Litvian, Artist Participant, Strategic Planning Workshop

 
We look forward to hearing from workshop attendees about how their strategic plans shape up! Stay tuned to our calendar for information on upcoming workshops with Ela and Colleen (or, join our mailing list). In addition, be sure to check out our two upcoming February workshops at Creative Capital in New York City: Authentic Branding, with Maxine Lapiduss and The Seven Elements of Strategic Marketing, with Brian Tate.