Open to artists throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut with priority to current A4A grantees.

This is a 3-part series. Artists are asked to attend all sessions.

Many artists, particularly those that exist within historically marginalized communities, hold several identities at once, yet often feel the pressure to choose one over the other when planning for a career in the arts. This incongruity can often lead to anxiety and feelings of imposter syndrome when trying to figure out how to position and further one’s work.

In this intimate, highly interactive 3-part series, artist John Vo introduces structures for achieving one’s creative goals without compromising the many additional roles and identities each artist holds. Participants will come away with the components of a personal and creative plan unique to their creative identity.

WEEK 1: MISSION invites artists to consider the central reasons why they make art, what drives them, and what values they wish to center in their practice and their lives.

WEEK 2: MONEY begins to tease apart the sticky questions of how to make one’s practice sustainable and how different forms of income can support one’s broader work.

WEEK 3: TIME interweaves all of these and considers strategies for structuring one’s life to make space for creating in harmony with all the roles in one’s life. John Vo is a working artist who paints to connect to people, and who aims to make art accessible. As the son of Vietnamese refugees, they draw from their family’s narrative as a poetic understanding of history in development.

Drawing inspiration from Artists U’s “Making Your Life as an Artist” curriculum, participants will actively engage with peers in a variety of group and partner discussions and exercises over the course of the three-week series. Note: This workshop uses John’s unique lens to cover similar topics to Laura Baring-Gould’s “Making a Plan in a Time of Uncertainty,” and “Artists U.”

For artists of all identities and disciplines and centering intersectional experiences. 15 participants max. This live, interactive workshop will not be recorded.

Register via Zoom.