The New Heights Artist Development series will be holding the Arts Symposium 2018 at The Centre in Santa Clarita on Oct. 20.
“The aim is to increase artists’ professional development, their artistic development,” said Jeff Barber, the city’s arts and events supervisor. “This symposium will present a variety of different education opportunities for filmmakers, musicians and visual artists.”
Two keynote addresses will be given, both with a focus on art. Both speakers will discuss the state of the arts in Los Angeles and Southern California. While the first speaker has not yet been selected, Barber said the second speaker will represent the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and talk about initiatives in art today.
The symposium runs from 9:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., with each session lasting an hour and a half. Admission is free to the public, and anyone interested in stopping by is welcome to bring friends who are artists or have an art background, Barber said, and can select which sessions are best for them.
“It’s effective for folks to take a day out of their time and look into their field of artistic interest,” he said.
Visual Arts
For artists concerned with their promotion, prices and portfolio can view the following sessions, presented by art professionals in business and academia:
- “Getting Social: The Artist and Social Media” guests will get an idea as to what tools to use in using social media effectively, Barber said.
- “Pricing Your Art” will discuss real world market forces that dictate how much art is worth.
- “Creating a Compelling Portfolio” will detail how to put together an impressive portfolio that shows artists have spent the time and effort to promote themselves, Barber said.
Music and Film
Three sessions for musicians and filmmakers, respectively, will also be offered during the visual arts sessions:
- “How to Get Booked: Booking Agents 101” explains the insight behind what artists need to do to promote themselves through a booking agent.
- “Music Supervisors: Their Role and What They Look For” gives musicians tips on how they can get their music placed in a film’s soundtrack.
- “Touring: Ins and Outs” maps out how musicians ought to invest in travelling to different locations and booking venues.
- “You Have Made a Film; Now What?” takes a look at independent film distribution through film festivals or video on demand, and offering ideas on how to be innovative with the film’s completion and promotion.
- “Top Marketing Tips For Indie Filmmakers” has its panelists discuss the best promotional tactics and how filmmakers should use social media, advertising, publicity and crowdsourcing in order to find their proper audience.
- “Getting Your Film Into a Festival” delves into how the quality of a film can make or break getting it accepted into an upcoming film festival.