Art + Technology Synthesis: Feature Friday, Artist In Residence Program, and More!

“Finding and keeping talent is a hot topic across the Puget Sound region. More than 25,000 technology jobs in the state have remained open for at least six months.” - Puget Sound Business Journal, Feb 4, 2016

There is something unique bubbling up in Seattle at the intersection of art and technology. Employers have realized that they need to do more to attract and retain talent, as well as sustain a culture of experimentation in their companies. Innovation does not happen in a silo, the more an individual is exposed to new ideas and industries the greater the opportunity for adaptation. Artists have a unique skill set and are seeking new ways to engage in a city which has undergone a massive transformation in the last 5-10 years.

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As part of efforts to connect the local art and technology communities, I have been working on a series of events and projects. This past Friday, I collaborated with Nick Hughes of FoundersLIVE to host Feature Friday at The RUINS. The startup community converged, and it was exciting to see a new energy fill the magical venue.

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In addition to this event, I have applied for a 4Culture grant for the development of an Art & Technology Innovation Program which would equip artists with the marketing and innovation tools needed to work with tech organizations. In recent years, we have seen National Parks to Facebook, to Autodesk, and Amtrak successfully launch artist in residence programs.

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The Art & Tech Innovation Program would have a twofold purpose. First, the grant would create an Artist Innovation Marketing Tool Kit to empower artists to monetize their work and engage in today’s technology driven world. Second, this grant would fund the development of an Artist In Residence program geared towards bridging the relationship between artist and local technology companies. Who knows what synthesis could happen as these communities connect in a deeper way!

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If you are interested in participating in the Artist In Residence program or would like to learn more, please email me at esther@uncommoncartography.com

Let's do this!

Esther

3 Tips For Using Social Media To Get The Clients You Want

I met up with Julia Amodt of Style and Cheek yesterday at Elm Coffee Roasters, and we had an important discussion that I think a larger audience (like you!) would value. As creatives, artists and entrepreneurs many of us go through times where we want to grow our business but not break the bank. Research has show that companies can expand even in down times if they are smart. It's true we aren't going through a recession, we are in a season of abundance. So how do you stand out? Here are three tips to kick start your growth:

1. Tap into national holidays and trends.
   • When you are mapping out your social media/web content, take advantage of upcoming holidays (Check out track maven and hub spot for extensive lists. The information can be overwhelming so just map out one month at a time, at the beginning of the month), events (restaurant openings, new boutiques, book/movie premiers, etc.), and product launches that align with your brand and include them in your posting schedule (even if you aren't attending the events).
   • Don't forget to tag those brands, and add the locations/places, because you want to be on their radar as well as the radar of their customers.
2. Join affiliate/partner programs.
   • Pinterest now allows you to have affiliate links, which means you can post your product on a board and link directly to your website. So get to work optimizing your boards to showcase your product in the best light.
   • If you are a blogger, check out two programs that my clients have had success with are RewardsStyle and Share A Sale.
   • Do any of your favorite brands have affiliate programs? You would be surprised, I have seen everyone from Danielle LaPorte to Amazon launch them.
3. Post the work that you want.
   • If you are trying to work with specific brands then give them shout outs, if you want to work with a certain type of client then research the brands who have already captured your audience target (what is their aesthetic, what kind of content are they posting, etc).
   • Perhaps you don't have the budget to create that dream photo shoot or hire the perfect graphic designer -- don't let that hold you back. Fake it till you make it! Take advantage of Unsplash, a free stock photography website, and Canva, a site that makes design simple for everyone.

5 Ways To Discover New Clients

Art & Commerce Series Have you heard of Aroma Poetry, Lab Grown Bones, Mixed Reality Making The Mundane Magical. These were each created by artists who are applying technology in new ways to areas they are fascinated by -- everything from biology to virtual reality. Artists are leading the way in taking down barriers and showing connections between art and technology. Living in Seattle where there has been much friction between art and technology, I see great opportunity if only the two sides will connect. 

“The next 10 years will require people to think and work across boundaries, into new zones that are totally different than their expertise. They will not only have to cross those boundaries, but they will also have to identify opportunities and make connections between them.” - Designer Clement Mok

The starving artist is a well-known metaphor, but this doesn’t have to be our lives. If we are willing to do the work of creating something unique instead of being comfortable with producing pale imitations. In the book “Rembrandt’s Enterprise: The Studio and the Market” author Svetlana Alpers shares about Rembrandt the artist being an entrepreneur and businessman. How his successes in the marketplace brought him honor in contrast to the artists who sought honor through the patronage of the wealthy or religious institutions.

Daniel H. Pink in his book “A Whole New Brain: Why Right Brainers Will Rule The Future” encourages individuals to ask themselves the following three questions about what they’re doing to earn a living:

1. Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
2. Can a computer do it faster?
3. Is what I’m offering in demand in an age of abundance?

We are at a pivotal time where artists have the unique ability to team up with businesses and organizations in a variety of industries to create as Pink’s book states “artistic and emotional beauty, to detect patterns and opportunities, to craft a satisfying narrative and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into novel invention.”     

5 Ways To Begin Uncovering New Opportunities

1. Go online or visit your bookstore, find a magazine that is not what you would normally read. Look for an article that fascinates you and follow your curiosity. Keep your eyes open for opportunities.
2. Experiment with how you share your art, look for new technology or avenues you have not previously used. Think about how you can tweak your work to tell a better story or capture a new audience through the platform.
3. Have coffee with a friend in a different industry, and pick their brain as to what new industry trends, technologies, etc. are currently inspiring them. Look for ways to adapt the idea for your own art.
4. Create an inspiration board around a word, article, texture or image that you find compelling. You know those crime boards every TV show has, imagine yourself as a detective and begin to connect the pieces.
5. Make digital solitude a part of your life. This past weekend I unplugged from my phone and computer as part of a 25-Hour Experiment, this allowed me to have undistracted conversations and think deeply on ideas. I believe it is in depth that we are going to find our competitive differentiation.

“The challenge in this era of globalization - for countries and individuals - is to find a healthy balance between preserving a sense of identity, home and community and doing what it takes to survive within the globalization system.” - Thomas Friedman

Image By: Lindsey Bolling Photography

TOP 5 RESOURCES FOR GROWING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

You can be hustling away, but if you are not sharing what you are creating then it’s virtually impossible to grow your audience. As freelancer, entrepreneur, an individual in the gig/project based economy, I know that I have to put work out there in order to get more work. So I wanted to share with you a couple of the sites/tools which I have found helpful for doing this. CALENDAR

Social media can be a bit overwhelming, but if you make a plan then it is much easier to stay consistent, which is a major KEY to growing your online presence.

Content Calendar:  It's important that your content be relevant and shareable. Reviewing a content calendar before mapping out your social media strategy helps you make sure your content will be in the right place, at the right time which will increase the odds of exposure.

Passion Planner: I have found having a physical calendar really allows me to map out my content. Also, if you are someone who works with affiliates, they have a buy three get one program.

IMAGES

A big challenge that artists and small businesses face is getting fresh content for use in their social media, website and marketing materials. Here are two sources for FREE content, start taking advantage of them today to grow your online presence.

The New York Public Library – Public Domain Images: Did you know that more than 180,000 of the items in the New York Public Library Digital Collections are in the public domain? These images are free for you to share and reuse.

Unsplash: Free Stock Photos: A great source for free stock photos. You can either explore the site, or choose to sign up to have 10 hi-res photos delivered to your inbox every 10 days.

IMAGE EDITING AND LAYOUT

Once you have images, now what do you do?

WordSwag: If you are not a designer but like sharing tips, quotes, etc. This is an app you should download asap. It’s a great solution until you can afford to work with a designer. Once again just remember your brand aesthetic and try to be consistent with the styles you choose.

Photoshop Express: Allows you to make easy touch ups to photos you have taken.

Layout: It’s important to spice up the number of photos you are posting. The layout app allows you to lay out multiple photos in a simple way.

CONTENT CURATION

One way to stand apart from your competitors is to position yourself as a thought leader, this can be done by writing blogs and articles. In addition to writing, you can also be a source that others turn to for trends and fresh content.

Scoop.it: Create and grow your online presence in minutes by publishing curated content.

ENGAGEMENT AND MEASUREMENT TOOLS

If we have ever set down to discuss your social media, you will know there are a couple of items that I continually FOCUS on: aesthetic, consistency, experimentation and measurement. The following tools allow you to schedule your posts and experiment, then provides you with the data to see what did and didn’t work.

Hootsuite: This tool allows you to save time and be strategic with your social media. The free plan lets you: monitor and engage in every conversation, schedule messages and measure social media growth.

Crowdfire: Helps you to keep track of how your social media updates affect your follower/unfollower stats.

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Note: If you are reading this post about social media, then I want to make sure you have also heard about the Instagram's recent feature update, Instagram Stories. This is Instagram's response to Snapchat and could turn out to be a very competitive move.

The Artist Uprising Putting Seattle On The Map

“There’s no protectiveness or competitiveness. We’re all really open with our resources, vendors, press contacts. There’s real camaraderie. The attitude is, ‘let’s get us all on the map.’ We’re all in this together.” - Devin Montgomery 

So much has happened in the last month, that I almost don’t know where to begin! I had the privilege of meeting with Eric Anderson, Chef at Brunswick and Hunt, which was the first of many times that it came to my attention that some Seattle publications are really not giving the type of love they should be to the talented creatives in our region. If you know me, then you know this just won’t do. I am determined to contribute to what I believe is a new artist uprising that is putting Seattle on the map. Just as I believe every industry is open for disruption, I also believe the narrow idea that Seattle is rain, coffee, grunge and technology, is no longer enough to characterize this region. It’s time for businesses to pay attention to what is brewing in their own backyard, and to stop outsourcing what creatives and entrepreneurs in Seattle can do brilliantly.

“The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers - creative and holistic right brain thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn’t.” - Daniel Pink

When I first met Aaron Hicks, clothing designer for YaJoe, he gave me the greatest compliment ever “If I ever design a womenswear line you would me my muse”, little did he know that a couple months later I would ask him to collaborate with me to create my dream of a modern artist smock. I love fashion but for quite some time I have contemplated Gertrude Stein’s quote “You can either buy clothes or pictures”. Your clothing and jewelry are a part of your armor for stepping into the world feeling empowered, as though you could seriously kick ass! I mean have you seen Shannon Koszyk's Audaces Fortuna Invat (Fortune Favors The Bold) ring?! Every day I want to be able to costume myself in a way that feels like I am imbued with a magical superpower. This past week I had the privilege of collaborating with Aaron to develop the first uncommon artist smock. I am BUBBLING OVER WITH EXCITEMENT to be wearing the uncommon artist smock in today’s photo shoot which I have produced in collaboration with some brilliant local creatives for The Ruins. Please follow @uncommoncartography and @the_ruins for a sneak peek.

“The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline and effort and being able to truly care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in a myriad of petty little unsexy ways every day.”  - David Foster Wallace

A final note, many of you may have noticed the series of uncommon collaborations I have been producing. The collaborations are an outflow of my desire to take artists and industries to the next level. These artists have been sharing their talents to help each other fill in their gaps and reach the brands they most desire to work with (because none of us can do it all). The collaborators have been developing some serious social capital and momentum. It has taken a couple of months, but we have begun to see new doors opening and paid projects being locked in as a result of our collaborations. If you would be interested in being featured in a future collaboration, please email me at esther@uncommoncartography.com.  

Let's Do This!

Esther

Ps: As part of our brand refresh for The Ruins in Seattle, I am coordinating a series of events (popups, artist showcases, industry events). If you are interested in participating in a pop-up, showcase, etc. or you know an entrepreneur or creative trying to get to the next level in their career, please email me at esther@theruins.net.