Kendall College of Art and Design

Kendall College of Art and Design gets it!This is the second year I have been here to present a workshop. It is so refreshing to see an art college embracing art career sustainability beyond the normal paradigm of placing students in jobs after graduation. Kendall is ahead of the game when it comes to the concept of artist as entrepreneur. I salute illustration department head Jon Macdonald, faculty member Nancy Hart and career services councilor Christine Brown for empowering the students with an entrepreneurial spirit.The three day workshops are a big commitment, but despite other class assignments everyone showed up and stayed the course. We Skyped in stellar sessions with life coach Greg Montana and Licensing Expert Maria Brophy. Four participants from last years workshop, Amanda Schaub, Kirbi Fagan, Sarah Summers, and Alex Gilford spoke about their experiences over the past year and how they were applying what they learned to their art careers. We brainstormed on community art projects.Every workshop has some tears as people awaken to profound insights about themselves and others around them. A palpable buzz was felt by a very energized group of budding artist entrepreneurs.Alyssa Parsons summed it up this way:"Your workshop was amazing! Every hour was packed with useful information--I feel like I learned a year's worth of material in only three days. You'd think that having that much info crammed into my head in such a short period of time would be exhausting, but instead I feel re-energized. I've been so focused on trying to find an art job that I'd almost forgotten what it was like to paint something that I felt passionate about. Your workshop showed me that making a living and living my dream could co-exist after all. Thank you, a million times!"Thank you Alyssa and all the participants. You are on the path to accomplish some very exciting goals.