2025 Business of Art Conference

Name: 2025 Business of Art Conference
Start: 2025-03-07T12:00:00-06:00
End: 2025-03-07T16:30:00-06:00
Location: Reiman Gardens

Schedule

Fri Mar 07 2025 at 12:00 pm to 04:30 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

Reiman Gardens | Ames, IA

Register today for the 2025 Business of Art Conference to be held at Reiman Gardens (1407 University Blvd., Ames, IA) on Fri., March 7 and Sat., March 8.
Designed to strengthen business skills and provide resources for both formally trained and self-taught creatives of all types, the conference is an opportunity for artists to learn new business skills and network with local and regional artists. Topics this year include taking your artistic practice from hobby to business, developing a daily creative practice, selling your work, and so much more. Professionals and students in all types of creative work, part time or full time, in all stages of their career are welcome.
Registration is $100 for professionals and $50 for students. Registration is for both days; single day registration is not offered. Lunch and simple snacks are included in registration. Refunds are not possible, but if you cannot attend, you are welcome to transfer your registration to another person.
Full conference details and registration information can be found online at www.amesart.org. If you have questions about registering or other aspects of the conference, please call (515) 259-0494 or email [email protected].
This year’s keynote speaker is Chris Vance [chrisvanceart.com]. Chris has worked as a professional artist in the Midwest for the past 25 years. His art is rooted in a blend of cartoons, music, graffiti, and skateboard culture. He described his distinctive style in an interview published on a blog called “Seeds of Fruit”: “I have four kids, and I’ve been influenced by skateboards since I was a kid, plus graffiti, cartoons, and the whole Ren and Stimpy type culture. Cartoon characters that aren’t really Tom and Jerry but they’re a little darker than that, I guess. And I’ve always been inspired by the way my kids draw things — kind of sketchy but there’s an interesting line quality that happens when they’re not really aware of making it perfect. All those things kind of intrigue me, all those things kind of crammed into my head and spit back out!” [https://seedsandfruit.com/chris-vance-painter]
Chris works with corporate accounts, art fairs, murals, and galleries. He graduated from Iowa State University in 2000 with a BFA. In college, he was really influenced by the work of the well-known artist Richard Diebenkorn (American, 1922-93) and the abstract expressionists (Mid-20th century American art movement).
Hosted by the Ames Community Arts Council and the Octagon Center for the Arts, the Business of Art Conference is being supported in part by Hand over Hand, the City of Ames Commission on the Arts (COTA), the Ames Regional Economic Alliance (AREA), the Ames Writers Collective, and 10Fold Architecture and Engineering.