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Thank you for attending the 2024 Business of Art Conference.
Watch here for details about next year!
See below for information about the 2024 conference.
Watch here for details about next year!
See below for information about the 2024 conference.
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About the 2024 Conference
The arts and other creative endeavors permeate the fabric of our lives. The arts have been shown to promote physical and mental health, learning, healing — and even to help give meaning to our lives. Arts and culture additionally help drive Iowa’s economy, employing over 12,400 people and contributing $750 million to the state’s economy.* Yet, artists can find it difficult to sustain their practices. The Ames Community Arts Council and the Octagon Center for the Arts are partnering to present the 6th annual Business of Art Conference on March 1 - 2, 2024 at the beautiful Reiman Gardens (1407 University Blvd., Ames). We are dedicated to helping artists grow and succeed — and to supporting the impact of art in the world. This conference is designed to strengthen skills and resources in both formally trained and self-taught creatives. Topics such as: making art accessible to all; community action and advocacy; sustainable art making; searching for funding; and self-care will be considered. In addition to professional development sessions, the conference includes networking opportunities throughout the day, giving participants the chance to talk one-on-one with the speakers, other professionals, and each other. Professionals and students in all types of creative work, part time or full time, in all stages of their career are welcome. Last year’s conference drew nearly 100 professional creatives and students from around the region for a day-and-a-half of information sharing and networking and was met with high praise from those in attendance. *Arts and Economic Prosperity 6 study, conducted by the Americans for the Arts and released in October 2023. |
2024 Keynote Speaker
Jill Wells, BFA, CADC (she/her) Artist, Advocate, and Mentor, Wells has firmly situated herself within art and advocacy work. She is best known for her public works investigating intersectional social issues. From 2012-2020 Wells served as a Certified Alcohol and Substance Use Counselor in Iowa. In 2020, she founded Artists X Advocacy Mentorship Program (AXA), bringing awareness to art as a career option, especially for individuals living with disabilities. In 2021, Wells was a TEDx speaker on The Power of Public Art and the lecturing artist for Al-Quds Bard College of Arts and Sciences in East Jerusalem. In 2022 she became the first Harkin Institute Artist Fellow. In 2023 Wells represented Iowa and the United States at the United Nations, Austria, speaking on inclusive public arts.
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Participants talking one-on-one with a speaker during the 2020 Conference.
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Participants at a session during the 2020 Conference.
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