Art Inc. Kentucky and the Kentucky Arts Council recently hosted a virtual informational meeting designed to educate participants on how to apply to the Kentucky Crafted program and what benefits the program offers.
Kentucky Crafted is an adjudicated program operated by the Kentucky Arts Council which provides marketing, business training and promotional opportunities to Kentucky visual and craft artists. Adjudicated artists are eligible to exhibit at the Kentucky Crafted Market, a three-day art show that offers artists the opportunity to promote and sell their work to local and national buyers.
This online session was part of a series of online training sessions made available to artists since the onset of then pandemic. Art Inc. was forced to close its retail gallery space as a result of stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines. While the physical space was no longer available, the needs of Kentucky artists remain. “Art Inc. Kentucky is always on the lookout for opportunities to help our member artists grow their businesses, gain exposure and generate sales – especially now with artists having so many challenges selling their work. Kentucky Crafted is one of our Commonwealth’s premier art shows and it’s a tremendous opportunity for Kentucky artists to establish key relationships with buyers and collectors”, says Mark Johnson, President of Art Inc. Kentucky.
This online session was available exclusively to Art Inc. Kentucky members interested in learning more about the program. The Kentucky Crafted Program Manager presented details and instructions regarding how artists go about applying to the program. Additionally, every question on the application was discussed thoroughly including the actual steps to submit images of art work, benefits of being juried into the program and best practices. The virtual hosts also took time to answer questions from the participants.
“We are very grateful to the KAC for all of their work in planning, coordinating and hosting Kentucky Crafted and for providing our members with the application information. We co-hosted this same event last year and 4 of the 19 statewide artists juried into the program were Art Inc. Kentucky members”, adds Mark Johnson.
Art Inc. will continue to host online training sessions both to member artists and to the greater artists’ community in the coming months. In addition to the online training, Art Inc, continues to promote ArtHouse Kentucky, the online retail gallery where the public can view and purchase artwork from artists.