Residencies, shows, and travel require forethought and planning for an artist to reach an international audience. Lauren Frances Adams is a painter and mixed-media installation artist, incorporating traditional designs and decoration with contemporary Americana. Her wallpapers depict class struggle and labor movements. She also works as a Full-Time Painting Faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and was one of our first CHF Business Accelerator Grant Recipients in 2013. Lauren lays out some of the critical issues in arranging travel for an art business.

Art that Crosses Media

• Cross-media work as an academic distinction vs. real world experience
• Total installations and breaking the boundaries of the picture plane
• Technology, mass-production, and art
• The function of labor as a theme
• ‘Career impact of social issues as subject matter
• “Those that produce the work are often the least in control of what happens to that work.”

Art that Crosses the Atlantic (The Travel Side of an Art Business)

• International shipping – e.g. when the gallery won’t pay
• Who pays for insurance
• Planning ahead financially
• Visas & travel papers
• Budgeting time for residencies & travel with studio time and marketing
• Making art vs. managing the business
• Painting vs. teaching – cynicism vs. reality
• Teaching vs. the gallery system

Crossing the Hurdle of Grants & Funding

• Why writing grants is essential – formalizing your project definition
• Where CHF’s grant has been pivotal
• The end goal of a grant project – e.g. being polished

Lastly

• For more information on Lauren Francis Adams, visit lfadams.com