Career Plan

Develop Career Strategy
Career Plan
I have made my career plan for next few years. I have to stay flexible in the same time, as I will have to find solutions for the problems, which will appear with time.
I have already done research on the galleries in Wroclaw where my gallery will be placed. The city is improving and changing really fast, there are also lots of investments in that’s city, so it will give me kind of guaranty that the market is no dead. As much alive the city stay that’s much hope I can have that it would be better for developing small businesses like mine.
I have looked at the city areas where galleries are placed and came out with conclusion that it have to be central, and as much central it can be than better. The dark side of this aspect is in costs of renting. Is impossible to buy place, instead of renting specially with my low budget. The costs of renting are also quiet high.
For that reason I will apply for the UE funding for small business. Those rules will change when I am back in Poland so I will have check everything in the time when I am there. I will try to find investors to put some money. I will also talk to the council if there are any programs supporting local artists and creative ideas. I will have to create proper business plan to take with me to all institutions, which I will have to deal with. Idea for the artwork and having contact with artists that will exhibit when formal things are sorted may be also helpful. I will ask my sister which has got many connection in the artist world to help find right contacts abroad. May ideas for making business different than others galleries are to create international exhibitions and events and to invite people to come and work with me on projects for while. I will create proper brand with brochures and business card. Experience, which I had in England with my freelancing designing jobs, and my work experience in the art gallery will probably help a lot when it comes to the action. Work which I will show and relation with artist it will be based on sale or return bases. The percentage which I will charge from the sale will be have to be worked out when we come to the real numbers, and I will be able to count my costs. It always depends from the artist to but I believe that having good relation with people that I work with will help as well as event and interesting projects which will attract not only art buyers but also artist themselves to work with me.

WORK EXPIERENCE

I have had my work experience in the art gallery ‘QUEST GALLERY’. I have been assisting with running exhibition. My job was to provide customers, with information about artwork. You build connection with random people which interest is mostly similar to yours. I think by that experience I have developed my skills in dealing with this type of custom. Dave who runs the gallery was very helpful and he has answer all my questions. It wasn’t very busy in the gallery so has told me about his experience with running gallery and about random things that happen and you have to deal with in that branch. So our talk has change into the interview. It was great as he was perfect person to answer the question. His answers will be very helpful in the future especially if I want to run my own Art Gallery in Poland. I have started in the morning from the time when gallery was open. Very important thing was security procedure. Dave had to switch of the alarm first. Then we just had a talk about gallery duties for rest of the day. It wasn’t very busy on that day. We had a few people coming to have a look. Some of them have like to be shown around and listen to the artwork background stories, however there where few that just liked to explore gallery themselves in peace and quiet. I have done some dusting so the artwork is presented well. It was actually very good to get so close to the sculpture work and get closer than usually you can get as a viewer and not the owner of work. There were few pieces from Australia inspired by Australian landscapes. There were world famous pieces, which were going around of different galleries to appeal to more viewer, art lovers and art collectors. During that day we had a few phone calls from people, which stay in touch with gallery. There was person really interested in art from Austria. He seems to be really interested in one of the sculptures. Few other viewing people have been asking about prices of the work. One woman did like the painting but she still wasn’t too happy with price. Dave say that he will ask the artist if he will accept lower amount but it still wouldn’t be price which she ask for. He was very friendly. The gallery takes the percentage from the sale and that’s how they make the money. I was surprised that actually they make any, as it really doesn’t look busy enough. Because is not that busy, I could not really benefit that much from the work experience. I would probably have to spend there longer time to deal with more cases, not just hear about them. In general, it gave me better view on this kind of businesses how there work, about relation with the clients. I heard about finding clients and promoting the name of gallery by promoting artwork, which is showed. About exhibitions preparation and finding artists willing to show theirs work.

I think that I have spoken with Dave about most of the aspects of running gallery, and about most of the thing that did not happen on that day in the gallery.

He was very helpful and we will stay in touch so if I have any questions in the future he will be perfect person to ask.

I have enter the photography competition. I dont have a results yet as the deadline is by the end of June. It is one of the competitions with free entry. This competition task was to take feminsm photo. The competition was find on www.photocompete.com

freelance job

I have apply for the freelancing job on the freelance:uk. The job that I have applied for was to design for a album cover. This job was unpaid but as a award for doing the job I will have my name on the album cover. It is good way to promote work and find new jobs. I also think it was good job to put in my portfolio as my interest is mostly in illustration section, which is connected in some ways to cover designing.

For this job I have contact mark_castle@life.co.uk

I have not god the job but still it was good to have a go, as you never if you wouldn’t get the job or get something else in the future (as you can stay in touch with person from branch).

I have been looking through the competitions, which I can take part of. There was a few which I thought I could try with but the one that mostly attracted me is: http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/jump.php?contest=international-triennial-of-stage-poster-sofia-2010
That’s an international poster competition in Sofia. I have submitted my work yet, but I will do this within next few weeks. Deadline is on 30 April 2010. I think it will be interesting experience. Is good to show sample of created work in any places, and this one sound very good.

During my last visit in Poland I have attend event in Polish Wroclaw Theatre. It was talk with famous polish artist Zbigniew Libera
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Libera).
Talk was followed by exhibition of his work in BWA gallery. It was very interesting as he was giving ideas from his point of view about art in Poland, relation between artist and galleries and as an artist, which sell his work mostly abroad , he talked a lot about differences between art and position of the artist in Poland and how does it look in different places on the world. He was trying to find the cultural differences and how there affect way of looking at the art. He was also talking about many difficulties of exhibiting in Poland as his art is very critical and controversial. It is another sample of polish artist, which actually make decision of creating abroad. It gave me more ideas about direction and difficulties, which I will have to go through with my gallery.
It is also time when market for art change and takes a new shape.
http://teatrpolski.wroclaw.pl/poniedzialki.php?id=magiel&&p=zmaglowane_28

Work Expierence...

I am still waiting for reply from galleries. I think I took my CV and motivation letter to almost every gallery in Bath. Now I just hope there will need someone soon or would be happy to just show me how galleries work for my own benefit. There were few places which were enthusiastic about me doing my work experience with them but at the end I am still waiting for final answear.

I am specially hoping for work placment in: Bo Lee galerie, Quest Gallerie and Hawkins Fine Art Gallerie.

While working on this project I have taken many photos of interiors, exterior and products for designing reasons. This expierence may benefit in the future photos taking.

I have suggested to my client to make different leaflets to different clients categories. For example offices and shop workers will look more for deliveries and take- away options than clients catching the train. I have creeated serie of brochures, posters and loyalty cards with special offers for this business. There was good comunnication between me and my client as in the same time I work for him on regular basis. At the end everone was satisfied what give me hope that the job was done properly.

I have finish leaflet for 'tea time cafe'. My client was satisfied, hopefully it will help me in the future with designs for my own business.