WORKSHOP DETAILS

FEBRUARY 20-22, 2004 | NORTH CAROLINA ARTS COUNCIL | HENDERSONVILLE, NC

"We've been asked to change the way we think about ourselves as artists. The level of enthusiasm helped me to rekindle and reconnect to my own enthusiasm – I've been working in the field for my entire adult life and I’ve never received this information before."
    — NCAC Artist/Participant

Overview

Creative Capital worked closely with the North Carolina Arts Council on our weekend retreat for North Carolina artists. The Council selected the participants from their statewide roster of artists who had received Arts Council grants, artists’ services and touring support.

This was Creative Capital's first multi-disciplinary weekend workshop, held at a beautiful, rustic retreat center on Kanuga Lake. Artist participants came from cities and towns across North Carolina, and spanned many cultural backgrounds and levels of experience. The generosity and varied perspectives these artists brought to the table made for an energetic, powerful retreat experience for everyone involved.

Highlights From The February 2004 Workshop

Leaders

Professional Development Program Director: Alyson Pou

Workshop instructors Ð Colleen Keegan, Jackie Battenfield, Aaron Landsman

Artist-facilitators included poet Tracie Morris, visual artist Erika Blumenfeld, and theater artist Daniel Alexander Jones

Observers: Suzanne Fletscher, The McColl Center; Eddie Torres, Ford Foundation; Ken May, South Carolina Arts Commission.

Artists

22 artists from across North Carolina attended the 2004 weekend retreat. These artists worked in the disciplines of dance, theater, visual art, literature, storytelling and music. They ranged from mid-career choreographer Martha Connerton, to Durham installation artist David Solow, to Appalachian storyteller Michael Williams.

Outcomes

The NCAC workshop was such a success that they have invited Creative Capital back to do a one-day Strategic Planning workshop in December 2004, and a second weekend retreat in June 2005. 2004 workshop alumni have reported making tremendous progress toward their artistic, career and life goals. The writers who attended the workshop are meeting regularly, and many participants describe milestone events in their lives and work – from an emerging sculptor who sold her first piece, to a poet who was able to give up her full-time job to fully pursue her writing.

"I've begun to think outside the box; I realized that playing by the rules is not working for me. I've found many exciting opportunities, and it truly is a liberating way of seeing and doing my art. Thank you all again for a wonderful opportunity to learn and plan and dream." —Barbara Dickinson, NCAC Retreat Participant.