Workshops

We’re doing things a bit differently this spring with a new workshop series on taxes and financial management for artists, three offerings in our regular spring workshop series (stay tuned for details), and a free panel discussion in partnership with ARCAC and CARFAC.

Workshops are $40 for VANS members and $50 for non-members. Registered participants for online workshops will get a limited-time link to a recording of the session afterward. You can bundle three workshops (using the discount code 3 Workshop Bundle at checkout) and save! Can’t make it to the online workshops? That’s no problem. You can register and then watch the link to the recorded workshop at your convenience and you’ll still receive all the resources. Please note that the in-person workshop will not be streamed or recorded.

Click on the square tiles below to select your workshops and pay online. You can also pay by e-transfer to communicate@visualarts.ns.ca – just remember to send us an email with your contact info for registration. Have questions or need help registering? Contact communicate@visualarts.ns.ca.

VANS is extending our member discount to members of Craft Nova Scotia and the Federation of Canadian Artists as well, so you can register for this series at the VANS Member rate. If you really want to take these workshops, but the cost is out of reach please get in touch with Carri at communicate@visualarts.ns.ca about a workshop bursary.

 

WORKSHOPS

PRICING YOUR WORK

Most artists face a common challenge: How do you accurately price your work without second-guessing yourself? This workshop will show you how to establish prices that ensure you have a profitable business. Commonly used calculations for pricing visual art and craft will be discussed, and how to set your prices with confidence. We’ll talk about how price fits into your overall marketing strategy, and how your prices can send the right signal to the right customers.

Instructor: Stacey Cornelius, Marketing strategist

ONLINE
Thursday, April 10, 7 – 9pm AT
Registration deadline: April 7

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ARTISTS & ADHD: THE STRUGGLE IS REAL! 

Recognizing the unique challenges of artists who live with ADHD, this  introductory workshop will aim to help participants identify possible strategies and resources that could help them to improve their health, well-being and the achievement of personal goals. This two hour online meet-up will include a combination of ADHD related education, information-sharing and a brief Q&A. This workshop will be facilitated by Halifax-based Michelle Lum, a certified ADHD coach and Eryn Foster, a Dartmouth based artist, filmmaker and arts advocate. Both facilitators have experience living and working with ADHD.

Instructor: Michelle Lum, ADHD Coach and Eryn Foster, Artist, Filmmaker, and Arts Advocate

ONLINE
Thursday, May 8, 7 – 9pm AT
Registration deadline: May 2

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TEACHING AN ART WORKSHOP ONLINE

This workshop will cover the basics of teaching online, from which platform to use, formatting, to confidence building. Whether you’re teaching a stand alone workshop or a series of art lessons, there are common questions and problem-solving skills that come into play. This is a new, ever-evolving way of teaching, but this workshop will show you where to start.

Instructor: Carley Mullally, Artist and Educator

ONLINE
Thursday, May 15, 7 – 9pm AT
Registration deadline: May 10

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GETTING IT TOGETHER

This new three-part workshop series is designed to help artists get more comfortable, organized and empowered when it comes to their finances and taxes. Led by Sally Wolchyn-Raab, Co-Director of Eyelevel Artist-run Centre, Getting it Together has two online workshops jam-packed with great info, and a final do-our-taxes-together in-person workshop.

Workshop 1: Tax Basics for Artists

In this workshop we will cover how to determine what you can write off as an expense and how to maximize write offs and benefits. We will help make sense of terms the CRA uses and how they apply to you, review when/ if/ how to file HST returns, navigating the CRA’s website, and how to use tax software.

Instructor: Sally Wolchyn-Raab, Artist, Educator, and Co-Director of Eyelevel

ONLINE
Thursday, March 20, 6 – 7:30 pm AT over Zoom
Registration deadline: Tuesday, March 18

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Workshop 2: Financial management for creative freelancers  

This second workshop in the series will include how to keep yourself organized, tracking expenses and revenues, and using tools like personal budgeting software and accounting software. We’ll also learn tips on how to manage cash flow when income comes in fits and starts.

Instructor: Sally Wolchyn-Raab, Artist, Educator, and Co-Director of Eyelevel

ONLINE
Thursday, March 27, 6 – 7:30 pm AT over Zoom
Registration deadline: Tuesday, March 25

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Workshop 3: Tax filing working group

Bring your receipts, tax forms and laptops, and we’ll all file our taxes together! This workshop will include a brief overview of tax basics before we get started (recap of workshop #1).

Instructor: Sally Wolchyn-Raab, Artist, Educator, and Co-Director of Eyelevel

IN PERSON
NEW DATE: Sunday, April 6, 2 – 4:30 pm AT (bonus hour of tax prep time)
at Visual Arts Nova Scotia, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax
Registration deadline: Friday, April 4

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SORTING THE STUDIO: ESTATE PLANNING FOR ARTISTS

Visual Arts Nova Scotia, in partnership with the Annapolis Region Community Arts Council (ARCAC) and the Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC Maritimes) present Sorting the Studio: Estate Planning for Artists panel discussion.

What will happen to all our artwork? In this panel lawyer Paige McInnis and curator and writer Ray Cronin will discuss ways artists can deal with the lifetime of work in their studio. How can artists make decisions about what work to keep and what should be donated, gifted, bequeathed, or even tossed? What do artists need to know about estate planning to make decisions that feel right for them and their loved ones? This panel discussion will involve short presentations by both experts with lots of opportunities for discussion with the audience.

Panelists: Ray Cronin, Curator and Writer, and Paige McInnis, Estate Planning Lawyer

ONLINE
Thursday, April 24, 6 – 8 pm AT

Register for this free panel discussion here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/IK5kdWQ8RqKxwWlHkArESA. The panelists will be joining us by Zoom and you can join by Zoom from anywhere! The event will also be live streaming at a satellite location upstairs at ARTSPLACE, 396 St. George St, in Annapolis Royal.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS:

Sally Wolchyn-Raab is an ashkenazi/settler interdisciplinary artist, critical writer and arts administrator based in Kjipuktuk (Halifax). She has worked in arts administration and nonprofit bookkeeping for nearly 15 years and supported numerous artists and organizations with filing tax returns and navigating sticky CRA issues.

Stacey Cornelius is a people-first marketing strategist and website builder. She helps small independent businesses create smart, sustainable marketing and effective websites that show your business at its best. Stacey holds a BFA from NSCAD University and a diploma in Graphic Arts. Her professional background includes retail, jewellery making, and technical theatre. She’s been teaching in-person and online workshops for well over a decade and is currently the fractional Executive Director for the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award.

Michelle Lum is a Pharmacist and ADDCA Certified ADHD Coach. As a pharmacist and coach, Michelle uses a combination of skills and pills to manage and optimize ADHD for children, adolescents, adults. Her mission is to inspire those who have ADHD to be proud of their unique brain wiring, uncover their best talents and strengths, and become confident and empowered to advocate for their needs. Michelle challenges the cultural definition of success and works as a creative partner to create strategies that lead to conscious choice, focused action that align with one’s deepest values.

Eryn Foster is an interdisciplinary artist based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. She also works as a curator, filmmaker, educator, and arts consultant. Over the past two decades Foster has presented her work at numerous artist-run centres, public galleries and museums as well as ongoing exhibitions at Hermes Gallery, in Halifax, where she is a member of the collective. Foster is also an arts advocate and has previously worked with VANS on number of research-based projects including Artists in Mind, an initiative that reported on the state of Nova Scotia artists’ mental health.

Ray Cronin is a writer and curator living in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the traditional unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq and the Wəlastəkewiyik (Maliseet) Peoples. In 2023 he was named the Curator of Canadian Art at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. From 2001 to 2015 he worked at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia as Curator and as Director and CEO. He is the founding curator of the Sobey Art Award and the author of fourteen books on Canadian art, including Alan Syliboy: Culture is Our Medicine (Gaspereau Press),  Our Maud: The Life, Art and Legacy of Maud Lewis (Art Gallery of Nova Scotia), Halifax Art & Artists: An Illustrated History (Art Canada Institute), and Nova Scotia Folk Art: An Illustrated Guide (Nimbus Publishing). He is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (Bachelor of Fine Arts), the University of Windsor (Master of Fine Arts), and the Getty Museum Leadership Institute.

Paige McInnis has a practice focused in tax law, trusts and estates law and estate administration. Paige has gained extensive experience in tax and estate matters, providing support on tax-efficient corporate reorganizations, supporting general corporate transactional work and working with businesses to develop tax effective planning strategies. Paige also supported both individuals and corporate clients with estate planning matters, including pre-planning structuring meetings, reviewing estates and drafting wills. Fascinated by the complexities of the Canadian tax law system, Paige remains up-to-date on current legislation and applies problem solving to address client matters. She recently authored an article for Tax Hyperion relating to Canada v. Bank of Montreal, 2020 FCA 82. Paige works with the broader tax group to tackle complex problems effectively and efficiently. Paige is a lawyer at McInnis Cooper and is a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Canadian Bar Association and the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.

Carley Mullally is a textile artist and educator currently based in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Her work focuses on the versatility of off-loom textile processes such as rope-making, knotting, crochet and braiding, and how they can be translated for a wider audience and used interdisciplinarily. She holds a BFA from NSCAD University, an MA from the Royal College of Art, and has a BEd from STFX University. She has taught various textile classes to all ages at NSCAD University, the MacPhee Centre for Creative Learning, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, local businesses and Cub Scout troops. Carley is currently employed as an art and behaviour support teacher with the South Shore Regional Centre for Education. Her teaching philosophy is with a focus on accessibility, and that there are no mistakes – merely design features!

Cancellation Policy: Refunds of 75% of workshop fee will be given if cancellation occurs 72 hours or more prior to the beginning of the workshop. No refund will be given if cancellation occurs on the day of the workshop. If VANS cancels the workshop for any reason, registrants will be notified and given a full refund.

For more information, please contact:
Carri MacKay
Programming Coordinator
Visual Arts Nova Scotia
1113 Marginal Road
Halifax, NS B3H 4P7

communicate@visualarts.ns.ca