WE SURVIVED SURVIVOR

Mike Sorgatz and I spent the entire weekend of May 30 - June 1 traveling back and forth between Carroll Gardens and DUMBO. We had the good fortune of attending DAC (Dumbo Arts Center's) Survivor: An Artist's Opportunity Workshop. Amazingly, the weekend was FREE - an opportunity made possible by The Joan Mitchell Foundation and The Dedalus Foundation.

Survivor consisted of a daily series of panels and presentations containing information about how artists could get their work out into the world. Visual artist Melissa Potter talked about how to create a kick-a** artist porfolio. Linda Park from NYFA (New York Foundation for the Arts) familiarized participants with NYFA Source, the nation's most extensive online directory of awards, serivces, and publications for artists, which features more than 8500 programs.

Tucker Neel introduced GYST (Get Your S*** Together), a database program designed by artists for artists to keep track of artwork, business aspects, proposals, and mailing lists.

New School faculty member Sarah Schmerler led a interactive two-hour workshop about how artists can pack a punch in a statement about their work.

Each day was a raffle for the attending artists to meet with a curator for a "Doctor Session." Mike won a session with independent curator Tania Duvergne, who gave him feedback on how to get his paintings into galleries.

A heartening aspect of the weekend was how much the presenters emphasized the importance of artists building a community of peers and the importance of generosity in terms of sharing resources and information with one another.