ACC Conference - an adventure in blogging
October 14, 2009
I'm off to my adventure at the ACC Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I will be one of the official SNAG bloggers posting my experiences along with initial reviews or opinions of the lectures presented at this national conference.
Eons of Exodus
recycled tin cans, 10kgold,s/s rivets
Artist:Harriete Estel Berman
Photo Credit: Philip Cohen
Collection of Minneapolis Inst. of Art
With the conference starting in just a day or so, I am filled with anxiety and some trepidation. Why am I leaving the comfort zone of my home, my studio, my exercise classes, and my everyday routine for the torture of an airplane seat and three days of blogging responsibilities? Is it worth going to? Why am I doing this?
The simple answer is that I need to create new experiences for myself. Despite these discomforts (or because of them), I know that some positive insights will come out of this experience. Call it brain exercise or mental stretching, but everyone needs to try going to some kind of conference once in a while. I have heard that some people don't go to the SNAG Conferences because they aren't fun. Are you kidding? It's not the fun you should go for, but the growth that you can acquire.
Maybe some people think these events are fun. I don't. Going to a conference lets (or forces) you to be exposed to the unexpected, meet new people, and listen to the lectures. The outcome is always unpredictable. Sometimes a lecture topic may sound like a dud, but the speaker turns out to be exceptional. Or the lecture topic may seem really interesting and the presentation skills of the speaker are disappointing. The variety of conference events may be a mixed bag, but upon reflection afterward, I have always gained some professional contacts or artistic insights.
Eons of Exodus
recycled tin, 10k gold, and s/s rivets
Artist: Harriete Estel Berman
Photo Credit: Philip Cohen
Collection of Minneapolis Inst. of Art
While I am in Minneapolis, I do plan to take advantage of the resources in the area. My scheduled excursions include visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see my seder plate "Eons of Exodus" on display AND listen to my literary "hero" Rob Walker, author of Buy In, The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are. Rob Walker is a speaker at the American Craft Council Conference and one of many reasons that I decided to attend.
Stay tuned for daily posts (maybe even multiple posts per day). Saturday's program covers Web 2.0 marketing and hopefully it will be very enlightening. We can only speculate on what the panel has to say. Did you read my previous posts about marketing, 2.0, and artist gallery relationships? If not, please read this information and send me your opinions and ideas.
In particular, if you have a question or two to ask the speakers and panelists, what would you ask? Let me know and I will do my best to find out the answer to your questions.
This post was updated on December 28, 2021.