With Tova Epp
Online, 18 January, 6–7:30 pm

Tax season can be stressful, especially for freelancers working in the arts! Tax preparer Tova Epp from Artbooks has over 12 years of experience doing the taxes of many incredible artists. During this session she will talk about what artists and independent curators should collect and track throughout the year, how to prepare for tax season, saving for retirement and why some people choose to incorporate.

Speaker Biography:

Tova Epp is a tax preparer/actor/certified animals-in-disaster rescuer. She’s been working at Artbooks for over 12. Tova graduated with a BFA-Distinction from Concordia University. When she’s not at Artbooks she can be seen at one of her many other jobs around the city, or auditioning for yet another commercial.

With Hiba Abdallah
Online, 15 March, 6–7:30 pm

Do you get flustered when someone asks you about your art practice? Do you get nervous about being asked to speak on demand about your work—be it for a large audience at an event or a one-on-one conversation in your studio? You don’t need to be a wordsmith but finding the language and practicing talking about your art or even ideas behind your work can propel and even help define an artist’s career. In this professional development workshop, artist Hiba Abdallah walks us through the essentials of what goes into a meaningful artist talk and how to better structure our ideas.

Speaker Biography

Hiba Abdallah is a text-based artist who frequently works with others. Her practice explores the structural legacies and futures of cities by researching the intersections of hospitality, agitation, and disagreement as productive frameworks for re-imagining public agency. She has created work across media—from public interventions to community projects, gallery exhibitions, and publications.
Her recent exhibitions and public projects include 100 years then and hereafter at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, Everything I Wanted to Tell You for Nuit Blanche Scarborough, Rehearsing Disagreement for MOCA Toronto and A List of Antagonisms for the CAFKA Biennial in Kitchener, ON. She currently lives and works as an uninvited guest on the traditional land of the Anishinaabe, the Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississauga’s of the Credit River.

With David McClyment
Online, 19 April, 6–7:30 pm

Good enough is not enough. Not when it comes to presenting your portfolio. The competition for you as a creative professional is absolutely FIERCE! For EVERY opportunity! You have to assume that everyone else knows how to present their portfolio brilliantly. You have to be able to do the same. So that art directors, jurors, commissioners, clients – whoever looks at your portfolio – can assess your work clearly on its merits and be convinced. This workshop will go through basic do’s and don’ts, so that when you present your portfolio people pay attention.

David McClyment has been pitching portfolios for over 40 years as a professional fine artist. Of course, he has faced rejection many times. But he has also had success with galleries, curators, grant juries, and competitions. He has also served on juries and selection committees – and seen what works, and what doesn’t! Please note that McClyment’s personal professional experience is limited to the fine arts world. But the larger points in this workshop should apply to other creative disciplines. Wherever possible, he will endeavor to tailor the information to your specific situation.

You can check out McClyment’s own work and presentation skills by visiting www.flyingpiecreations.com