Creative Canadian Women: Behind the Scenes of a Solo Art Exhibition with Heather Travis
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This episode is brought to you by Fine Lime Illustrations
Have you ever wondered what goes into planning and executing an your own art exhibition?
This week regular podcast guest host, Heather Travis, puts on her guest hat and joins Melissa to talk about the behind the scenes journey to her upcoming, 3 month solo exhibition at Ontario's Bruce County Museum and Cultural Center. (Sept 16-Dec 31, 2023)
As a large scale painter and muralist, Heather is known for her bold, colorful and expressive canvases and in this interview, she shares how the opportunity for an exhibition arose, how she developed her very personal exhibit theme, secured grant funding and was able to take 9 months away from active client work to produce 35 large scale canvases!
We also get into the very personal aspect of this exhibit as well as using creativity as a way to process events, deal with grief and trauma and as a road to rebirth.
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This Episode Is For…
This episode is for those who...
have pondered having an exhibit of their work or creating a large body of work around a theme
have wondered what would be involved in mounting their own exhibit - from marketing to logistics to finances to actually creating the work!
are looking for some very fun marketing ideas for their work - exhibit or no exhibit
need to hear how amazing things can come without social media
have been listening to Heather on the show for the last 3 seasons and would love to hear a deep dive into her painting and her process and how she creates for a living.
wants to be inspired
If you just want the links to the resources mentioned in this episode, scroll down to the bottom.
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Transcript & Chapter Markers
You can find a full transcript and chapter markers here. Just click on the episode title for all the juicy details!
be bold & be loud
In this episode we discuss:
the genesis of Heather’s exhibit
the importance of local networking and collaboration in opening doors
how traditional media has played a role in Heather’s success and opportunities
art as a form of therapy and exploration
family support of our work
funding, budgeting and the logistics of mounting a large scale exhibition
the behind the scenes of creating a major body of work around a specific theme and working with outside institutions and curators
thinking outside the box when it comes to marketing (Heather’s created custom Converse sneakers and an exhibit coffee table book as part of her marketing efforts!)
selling your exhibition work
the exploration of infertility, childless heroes and challenging the social norms of what family means
Mentioned In This Episode:
- Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre
- This Must Be the Place: The Exhbiti
- Artscape Daniels Launchpad Rural Creatives Springboard
- Canada Coucil for the Arts Grants
- Darina's Photography Resources
- EP022: Promoting Your Work Outside of Social Media
- EP066: Your Creative Work Won't Sell Itself (and here's what you can do about it)
Did you know you can now directly support the podcast and help us keep creating great content you want to listen to? You can help here.
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