cec on sat 27 sep 08
Our local arts association has opened a studio that offers studio space for=
a fairly reasonable rent. Part of their concept is for workshops and demos=
to be offered to the public by the resident artists and well as bringing i=
n other artists.=20
Now to my questions....
How do those of you that do workshops determine the cost to the attendee?
How about those that travel to offer workshops at other spaces?=20
Do you charge a percentage of the fee?=20
Do you have a cost that you charge and then the space provider charges the =
attendee a percent of that fee and then some to cover costs?=20
Those=A0 people that have taken workshops...what draws you to take taht wor=
kshop?=20
We are in a rather rural-ish area in Virginia between Roanoke, VA and Green=
sboro, NC.=20
Any comments, advice etc. desired.=20
Celia in Virginia
( this is a separate proposition from the community college situation)
=0A=0A=0A
Vince Pitelka on sun 28 sep 08
Celia wrote:
"Now to my questions....
How do those of you that do workshops determine the cost to the attendee?
How about those that travel to offer workshops at other spaces?
Do you charge a percentage of the fee?
Do you have a cost that you charge and then the space provider charges the
attendee a percent of that fee and then some to cover costs?
Celia -
You're in luck, because someone asked me similar questions recently
off-list, and I sent them a long answer. The following is a repeat of that
with a little additional information tailored to your questions. It is up
to the workshop venue to determine the cost for the attendees, and it has to
be figured from totaling all the expenses. I am probably forgetting some
things, but below are the items I can think of.
1) The workshop instructor's stipend. There are some workshop venues that
have a set stipend that they pay, and workshop instructors go to those
venues because they love the place and the location, even if the stipend is
far less than they normally get. That's the situation with John C. Campbell
Folk School. The stipends charged by different workshop instructors vary
widely, and you just have to contact the people who interest you and ask
them. In some cases the stipend might be negotiable, and in others it is not
and you simply have to decide whether you can afford to invite a particular
presenter.
2) Room-and-board costs. When I teach workshops I almost always stay in a
private home, and am happy to do so. It keeps the cost down for the
participants, and I like to get to know local people. Some workshop
instructors like to stay in a motel or hotel, and you need to plan on that
ahead of time.
3) Transportation costs. If the workshop instructor is traveling to your
location just to teach a workshop in your facility, then you are responsible
for all transportation costs. If the instructor is on a circuit of
workshops, then you will be responsible for a far smaller share of the
transportation costs. When contacting prospective instructors it is always
best to ask them if they have any plans of traveling through your area in
the near future. If you invite an instructor who is flying in from far
away, you have to be pretty sure that you can run the workshop, because it
is very bad form to cancel out at the last minute and leave the workshop
instructor holding the plane ticket.
4) The direct costs of workshop materials and facilities - maintenance,
utilities, depreciation on equipment, copying handouts or other print
materials, clay, glazes, and other supplies. Make sure you have considered
all materials. If you have figured the cost to attendees and advertised
that cost, and then you think of other expenses, it comes out of your
pocket.
5) It usually enhances the experience for everyone if there is at least one
assistant to help with preparations before the workshop, with day-to-day
tasks during the workshop, and with cleanup after the workshop is over.
Many workshop venues have artists-in-residence of assistants who have these
responsibilities. For a venue that offers workshops only occasionally, it
makes far more sense to simply allow one or two people to attend the
workshop for free or for reduced cost in exchange for acting as assistants.
6) Compensation for yourself and anyone else who helped you to put together
the workshop. Some people who offer workshops in their own home studios
choose not to include this, because they basically get to participate in the
workshop for free and enjoy the process of putting on the workshop, but that
has to be a conscious and purposeful decision, because it can be very time
consuming.
7) Are your workshops going to be offered for profit? If so, only you can
decide what profit you need to make, and whether the market will bear the
total cost that you need to charge.
8) How are you going to handle lunch for the participants? If there are not
eat-out options locally, you need to either provide lunch and include the
cost in the workshop price, or else you need to clearly tell the
participants to bring their own lunch every day. It is an excellent idea
and a nice start to the morning to offer coffee, tea, and muffins, sweet
rolls, or coffee cake upon arrival, so you do at least need to include the
cost of that.
You say that you are in a rural area, and it is important that you identify
your market. These days, with the price of gas and everything else, people
are less willing to travel. When I was hired at the Appalachian Center for
Craft in 1994 we could pick anyone to teach workshops and they would almost
always fill, and they would always run. If the subject sounded interesting,
the workshop would fill, regardless of who was teaching it. In the mean
time, the number of venues offering workshops has grown exponentially, and
people do not have the incentive to travel so far for workshops, especially
with the price of gas, food, and lodging. Now, for our five-day summer
workshops, we only invite instructors who have excellent visibility and a
major national reputation. Now we often have trouble filling the workshops,
and occasionally we don't even get enough people to run a workshop. We have
excellent facilities, food, and accommodations, and we are in a beautiful
part of the country. But we are very rural, and a long ways from major
population centers.
If there is a fairly strong interest in clay within a hundred-mile radius of
your location, you might do well by offering practical nuts-and-bolts
workshops for a local audience. I think that is what a lot of the smaller
workshop venues are doing these days.
Something else to consider carefully is the number of people you can
effectively accommodate in a workshop. As a matter of personal policy, I
will not teach hands-on workshops to more than fifteen participants. With
larger numbers, the quality of learning starts to deteriorate. With
demo-only workshops, the number of observers is limited only by their
ability to see and hear what is going on. Some workshop venues insist on
having twenty or more participants in each workshop, and I don't teach at
those venues.
There is a lot to think about here, and I wish you the best of luck in
organizing and offering workshops.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net; wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka
Dannon Rhudy on sun 28 sep 08
Generally, if a workshop is offered to the
public, the fee to attend has to cover the
cost of paying the presenter, and expenses
associated with the workshop.
So - some places offer workshops at the
same price always, others adjust to reflect
the costs of a more expensive presenter.
Since you are in Virginia,where there are a
great many well-known potters who do give
workshops, you may manage with lower fees,
since the expenses of travel may be less. Fees
to the presenter are negotiated depending upon
who you bring in. If you have a set fee that you
pay presenters, then the presenter will agree
to that fee, or say they can't/won't present for
that amount.
As to what draws people to take a particular
workshop - it can be any number of things. A
really well known name will be a big draw.
A workshop on a subject that people find
interesting can be a big draw. There are lots
of subjects that will draw - good advertising
of what's in the works will be the most help in
obtaining a good audience.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
..........
Now to my questions....
How do those of you that do workshops determine the cost to the attendee?
How about those that travel to offer workshops at other spaces?
Do you charge a percentage of the fee? ............
steve graber on sun 28 sep 08
i never took f=
let's not forget the draw of meeting other potters!=A0 =0A=0Ai never took f=
ormal classes for clay.=A0 only adult ed stuff.=A0 and workshops help fill =
in the blanks for my knowledge.=A0 as well as confirm that some of what i d=
o and figured out is an acdcepted processes. =0A=0Athis year was my 1st NCE=
CA experience, and i yearn=A0to=A0go=A0to another asap.=A0 except i gotta w=
eight.=A0 =0A=0Aso, in the absense of an NCECA, workshops can be a mini-NCE=
CA.=A0 =0A=0Ajust like the open house i went to yesterday at=A0Aardvak in s=
anta ana, CA.=A0 and the next one oct 25 at Marjon's in pheonix. seeing pot=
ters and BS'ing and seeing demo's and discussions with vendors and potters =
is great.=A0 =0A=0Athe cross over of when i don't pay for a workshop?=A0 so=
far i haven't seen too high a fee to stop me.=A0=A0personal availability o=
n certain days seems more often.=A0 i figure in my college days (engineerin=
g) i spent several hundred a year for tuition, and to spend that still lear=
ning new things now isn't so bad.=A0 it's cheaper than cable TV or cell pho=
nes...=A0 =0A=0Asee ya=0A=A0Steve Graber, Graber's Pottery, Inc=0AClaremont=
, California USA=0AThe Steve Tool - for awesum texture on pots! =0Awww.grab=
erspottery.com steve@graberspottery.com =0A=0A=0A=0A----- Original Message =
----=0AFrom: Dannon Rhudy =0ATo: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG=
=0ASent: Sunday, September 28, 2008 9:02:38 AM=0ASubject: Re: workshop / de=
mo questions=0A=0AGenerally, if a workshop is offered to the=0Apublic, the =
fee to attend has to cover the=0Acost of paying the presenter, and expenses=
=0Aassociated with the workshop.=0A=0ASo - some places offer workshops at t=
he=0Asame price always, others adjust to reflect=0Athe costs of a more expe=
nsive presenter.=0A=0ASince you are in Virginia,where there are a=0Agreat m=
any well-known potters who do give=0Aworkshops, you may manage with lower f=
ees,=0Asince the expenses of travel may be less.=A0 Fees=0Ato the presenter=
are negotiated depending upon=0Awho you bring in.=A0 If you have a set fee=
that you=0Apay presenters, then the presenter will agree=0Ato that fee, or=
say they can't/won't present for=0Athat=A0 amount.=0A=0AAs to what draws p=
eople to take a particular=0Aworkshop - it can be any number of things.=A0 =
A=0Areally well known name will be a big draw.=0AA workshop on a subject th=
at people find=0Ainteresting can be a big draw.=A0 There are lots=0Aof subj=
ects that will draw - good advertising=0Aof what's in the works will be the=
most help in=0Aobtaining a good audience.=0A=0Aregards=0A=0ADannon Rhudy=
=0A=0A..........=0ANow to my questions....=0AHow do those of you that do wo=
rkshops determine the cost to the attendee?=0A=0AHow about those that trave=
l to offer workshops at other spaces?=0A=0ADo you charge a percentage of th=
e fee? ............=0A=0A=0A=0A
Bunny on mon 29 sep 08
just like the open house i went to yesterday at Aardvak in santa ana, CA.
and the next one oct 25 at Marjon's in pheonix. seeing potters and BS'ing
and seeing demo's and discussions with vendors and potters is great.
*******
I can't wait to meet you and learn all about your tool, Steve.
See you in October! BTW, 2009 will be my very first NCECA, and I am really
excited to finally put some faces to all these names I know, so meeting you
now won't make me feel so 'green'!!
Bunny
In AZ
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