Sarah Christianson, Drifts, March 2018.
2023
polished portfolio presentation
WITH SARAH CHRISTIANSON
Cost:
$225.00
Class is limited to 15 participants
All levels of photographers are encouraged to attend.
Date:
Fall 2023
Location:
Online via Zoom
ABOUT the WORKSHOP
So you’ve made the work, now what? How do you share your work in a way that reflects the care and intent you put into making it? What are the other elements—from an artist statement to a website or printed “leave behind”—that go into professionally sharing a portfolio digitally or in-person in a way that presents your work to its best advantage?
This practical workshop is designed to help you effectively package and share a photographic project for many contexts ranging from preparing for a portfolio review to submitting your work to calls for entry to sharing your work online through a website or social media. Working in an individualized way through examples and feedback, this workshop will help you clarify your goals and give you many tangible tools to help you achieve your objectives!
Topics include
Portfolio Preparation
Editing a sequence of work into a cohesive portfolio
Digital and printed strategies for sharing an edited body of work
Distilling an “elevator pitch” about the key points of a project
Written Elements
Writing an effective artist statement that avoids “art speak”
Preparing a bio and CV
Promotional Materials
Essential information to include on a website
Examples of printed “leave behind” materials
Art world etiquette & what *not* to do when sharing work
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
This is a two-day, online, intensive workshop, held on consecutive Sundays.
During the first session (Sunday, April 16th, 2023) , we will:
Discuss how all the elements of a portfolio work together to convey a story.
Examine how to prepare, edit, and sequence your best portfolio(s).
Strategies for writing an artist’s statement and an “Elevator Pitch.”
Nailing a short bio that highlights your best accomplishments.
Look at promotional “leave behind.”
Develop individual plans for participants to use after this workshop based on individual goals.
During the second session (Sunday, April, 23nd, 2023), we will:
Following the skills and examples presented in the first session and your individual goals, participants will work independently over the week to prepare their portfolio. In the second session we will share our portfolios consisting of:
15-20 edited and sequenced images
An artist's statement (or very rough draft) and “elevator pitch”
A short bio
And any promotional materials you have drafted, ready or have used in the past (postcards, business cards, etc).
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Sarah Christianson (b. 1982) grew up on a four-generation family farm in the heart of eastern North Dakota’s Red River Valley (an hour north of Fargo). Immersed in that vast expanse of the Great Plains, she developed a strong affinity for its landscape. This connection to place has had a profound effect on her work: despite moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009, she continues to document the subtleties and nuances of the Midwestern landscape and experience through long-term projects.
Christianson earned an MFA in photography from the University of Minnesota in 2009. Since 2011, she has been an adjunct photography instructor at City College of San Francisco. Her work has been exhibited internationally and can be found in the collections of Duke University, the National Museum of Photography in Copenhagen, and several institutions in the Midwest. She has received grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission and the Center for Cultural Innovation. Christianson’s first book, Homeplace (Daylight Books 2013), documents the history and uncertain future of her family’s farm by interweaving her images with old snapshots and historical documents selected from her personal archive. Her ongoing project, When the Landscape is Quiet Again, examines the oil boom occurring in western North Dakota. Throughout her work, she uses her personal experiences and connection to the land to evoke a strong sense of place, history, and time.