The second session of the monthly ACMHangouts tackles the theme of Creative Entrepreneurship: From Vision to Reality, bringing together a panel of professionals with a vision – Lisa Gwen Andrews (Creative Entrepreneurship Associate for Arts Council Malta), Nathan Farrugia (business coach and entrepreneur) and Stephanie Borg, artist and creative entrepreneur.
How should creatives approach the issue of entrepreneurship, and what are the skills and knowledge needed to foster a successful endeavour? This month’s ACMHangouts discussion kicks off by addressing these, and other, themes as Lisa Gwen tackles the issue of today’s COVID challenge scenario head-on.
Fostering a climate that supports creative entrepreneurship is one of the main ACM strategy pillars, and the discussion takes a highly practical approach as Lisa Gwen emphasises the importance of fundamentals such as brand building, creating a solid structure, identifying stakeholders and clients, outsourcing work when necessary, and other elements that contribute towards the successful running of a business.
Panelists Nathan and Stephanie share their experiences about taking the plunge to monetise their art. Stephanie offers particular insight into what she describes as a “leap of faith” upon launching her business, which focuses on art related to the traditional Maltese tile design.
Nathan addresses the issue of identifying skills and knowledge base, and applying these to fill a gap in the market while monetising them. Identifying ways in which artistic skills can be used to make money is essential, he states.
Among other guests, this ACMHangouts session also hosts professor Giep Hagoort, whose research into creative entrepreneurship is widely respected, and who weighs in with his thoughts about how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted creative businesses and markets.
Malta Enterprise’s Francesca Cassar speaks about re-skilling and up-skilling artistic ventures in the light of the 2020 climate, explaining that these concepts are important not only in the context of a pandemic, but also within normal day-to-day business.
Spazju Kreattiv artistic director Daniel Azzopardi focuses on the creation of viable artistic programmes within the current scenario, and how re-defining ourselves and adopting a flexible and forward-looking approach has become a priority. His words are echoed by Blitz founder Alexandra Pace, who traces the journey that has brought the commercial and creative project that is Blitz to the point where it stands today, and how adaptability has been an essential part of this process.
The sessions are organised by Arts Council Malta and streamed live on a monthly basis on Facebook. For more information about upcoming ACMHangouts, check out the Arts Council Malta Facebook page.