Artists spend endless hours perfecting their craft—which often leaves less time to developing their professional and business skills. But the Montana Arts Council is here to help, with in-depth seminars to help artists channel their creativity into entrepreneurship, self-promotion, networking, and legal protection for their work.

This summer, we will be offering 4 professional development sessions for artists on topics that are frequently requested. All of the sessions are free to attend, but registration is required (just click the registration link below each course description).

Artists as Entrepreneurs
Taught by Chris Alveshere and Kelli Sinner

Artists as Artrepreneurs will cover Chris and Kelli’s experiences as co-owners of two businesses in Missoula; Workroom Montana and Flecks + Specks. They will discuss the benefits of starting your own business, what has worked for them, along with lessons they learned along the way. This session will also examine characteristics that would make you a good business owner, along with the importance of starting with a complete business plan.

Participants will:

Examine how their own artistic strengths will translate well into being a business owner.
Discover the parts of a business plan and how the plan benefits your long-term success.
Learn about the sweet and the sour aspects that come with small business ownership.

Chris Alveshere is an artist, educator, and co-owner of Workroom Montana, a community arts space in Missoula, MT, and Flecks + Specks, a ceramic grog business. He currently teaches adult and youth community education classes in addition to maintaining a full-time studio practice. Originally from North Dakota, Chris received undergraduate degrees in ceramics and art education from Minnesota State University in Moorhead, MN and his MFA in ceramics from Alfred University.

Kelli Sinner is an artist, educator, and entrepreneur. Originally from Utah, she received an MFA in Ceramics from Penn State University and a BFA in Ceramics from Utah State University. Before moving to Montana, Kelli was a Professor of Art at Minnesota State University Moorhead, where she taught ceramics, papermaking, exhibitions, and design. At MSUM, she received the Excellence in Teaching Award. She currently works as the Director of Education at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. Kelli is passionate about small businesses and the community, and is Co-owner of Workroom Montana, a community art space in Missoula, and Flecks + Specks, a colored ceramic grog business.

June 12, 6:30 – 8:30 Hybrid—in person in Missoula and online via Zoom.

The Business of Community
Taught by Chris Alveshere and Kelli Sinner

The Business of Community will cover how Chris and Kelli cultivate a community driven business. They will address the importance of a mission, the drive to support artists and local community members, and their approach to social media. They will also discuss the realities and challenges that come with being community oriented.

Participants will:

Examine how their own life experiences can translate into community driven small businesses.
Gain understanding of the needs of their local communities and personal values.
Learn a variety of approaches for communication.

June 19, 6:30 – 8:30 Hybrid—in person in Missoula and online via Zoom.

Social Media Posting for Artists *WORKSHOP FULL!*
Taught by Shelby Humphreys

Want to make sure your time spent posting on social media is efficient and effective? Not sure how to showcase your creativity? In this course, you will learn the seven layers of an excellent social media post, develop a strategy to optimize the time you spend posting to your business feeds, and discover trends for 2025. There will be time for Q&A at the end of class, and you will leave with a how-to guide for future reference. This course is for business owners who have a working familiarity with social media.

Instructor Bio:

Shelby Humphreys has worked in the digital marketing realm for over thirteen years and watched it evolve with ever-increasing speed and complexity. Her motto is, "Let's make it easy!" She does that by helping small business owners use the latest trends and technology to reach their market with confidence, so they can focus on what they do best. Shelby has collaborated with missoulaevents.net [missoulaevents.net] on the #SoMissoula social media campaign and updated the website for Allez Missoula! to feature artists more prominently. She currently teaches digital marketing courses at The Lifelong Learning Center in Missoula.

June 26, 6:00 – 7:30 Online via Zoom.

Professional Development for Artists