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Upstate Alliance for the Creative Economy

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Resources and Information for Creatives During the COVID-19 Crisis

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We have put together a list of articles and resources for the benefit of our local creatives. We will continue updating this list as we find new useful information. Stay awesome!

To All You Creatives, My Inbox Is Open! A note from Maureen Sager, Executive Director of ACE

Financial Relief Resources:

*=continuously updated

Creatives Building Community

Digital Tools for Artists to Work Remotely

Creative Diversions & Other Resources:

Cap Region Creatives in Quarantine:

Creatives in Quarantine is a new segment that highlights creative professionals across the Capital Region during this period of isolation due to COVID-19. We believe that inspiration and vision are as contagious as the virus, so in that spirit, read on! If you’d like to be featured on our blog and/or social media pages, please email Gabby!

Cap Region Creatives in Quarantine: Konrad Odhiambo

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Creatives in Quarantine is a segment that highlights creative professionals across the Capital Region during this period of isolation due to COVID-19. We have developed some questions that will allow our community to share experiences and learn from one another during this time.

Allow us to introduce our first feature, Konrad Odhiambo.

How are you coping with this new reality?

Now that most of us are stuck at home with possibly no income, times are tough. But we can use these times to our ‘advantage’ and do things we normally wouldn’t do or don’t have time for. I have been finding time to work on self improvement and find a balance between family and work.  Looking at relationships between friends, parents and siblings and making sure no one feels left behind.

Have you started adapting and/or innovating your business model to operate under these conditions? Please explain.

Lots of us are super busy and often don’t have time to update our website. Now we do! Basic stuff like updating my site with most recent work and in general, make my website look good for potential future clients.

How have you seen the local creative community band together to support one another?

I’ve seen the community come together and do virtual meet ups as we normally would in person. There is a lot more communication happening online and people checking up on each other. The Power Breakfast Club has been holding its meetings online and using Zoom Cloud Meetings to keep the engagement going. I’ve seen the 10 push up challenge where friends challenge each other to stay fit while indoors. 

Are you thinking about ways that you’ll change the way you do business in the future?

For my business, I’ll be working on improving my internal processes when it comes to client acquisition, booking and follow up after the fact. In these times I’d like to start offering more tangible options such as albums, prints and gifts cards to keep a positive cashflow.

For printing, my online gallery has a direct link to my vendor. Once orders are placed, my printer will drop ship the order directly to my clients. Vendors include White House Custom Color and Nations Photo Lab.

Do you see any long term changes to the way people work coming out of this situation?

I believe it’s essential to start planning long term and make sure you have a six month safety net in case anything happens. Now more than ever creatives who solely rely on one stream of income will have to diversify and have multiple sources of income.

Now is a great time to sharpen your skills. There are plenty of tutorials online that you can use to improve your workflow in shooting and editing. With all the extra time, now is a good time for self improvement. I’d like to participate in tutorials geared toward post production and financial planning.

Get in touch with Konrad:

Konrad’s Work

Creative Economy Mixer at Darn Good Yarn: Photo Highlights

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ACE held its February #CreativeEconomyMixer at Darn Good Yarn in Clifton Park. There were tours of Darn Good Yarn’s amazing facility, beverage tastings by Yankee Distillery and Single Cut Brewing: North Store, a performance by poet and visual artist D. Colin, and a “The Price Is Right” style giveaway! Many attendees also enjoyed the “Learn to Crochet/Knit” station as well.
NYS Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner led an engaging discussion with Darn Good Yarn founder Nicole Snow and Sarah Trop, owner of Funcycled Repurposing and Interior Design, with a focus on Women and Entrepreneurship.
FREE headshots were be provided by Ska City Photography when attendees registered for the ACE Job Hub.
Special thanks to our sponsors, Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership, MVP Health Care, and Community Loan Fund, and promotional partners, She’s A Boss and Entrepreneurs’ Organization Albany. Produced in partnership with 2440 Design Studio and WMHT.
AllDare Good Yarn Mixer

Recap: CFA Opportunities for the Creative Economy

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[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][rev_slider CFAWorkshopJune2018][x_gap size=”25px”][cs_text]Photo credit: Ken Kozak, Kendo Design

On Monday, June 4th, a packed house of Creatives took part in a workshop entitled “CFA Opportunities for the Creative Economy,” and got a chance to hear from and ask questions of members of the New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA), Regional Economic Development Council (REDC), and Empire State Development (ESD) about the millions of dollars of state funds made available through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process (yes, that’s a lot of acronyms!). The application process can be daunting for newcomers and experienced organizations and companies alike, so this unprecedented chance to hear from those who’ll be reviewing scores of applications was beneficial to all parties involved.

Philip Morris — a member of the REDC and CEO of several CFA grants for Proctors, Cap Rep, and Universal Preservation Hall — recommended that grant requests be “real — don’t make something up just to fit the guidelines. The panelists can tell if it’s a project that’s really true to your mission.”

Melissa auf der Maur, founder of Basilica Hudson, which was awarded two CFA grants last year, recommended that applications be “relevant to both your local community and to the region” and recommended that applicants “really make a strong financial case” about how much is invested and what all of the outcomes of your project will be.

Mike Yevoli of Empire State Development recommended that applicants review CFA guidelines as well as the REDC’s goals before applying.

Andrew Meader of the REDC encouraged people to not be put off if their projects aren’t funded the first time out, citing the Park Theater project in Glens Falls, which was funded on its third try.

Sunita Iqbal of NYSCA recommended that applicants contact NYSCA with questions before the July 9th “inquiry deadline.”

The Capital Region has received $521.9 million from the state to support 718 projects through the Consolidated Funding Application since 2011, but all of the panelists emphasized that the application process itself is extremely rigorous, as are the reporting demands that take place after receiving a grant, and that not every organization and project will benefit from the amount of work that the CFA grants require.

For other questions about the CFA process, visit the CFA site or contact ESD at (518) 270-1130.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

Creative Economy Updates and Other Good Stuff!

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