Discussion Group for Artists

A key part of our mission at Aripa Arte is to offer meaningful educational opportunities to artists who are building and sustaining their creative careers. To support that goal, we’ve developed a series of guided discussion groups focused on what it takes to be a professional artist, how to manage an art career, and how to promote an art business through effective Public Relations.

As a management team, we began by interviewing artists, art educators, gallerists, and arts leaders to shape the content of these sessions. Now, as we near the end of our first ten-week series on developing a PR Plan, we’ve realized that what we’ve learned far exceeds what we set out to teach.

The full program is divided into three ten-week units, and we believed the Public Relations component would be the most immediately transformative for working artists. Our research and focus groups helped us build a curriculum around the core elements of an actionable PR strategy: clarifying goals, speaking and writing effectively about one’s art, networking, cultivating relationships with collectors and community leaders, engaging with the press, analyzing the art market, and building a strategic plan.

Attendance has been modest, but the experience has been deeply meaningful. As discussion leaders, we’ve found that the process of preparing for and hosting these sessions has taught us as much as—if not more than—what we hoped to share. The participants have begun forming a stronger sense of community, but what surprised us most was the personal and professional growth among the organizers themselves.

My years in the classroom have proven the old saying that the best way to learn something is to teach it. Still, I didn’t expect the degree of intentionality, discipline, and self-reflection that this series has sparked in me. Week by week, the conversations have pushed me to refine my own thinking and practices as an artist.

To me, this affirms that these discussion sessions are not only useful—they’re genuinely impactful, and applicable to artists at any stage of their career, in any location. The format encourages meaningful conversation while guiding participants toward concrete, measurable outcomes.

At the end of these ten weeks, I’ll be walking away with my own personalized PR Plan—something I’m certain I would never have completed without the structure and accountability of this group.

I invite you to join us, or even start your own discussion circle. There is tremendous learning, encouragement, and inspiration to be found in the shared experiences of other artists who are navigating their creative paths just like you.