How fast this year has gone by! We have had exciting new developments in LAA this year! 

• New, interactive website
• Partnered with Flipcause: new website, can generate reports, transfer $, save on processing fees.
• Added new venues to our AIPP program
• Hired a new financial/administrative assistant
• Added “Friends of LAA” category to our sponsorships
• Partnered with Louisville Cultural Council to sign up individual artists to display art at the LCC events at the Art Center
• LAA was featured at the Louisville Historical Museum on the Friday Art Walk in November
• We have a new, exciting look to our newsletter!
• And many more!

Our board and volunteers have been diligent to maintain the programs we offer and to build on to our organization with exciting new developments! With Thanksgiving right behind us, I have been thinking of my many gratitudes. The enthusiasm and efforts that so many of you bring to our Art Association are on my list. We still have an exciting member show to look forward to this month and then we will take a break for the holidays. I wish you a delightful holiday season and look forward to being with all of you in the New Year!
​—Anne

The Why Vs. The What
At our last member meeting, I threw out a few questions for all of us to ponder. These were some of the questions: “Why are we here? Why does the LAA exist? Why are you and I part of the LAA?” So why do I ask these questions?
 
The answers to these questions might seem obvious to you. We have a mission statement, so I guess that’s why LAA exists. We are all here because we are artists. And we each have various reasons why we are part of the LAA. I began with the LAA to enter a show, then I enjoyed the workshops, and now because of my involvement, I see the big picture. So… What is the big picture? Why does the LAA exist? And where do you fit in that big picture?
 
I recently listened to a TED talk, where the speaker spoke about the companies that thrived and moved forward vs. those that stayed the same, stagnated or went backwards. Guess what? The difference between progressive companies vs. stagnating companies was not for the reasons one might think. The difference was that the companies that were growing and thriving were not asking themselves “What should we do next?” They were asking “Why? Why do we exist?” Once they were clear about the “why”, the rest of the pieces fell into place. The “what” then came more easily and made more of a difference.
 
On the board, we frequently return to that question: Why? This helps us to set goals, to decide directions to head in that will benefit the LAA. I would love to hear from our members why you are part of the LAA. How does it make your life better and how can you make the LAA better? - Anne

Cindy Sewell Hohman is offering a new online art marketing class. She is working in partnership with the LAA, so if you sign up for her class, the LAA gets a commission. This is a win/win: you receive valuable training in marketing your art and the LAA receives a commission. Check it out! Click HERE to view the course. You can sign up for the waitlist and be first in line when the class opens.

More about the course, Create a Marketing Plan for Your Thriving Art Business:
If you are overwhelmed by all of the marketing options for artists and feel like you are spending lots of time on marketing, but just spinning your wheels, then what you need is a marketing plan. After completing Cindy's 6-week course, you will know the steps to take daily, weekly, and monthly to sell more art. You will feel good about marketing your art because you will be creating a plan based on authenticity, rather than doing what everyone else is doing. You will have clarity and confidence about marketing your work. Marketing will go from being something to avoid to being easy to manage. You will sell more work.

This course is developed specifically for the artist who is  ready to:

• Be confident with what you're doing to market and sell your art
• Make informed, strategic decisions for your art business rather than simply following the crowd
• Feel comfortable with promoting and selling your art—not feeling the slightest bit pushy
• Stop struggling with where to start with trying to market your work
• Have a clear direction for what to do now, next week, and next month to sell more work

This course can take you from overwhelmed to successful at marketing and selling your art even if...

• just thinking about marketing makes you want to hide under the covers
• you dislike marketing in general (and even in theory)
• you're just starting out and don't know the first thing about marketing
• you have trouble motivating yourself to do the marketing work you already have on your to-do list
• you haven't made one sale yet