Marketing art forms such as dance, music, food and folk crafts is now as much about economics as education and preservation of traditions.  Many communities look to their unique culture and heritage as the economic engines to drive local initiatives in tourism.  To help artists take control of their career trajectory and boost financial success, the Nevada Arts Council has just released its first ever Handbook for Nevada Folk and Traditional Artists, concrete advice in plain language and small bites for artists who buy materials, sell products and contribute to local economies.

The 120-page handbook is a helpful, easy to understand, how-to guide for business practices, marketing, performing and more. Sample agreements and contracts are provided, along with a listing of Nevada resource agencies that can provide help with specific questions about how to set up a business, taxes and legal issues.  The handbook offers advice for pricing work, portfolio development and social media, and discusses what artists should know about participating in fairs or festivals. Teaching topics are included to assist artists who are interested in professional development and entrepreneurial skills. While focusing on folk and traditional arts, the handbook contains information useful to any working artist.

“The new guide offers artists help in making informed choices about when, where, how and for what compensation they will demonstrate, perform and sell their art.  Materials are designed to help artists take control of the public presentation of their traditions and share in the profits,” said Patricia Atkinson, Folklife Program coordinator for the NAC, who researched and wrote the handbook.

More than 60 full-color photographs illustrate diverse and active cultural art in Nevada including silver engraving, Western saddle making, Mexican Ballet Folklorico, Japanese koto music and Hawaiian hula dancing.  The handbook is available free online at http://nac.nevadaculture.org/dmdocuments/folkartistshandbook2011.pdf and also comes in a printed booklet available for $14.95 plus $2 shipping and handling at nac.nevadaculture.org.  The publication was produced by the Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. For information, contact NAC at (775) 687-6680.

“Folk and traditional artists are tradition bearers -- people who transmit what they believe, know, do, and create with others who share a common heritage, language, religion, occupation, or region.  These expressions are deeply rooted in and reflective of a community’s shared standards of beauty, values, or life experiences,” Atkinson said.  Folk and traditional arts are generally passed on from one generation to the next and express a collective wisdom rather than a unique personal aesthetic. To meet some of Nevada’s folk artists and hear what they have to say about their traditions, click on Folk Arts Road Trip.

The Nevada Arts Council is the agency charged with ensuring that state and national funds support cultural activity and encourage participation in the arts throughout Nevada.  In addition to providing hundreds of grants to arts and community-based organizations, schools, artists and local municipalities throughout the state, the Arts Council coordinates a variety of statewide programs and activities such as the annual Poetry Out Loud recitation competition for high-school aged students, traveling exhibits, artist residencies, workshops and cultural assessments. To get the handbook go to the department’s web site at www.nevadaculture.org.