Description

Professional practices for artists and designers

• Goal setting
• Grant applications
• Networking strategy
• Writing exhibition proposals
• Residency applications

Academic job searching and interview prep

• Editing job application documents (CVs, cover letters, teaching philosophies, research/artist statements, diversity statements, sample syllabi)
• Job talks / Teaching demos – development and test-runs
• General campus visit prep

Strategically navigating academia

• Planning your research and teaching to get the most out of both
• Academic conferences (applying to panels, chairing panels, networking)

Authoring textbooks

• Ideation
• Creating a table of contents
• Writing the first 1-3 chapters
• Finding potential publishers
• Writing a book proposal
• Self-publishing

Collective practices (vs individual) for building your art career

• Creating and maintaining artist collectives
• Critique groups
• Organizing conferences and workshops
• Independent publishing (zines, artist books, etc.)

Teaching in higher education

• Course planning (Backward Design)
• Open-source websites and creative commons licensing for your materials
• Adapting to the online environment (accessibility and interactivity)

Exiting academia (non-higher ed industry job searching)

• Goal setting, interests/values identification, identifying potential alt-academic jobs
• Navigating informational interviews
• Updating LinkedIn efficiently and effectively (understanding the job application analytics available with Premium subscription, and how to apply them to your profile)

Studio Visits

I’m happy to talk about your creative practice/artwork, and provide feedback. Online or in-person (depending on proximity to current location)
and more…

A little bit about my background:

Currently, I am Director of Programs at Arts Midwest. Over the past 10 years, I have been a member of the faculty at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, UMass Dartmouth, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and Colorado State University-Pueblo. I have held roles such as director and department chair at multiple institutions. I completed my MFA in studio art at University of South Florida in 2011, and I completed a BA in Theatre and Art, and a BS in Design Technology from Bemidji State University.

Additionally, I recently published Elements and Principles of 4D Art and Design with Oxford University Press (2016), Remixing and Drawing: Sources, Influences, Styles with Routledge Focus (2018), and Some Social Practice via Creative Commons (2020). I’m currently under contract with SUNY Press for a new book, Walking as Artistic Practice. I also founded the CAA Conversations Podcast in 2017.

I’ve attended 18 residencies, and received 20+ grants. I’ve presented at 20+ conferences. I’ve organized 4 conferences (both in-person and online, both regional and national). I’ve been advising and mentoring for over a decade.

Contact: ellen.m.mueller@gmail.com