Starting on Saturday, September 24th, we are excited to partner with Crewest Studio to present smARTtalks: A New Monthly Educational Series for Artists + Creatives with Expert Panelists! smARTalks occur once a month on Saturdays from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm inside the Helms Design Center.

smARTtalks are intimate learning sessions with a panel of experts covering timely and important topics vital to artists and creatives working in the 21st Century.

Thanks to the wonderful generosity of an arts patron, smARTtalks is now FREE to all artists in Los Angeles. Simply register to reserve your seat now as it is an intimate event with only 75 seats available. Free coffee and refreshments (donuts!) will be served starting at 9:30 and Parking is located at 8711 Washington Boulevard, just east of the event venue.

Here’s the lineup of discussions and panelists for September 24th:

10:00 am

• Who Are We Now? Artists Discuss COVID + Creativity. How Did The Pandemic Help or Hurt Artists with speakers Dr. Kim Cookson and Eric Weiss, LMFT.

Preview: Given the tumult of the last 24 months, we are changed people — and artists. What have we learned? How do we best process the impact of the pandemic? And where do we go from here? Part collective group therapy session, this discussion will address these relevant, existential questions touching all of us. We will also address personal wellness in the arts.

11:00 am

• How To Launch Your First Collectible Art Toy with speakers Ben Goretsky and kaNO

Preview: Collectible art toys and vinyls represent a small but hot and growing segment of the contemporary art market. If you’re an artist interested in launching your first collectible art toy, don’t miss this smARTalk. You learn about toy design, fabrication, packaging and marketing process. You’ll learn how a 2D concept drawing becomes a 3D product, where to have it manufactured and how to budget the costs. You will get the answers to these and other important questions from top industry experts.

12:00 Noon

• The Long Overdue and Beautiful Rise of BIPOC Artists in the Primary Art Market: A Sincere and Permanent Correction or Cynical Opportunism by Art Dealers? with speakers April Banks, Badir McCleary, Sarah Mantilla Griffin, and Man One.

Preview: Artists of color are hot in the art market right how — and it’s about time. But why did it take so long for the mainstream art world to rightfully recognize them? What did it take for the art world to finally give artists of color a platform? And, most importantly, will it last? How will it be sustained? Or will the fickle and profit-driven art world eventually get bored and move on?