This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.
The initial session of the Arts Enterprise Institute Spring Classes kicked-off with a near-capacity registration! Artists, performers and arts professionals looking to up their game are encouraged to join in for the remaining Arts Enterprise Institute Sessions, continuing through March 2. (All classes are virtual.)
Arts Enterprise Institute is a program of Arlington Arts that exists to provide resources for artists and deepen their skill set to withstand the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Workshops, training, seminars and events integrate strong business skills, knowledge, life-long learning and artistic development with peer-to-peer learning and engagement with the community.
A cornerstone of these programs is artists teaching artists. Meet the instructors for the remaining sessions:
Sharmila Karamchandani is the instructor for Smartphone Photography: How to Use Your Phone to Take Great Photos and Online Shops — A Dozen Ways to Sell Your Art During the Pandemic.
Sharmila, a local graphic designer and artist-entrepreneur, has a passion for working in arts education and community nonprofits. Sharmila has a bachelor’s degree in advertising and a master’s degree in graphic design. Sharmila is extremely passionate about art and teaching. She teaches graphic design in a private college, and she has been an entrepreneur coach for Empowered Women International for the past 15 years and has taught many women how to start their businesses. She is also a certified Therapeutic Art Life Coach and facilitates visual art workshops for Heard, an Alexandria based nonprofit that works with a vulnerable population.
Sushmita Mazumdar is the instructor for Community Engagement for Artists.
Sushmita is an Arlington-based artist, writer, educator and founder of Studio Pause, her art studio and community space for art and stories, where she invites everyday people to make time to explore creativity and celebrate the art and stories in the community.
After a 15-year career in the advertising industry in India and the U.S., Sushmita taught herself writing and book arts to create unique storybooks about her childhood in India to show her American-born son how different yet wonderful lives can be.
Since 2010 she has participated in programs at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Glen Echo Park’s Popcorn Gallery. She has designed and taught projects for the Smithsonian Institution and its museums, Arlington Arts, DC Public Libraries, National Building Museum and Alexandria Black History Museum. In 2018, Sushmita was awarded Arlington County’s Woman of Vision award for her work at Studio Pause, and in 2019 she was appointed one of 13 Arts Commissioners for Virginia.
Classes are filling up quickly, so sign up now for the Arts Enterprise Institute Spring Semester, continuing through March 2. (Again, all classes are virtual.) The fee is just $20 per class.
Smartphone Photography: How to Use Your Phone to Take Great Photos — Feb. 2, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Online Shops: A Dozen Ways to Sell Your Art During the Pandemic — Feb. 16, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Community Engagement for Artists Instructor — March 2, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
