Instagram Strategies for Artists During COVID-19
Keep your art business strong with an updated Instagram strategy.
It can feel weird to post something that is unrelated to COVID-19 or, more currently, social injustice right now. But, this doesn’t mean you have to completely stop sharing parts of your work and it doesn’t mean you should go silent. Consider changing up your usual social media posts to address issues and share resources and posts. Adjust your messaging, but don’t go silent. Click here for a few ways that you can use your Instagram to engage with your audience right now.
Sharpen Your Virtual Interview Skills
WORKSHOP DETAILS:
Thursday, June 25th 2020, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm EDT
Preparation and practice are critical to your success in an interview. There are additional factors to consider when your interview is conducted online. You’ll come away from this workshop with great tips for your next virtual interview. Hosted by Champlain College.
Finding A Job During the COVID-19 Era Hosted by Society of International Development
INFORMATION SESSION:
Thursday, June 25th 2020, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm EDT
The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the global economy in many ways, especially when it comes to the job market. Some organizations have had to downsize, close temporarily, or freeze hiring. As organizations adjust to this new way of operating, those entering the job market for the first time may wonder how this pandemic has affected the job market.
Join SID-Washington — in partnership with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey — for an interactive discussion on how the international development job market has changed in the past few months, receive practical tips for making your application stand out, and learn what skills are most important in this new virtual working world. In the lead-up to this event, we would like to hear from organizations about changes in their hiring processes due to COVID-19.
If you’re interested in joining this webinar, please register through Society for International Development’s external system: https://sidw.org/event-details/513 Registration for this event will close at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, June 24th. This event will be a webinar via Zoom, and the meeting details will be sent to RSVPs on June 24th.
The Craven Conversations with distinguished actor Michael Murphy-June 24 @ 7pm EDT
MNFF is thrilled to welcome back one of its favorite Honorees, the distinguished film actor Michael Murphy, for the next edition of the Craven Conversations on Wednesday, June 24 at 7pm on Zoom. In a brilliant career spanning more than 50 films over 50 years, Michael has worked with a wide array of heralded filmmakers including Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Paul Mazursky, Peter Weir, Tim Burton, Oliver Stone, Sarah Polley, John Sayles, Elia Kazan, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Ritt, Robert Aldrich, Orson Welles and Paul Thomas Anderson. Among his dozens of film credits, you’ll find The Arrangement, MASH, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, The Front, An Unmarried Woman, Manhattan, The Year of Living Dangerously, Salvador, Batman Returns and Away from Her. The breadth of the roles Michael has played and the innumerable stories he has accumulated will make for a most entertaining conversation that you won’t want to miss.
Michael Murphy was born in Los Angeles, California, and after a stint in the Marine Corps, he attended the University of Arizona, Tucson, and then went to UCLA for his California teaching credential. From 1962 to 1964, he taught high school English and drama in Los Angeles. His acting career as a first-rate supporting player began in 1962 and has continued for over five decades.
The consummate professional, Michael is perhaps best known for his long collaboration with renowned director Robert Altman, having been cast in seven of Altman’s movies between 1968 and 1996, and in two cable-TV mini-series for him: Tanner ’88 and Tanner on Tanner. But the relationship stretched back to the very beginning of his career. “I was right out of the University of Arizona,” Murphy reminisced during a 2004 interview, “and a friend said, ‘Go over to MGM and meet Bob Altman. He’s using a lot of young guys for this Army thing he’s doing.'” Altman was directing the World War II television series Combat! and Altman cast him in the show without an audition. “We became immediate friends. He told me, ‘You may not turn out to be a movie star, but you’ll get to do some interesting work.’ Bob was in his thirties when we met. He had been a young bomber pilot in World War II and was wise beyond his years. From the very beginning, he never played it safe when it came to making movies. He had amazing fortitude and guts.”
Attendance is limited for the Craven Conversation with Michael Murphy so don’t wait too long to sign up. We anticipate a good crowd for this event.
Click here to register for the event!
Museum Careers Today Panel Discussion – Thursday, June 25
Interested in learning about museums today? Join a panel discussion that engages MFA Boston staff members from across the institution to explore the many types of professions that exist in art museums and to examine how the current COVID-19 pandemic may impact museums now and in the future.
Click here to register for the event!
Book Business Webinars
Book Business was launched for book production and manufacturing. The hugely successful publication has evolved with the changes in the book market and has expanded its mission to have a wider appeal to all business executives at book publishing companies.
Click here to view the various informative webinars available on their website!
The Craven Conversations with Sarah Beers, Emmy Award Winning Costume Designer: June 10 @ 7PM EDT
MNFF welcomes Sarah Beers, Emmy Award winning costume designer and longtime Middlebury resident, to the Craven Conversations tomorrow, Wednesday, June 10 at 7p on Zoom. Ms. Beers will take viewers through her process of imagination and creation of film, theater and television costumes, illuminating how the work informs and enlarges the consideration of characters. She will show research photos and sketches along with pictures of actors in costume for the film and television work she does. She will also discuss her work on both seasons of the WGN America/SONY series Outsiders and Jay Craven’s film, Peter and John, where she mentored college students involved in the film’s ambitious costume design work. Ms. Beers grew up in Middlebury and attended Middlebury Union High School. Her uncle taught Spanish at Middlebury College and her grandfather was born and raised in Charlotte. She graduated from Connecticut College, where she designed an interdisciplinary major in Theater and Studio Art, and through those courses and her work-study duties in the theater department, she became interested in costume design as a profession. During her senior year in college, Beers was awarded a Watson Fellowship to study costumes at the Royal Ballet and Opera in London. She also spent time working in marionette fabrication at Marionettes de Geneve in Switzerland.
Her film credits include Maria Full of Grace, nominated for a 2005 Academy Award. Beers won an Emmy for her work on the television mini-series The Men Who Built America. Other television costume design credits include extensive work on the recent NBC hit drama Blindspot and the long running FX series Rescue Me.
This will be a fascinating conversation with Jay and Sarah and we invite you to register for the event and enjoy the experience.
Click here to register for the webinar!
Conversation with Marc Randolph, Netflix Co-Founder, and MiddCORE mentor
Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. We want to start by getting to know more about your new book “That Will Never Work”. You started the book by saying that it is not a documentary but a memoir. What motivated you to write a memoir 17 years after you left Netflix? What are your biggest takeaways during the process of writing? Originally, this was envisioned to be a self-help book. What was at the heart of the project was a lot of things I learned at Middlebury as a MIDDCORE mentor. In the process of working with so many undergrads with great ideas, not necessarily just related to business but also social entrepreneurship, I was reminded of lessons passed down to me from my dad about success. I realized that all these tips I learned over these years were not just applicable for people going into business, but for anyone having a dream and making it become a reality.
This is not a business book; this is a life book. I wanted to lay out these tips with stories from my time at Netflix, but my editor recommended centering it on the stories. People will pick up on the tips from seeing how I used them and not being hammered over the head with them. At the same time, I wanted people to get the honest story of founding Netflix and realize what really goes into starting a company.
It took me 16 years after retiring from Netflix to write the story because it usually takes distance to understand your role in any situation. Having a company has huge elements of risk and luck. You can’t understand this immediately. I had to think of what worked as a consequence of what I did versus plain old luck. By taking a step back, I was able to be more honest about my role and find lessons I could take away from my experiences.
In your book you encouraged people to persist even if others tell you that your idea would never work. Yet you also mentioned the importance of being flexible to move onto new ideas (before Netflix, you came up with the idea of personalized shampoos). How do you suggest that students reconcile these two equally valuable perspectives? Even though you’ll always hear that it will never work, the lesson here is that nobody knows. No one knows if an idea is good or bad in advance. You’ll find that any advice you get will be wrong. Stop trying to ask people if your idea is good or not. Stop researching and find a cheap and easy way to get your idea out into the real world. That is the only way to see if your idea will actually work. If the market says your idea will work, that’s the validation you need. Fundamentally ideas don’t count for anything—they’re just starting points. Just do it.
What would you say to your mentees if you think their ideas would not work? I would just tell them it’s a terrible idea. It’s an amazing formula to tell people the truth and see how much they will like it. Interestingly, most mentees don’t get that feedback. Even in a professional setting such as pitching an idea to a venture capital, people won’t say it’s a bad idea. There’s no real incentive for anyone to give bad news. I don’t believe you should always stick to your ideas—I denounce that. What you want to stick with and fall in love with is the problem. The more you fail and learn, the more things you can test to solve the problem.
We know you have been a great mentor to Middlebury students through MIDDCORE. What motivated you to become a mentor at MIDDCORE? What was your most memorable experience with Middlebury students? Two of my kids went to Middlebury and I was asked if I was willing to mentor at MIDDCORE with my entrepreneurial background. At MIDDCORE, I taught students how to validate their ideas, I also taught them how to transform an idea into action.
I was always shocked about the amount of good ideas coming from Middlebury students. I remember one time, we were working in small groups, peer-reviewing each other’s ideas. Everyone in the room was really active but there was someone completely intimidated by the program. She even wanted to leave the program at one point. But after brainstorming, she had a revelation and fleshed out a tremendously good idea. It was both exciting and gratifying to see that transformation, which proves that anyone can come up with solid ideas.
How do you select your mentees? What are the qualities shared by your best mentees? From the student perspective, especially from elite schools such as Middlebury, mentorship becomes a competition. “I’m doing my internship at Blackrock” competes with “I’m doing my internship at Goldman.” My first piece of advice is to humble yourself. There is a simple way in finding mentorship: find the smartest people you know and do everything they say. You’ll learn way more than any job training by following them in their everyday lives.
I’m looking for someone who has two traits: entrepreneurial spirit and good listening skills. It’s difficult to find these two skills in the same person. There’s a small set of people who recognize they can inform their judgement by listening to others while still making their own decisions. That is an amazingly powerful combination of skills I’m always looking for.
What advice would you give to students/new graduates feeling paralyzed in their career exploration during the current Coronavirus pandemic? There are a lot of companies in a world of hurt right now. But part of being entrepreneurial is dealing with what you’re facing, as unexpected as it may be. Everyone is in the same boat right now. However, this favors the individuals and businesses who are willing to hustle to step forward. To the person who’s always had a predictable path, this will be very difficult. To the person who thrives in chaos, many new opportunities will come forward. Similar to the advice I’m giving to everyone else, take this time to start something new.
What do you think are the opportunities for entrepreneurial students during the current Coronavirus pandemic? Start something. Do a side hustle. Test something. This is an incredible time to start something new. Take advantage of this unique window where everyone is a starter. Go out and do something on the side that will let you be a businessperson on your own.
I don’t want to be naive; I know many people feel stalled by the current situation. But you should think of seizing the unexpected opportunities that have been created. I don’t want to use too many Silicon Valley analogies, but when companies are hiring an engineer or developer, they don’t really care about your education. They’ll ask, “What’ve you built in the past year?” This also applies to other industries like finance. Use this chance to do something. Be that person.
This article was written by Arturo Simental. If you are interested to interview alumni and contribute to this series, please contact Xiaoli Jin on Midd2Midd.
This series is coordinated by Xiaoli Jin ’19. Look for more alumni profiles each week. You can connect with Xiaoli on LinkedIn.
If you are interested to interview alumni and contribute to this series, please contact Xiaoli Jin 2019′ on Midd2Midd.
In this time of social distancing, we are all looking for new ways to stay connected, and Midd2Midd is one of them! Midd2Midd connects Middlebury students, alumni, and parents, supporting mentoring, networking, and engagement within the Middlebury community around the world. Midd2Midd is your place to make things happen. Simply complete your profile, create a customized search, and begin to network!
Free online learning at Coursera
College and university students around the world can learn and earn certificates on Coursera for free. Current undergraduate, graduate, or recently graduated students with a verified school email can sign up to get free access to over 3,800 courses, 150 Guided Projects, 400 Specializations, and 11 Professional Certificates. They can enroll in programs for free until July 31 — no credit card required. Once enrolled, they will have until Sept. 30, 2020, to complete the programs.
During this period, students will be able to learn from some of the best instructors in the world and earn credentials from the world’s top universities, including the University of Michigan, Yale University, and Duke University. Professional Certificates from leading industry educators like Google and SAS will help students become job-ready with in-demand skills.
After Sept. 30, 2020, students will continue to have free access to Guided Projects — a hands-on learning experience that develops job-relevant skills like data analysis with Plotly and Python, app development in Android Studio with Java, and social media marketing with Canva. With an interactive experience, students can learn a new skill in under two hours with step-by-step guidance from a subject matter expert.
Coursera was founded with a mission to serve the world through learning. At a time when the future of students everywhere is at stake, we, along with our community of partners, want to do everything possible to help them continue learning off campus. We hope students around the world can benefit from high-quality learning on Coursera — at this time, and beyond.
To learn more, please visit https://www.coursera.org/for-university-and-college-students.
Career Conversation and an Arts Discussion with Elizabeth Warfel ’19 – Thursday, June 4
Please join us for a Career Conversation and an Arts Industry Reading Discussion with Elizabeth Warfel ’19. Elizabeth will discuss her on-campus experiences and summer internships related to the Arts and will share advice on how to get started in the industry.
Based on Elizabeth’s recommendation, we will also discuss two articles titled “With Galleries Closed, a Moment for Net Artists to Shine” by Andrew Dickson and “The First AI- Generated Portrait Ever Sold at Auction Shatters Expectations, Fetching $432,500 – 43 Times Its Estimate” by Eileen Kinsella. This is a great opportunity to meet an alum working in the Arts and learn about the current trends in the industry!
Elizabeth Warfel graduated from Middlebury in 2019 with a double major in Art History and French, and significant coursework in Studio Art. After graduating she interned at Christie’s NYC in the Estates, Appraisals, and Valuations Department and then the Impressionist and Modern Art Department. Since then she has been working for the Contemporary and Digital Art Fair (CADAF) doing their marketing and social media.
Click here to RSVP in Handshake!