Entrepreneurship and the Art Room (Ep. 420)

In today’s episode, Tim welcomes art educator and first-time guest Venise Keys to the show for a discussion on entrepreneurship in the art room. Venise shares her own journey into small business ownership and talks about how the lessons she has leaned translate into her classroom. Listen as the interview covers career exploration, art history, how emerging technologies have changed the opportunities available to students, and so much more.  Full episode transcript below.

Resources and Links

• 60 Visual Arts Careers to Discuss with Your Students
• Check out AOEU’s Career Cards and find more in FLEX Curriculum
• Find out about all of the PD and Curriculum offerings from AOEU
• Follow Venise on Instagram

Transcript

Tim:

Welcome to Art Ed Radio, the podcast for art teachers. This show is produced by The Art of Education University, and I’m your host, Tim Bogatz.

Today’s episode will be an interesting one, my guest will be a first time guest named Venise Keys. I met Venise at the NAEA Conference in Minneapolis back in April, she is great to talk to–I think you’re going to love her. She is from Chicago, and I’ll let her introduce herself, but she is doing a lot of great stuff with her students. One thing she is interested in is entrepreneurship, both for herself and for her students, and I thought that topic would be worth exploring on the podcast. 

We’ve touched on the topic previously, most recently with Candido on the Ask The Experts printmaking podcast, but never really explored the topic in-depth. So today, we’re going to dive in to entrepreneurship, careers, tying everything together with art, and how all of this might just help engage your students. 

Before we get the conversation going, I want to remind you that the NOW Conference is happening July 31st, August 1st, and August 2nd. Day 1 is our kickoff event with games, and a ton of giveaways and prizes, and a couple of artmaking sessions. Day 2 is the main event with more artmaking, a plethora of presentations on all different topics for art teachers, and Day 3 you can revisit all of it, find some new presentations, and keep coming back with the after pass. 

The highlight of this summer’s even might just be the keynote presentation from artist Reggie Laurent. I went down to Atlanta to interview him last month, he is the nicest guy. He just sent me a couple of boxes of homemade pecan candy that his mom makes, it’s incredible stuff. Is that candy important in the context of the conference? Probably not. But it does tell you that he is a very nice guy, an incredible artist, he appreciates art teachers so much, he loves working with kids, you will love hearing from him. All 3 days of the NOW Conference will be spectacular, I hope you can join us. And if you’re not registered yet, you can find all the information you need on the AOEU website.

It’s time for me to bring on Venise, I think you’re going to enjoy the conversation.

Venise Keys is joining me now. Venise, how are you?

Venise:
I am so excited to be here. I have been a long time listener, first time guest.

Tim:
I love it. Well, we are thrilled to have you here. I guess I would love to just kind of dive right in where we’re super excited to talk about entrepreneurship. So can we start by, I guess, just sharing the importance of entrepreneurship and maybe why it’s of interest of you? And can you talk about why it’s of interest to your students as well?

Venise:
Absolutely. um What I’ve learned even since completing my business degree recently is that there are distinct differences between entrepreneurship and having a small business.

Tim:
Okay.

Venise:
People tend to use these words like interchangeably. But entrepreneurs, they emphasize creating something new that addresses an unmet need or disrupts a job market, kind of like Uber, right? Uber was disrupting how people got around and commuted.

Tim:
Right.

Venise:
And there are more risk involves, and it opens up new opportunities for innovation. And entrepreneurs are often seeking investments to rapidly expand and grow in scale. There is a lot of high level of uncertainty when they’re creating products or services. And entrepreneurs are challenging the status quo and trying to change those dynamics.

And small businesses, in contrast, they’re providing reliable services and goods in markets that already exist. They want to be consistent. They want to know that audience and give them exactly what they want without being a cutting edge new thing. And growth is still important, but they just prefer for it to be like manageable in size, maybe local community, maybe niche.

And the day-to-day operations are very important to small businesses. And I learned a lot about that when I was in my program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. And entrepreneurship was actually something I avoided most of my career. I was yeah like extremely intimidated by all the steps, the roles, and the risks that go into being an artist entrepreneur.

Tim:
Okay. Okay.

Venise:

The pricing, the materials, all the things. That was scary.

It took a lot of external support for me to apply to the Master of Professional Studies program for Business of Art and Design. And I am so happy that I got to work with faculty member who faculty members who are um professionals. like They have companies. I worked with the CPA, an accountant, people that were giving funds to small businesses.

Tim:
Okay.

Venise:
And I learned a lot from my cohort. We were together the entire 15 months, taking one class at a time. And when it comes to our youth, technology has made e-commerce attainable and desirable. We have social media influencers, gamers, bloggers, and they’re promoting their paychecks from getting subscribers and engagement, right?

Tim:
Right, right.

Venise:
So this opportunity for earning money has dramatically expanded since millennials like me were in high school, you know, like kids want those benefits of not asking their parents for money to buy Fortnite skins or snacks or phones or other luxury things.

Tim:
Yup, yup.

So let me ask you about that then. Because that that’s a really good point. Just thinking about how students are, are looking at this and just kind of thinking about the opportunities that are available. Like you said, that, that did not exist, you know, a decade ago or, or even longer for us old people. How do you, how do you relate that to your kids?

Like, how do you incorporate those ideas in your classroom?

Is that something that that you capitalize on with through discussions or through projects or other ways?

Venise:
That is such a great question. And there’s a few different ways to do this in the classroom. The first way that I did it was talking about careers in the arts.

Tim:
Mm-hmm.

Venise:
And while I was attending the NAEA conference in Minneapolis, universities like the Ringling College of Art, they were giving away posters that had this huge expansive list of careers in the arts. And that was something I don’t think I’ve ever seen when I was in high school.

And these careers were organized by specialties. So we can go to that like on the ground, real world careers. And again we can use art history. So my do nows, my bell ringers, they would feature artists that are talking about the Industrial Revolution or the labor movement. We’re weaving in and out of time to see how artists have made figurative work of people doing labor, how artists have protested for better working conditions, how still life artworks, looking at the tools of the trade were made, just all these different engagements with it.

Tim:
Mm-hmm.

Venise:
I’ve also done surveys and with open-ended questions asking them about their plans after high school. So my school serves 7th to 12th and the feedback that I got was vast. My students want to be engineers designing objects, lawyers, they want to be interior designers, game developers, architects, carpenters, fashion designers who outsource their designs as well as fashion designers who are making the clothes from scratch. And fashion was actually the most popular career for students who have already started that work right now.

Tim:
Okay.

Venise:
And some are interested in trade schools for cosmetology work and service in hospitality industry like pastry chefs. or specializing in specific cuisines. And um yeah, I just, I’m really excited that I get to apply all the things that I learned from grinding those 15 months in Michael. So like it was like, I can apply that to the ones that are ready.

Tim:
Yeah.

Venise:
Like I have a student that is a master crocheter. Like she taught herself, she was designing hats last year and selling them. And we started her business plan last year. And I have a student doing digital designs on their iPad. So he comes to me with all of these different layouts and I’m just super impressed. And um then the conversation would shift again and I’m like, okay, so how do we create artworks or presentation that represents important figures in your industry, right? Who are those important people?

Tim:
Yeah, I love it.

Venise:
What important events are relevant to your industry? What vocabulary terms are foundational to the career you want? What techniques are foundational? What programs or certifications are relevant to attaining that career? And this is our first senior class. My school opened in 2019, so I thought it was a perfect way to connect all of the grade levels together and make it a ah very relevant and engaging assignment.

Tim:
Yeah, I love that. And I love the idea of weaving art history through there and then encouraging kids to to research and just kind of see what was out there before them. I think that’s something that I wish more kids would do. And so I love that you’re incorporating that. Um, I want to ask you that you’re talking about, you know, crocheting, talk about digital design. Sounds like you have some kids who are already finding success. So can you maybe share a story or a couple of stories of other kids that, uh, have been successful with some kind of entrepreneurship?

Venise:
Absolutely. Yes. Um, so a junior I have a junior in my class that I also had about two years ago, and he extremely distracted by peers and needs a lot of external motivation to stay on task.

Tim:
Okay. Sounds familiar. Yeah, yeah.

Venise:
Right? But when I introduced this career path project, it was like fireworks. like just it I had seen excitement in him that I had never seen before. And he was excited to make progress on this clothing line.

And we actually brainstormed the name together, because the initial name that he had, I’m like, this doesn’t tell me about your why. Or you know his motivation was that, have like words of affirmation for you know kids his age that are from his community.

Tim:
Okay.

Venise:
And yeah, and I was like, oh my goodness. And he revealed having a podcast connected to his brand. And I’m like, what?
No idea you were doing that. And so I was pleased that this career path assignment brought up this dedication that I had never seen before. And the ego is amazing.

Tim:
Yeah.

Venise:
And I was able to, again, I keep shouting out Micah, I was able to apply everything that I had just learned to help him revisit his business plan, right? Revisit certain choices. We looked at manufacturer distribution and key partners to help make his clothing. And it was amazing. we And the official name is Smiley Styles. So shout out Smiley Styles brand that will be coming out.

Tim:
Okay.

Venise:
I’m super excited about this.

Tim:
Nice.

Venise:
Yeah, and I have another student who is a senior. And she’s interested in being a lawyer. She came to us during remote learning and is a fantastic scholar, like hands down. And I advised her to research different types of law and figure out which branch would be a good fit. She interpreted her assignment using typography art. She made a tree using different words about the different types of law. And then she realized she was the most interested in family law. Unfortunately, she is so hard on herself.

She is so hard on herself. She has these high standards when it came to the artwork she made, and she felt inadequate when the art was done and the presentation was finished. So um I told her, you got the point of the assignment.

Tim:
Okay.

Venise:
You figured out what branch of law you want to study. The drawing is not terrible. It’s actually a good drawing. It’s good. It’s a drawing with words, a tree. like I would tell my kids, when you can communicate the message you wanted, it’s a success.

Tim:
Yeah.

Venise:
Everything else is irrelevant.

Tim:
Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Venise:
So I advised her to make another tree during the summer just for herself and expand on what she learned about family law. And the joy and the emotion that poured out of her was just great. She was, oh my gosh, Ms. Keys, I can’t believe you just read me like that. I’m like, yes, girl, I see you. I see you being a perfectionist. It’s okay. You got the grade. Like, chill. You’re gonna be a lawyer. And I told her, minor in art. She knows, i she was in my painting class last year. Great with color theory, but it’s just always frustrated. I’m like, take a chill pill. That’s what the art gonna do.

It’s gonna chill you out while you’re learning how to be a lawyer.

Tim:
Yeah, I love it. Well, and I just, I love when kids can have a breakthrough like that, you know, and and just realize that, you know, there’s there’s power in just communicating your ideas and there’ there’s power in being able to to say what you want to say, and it doesn’t have to be perfect. And yeah, anytime that that we can kind of make those breakthroughs in the art room, I think that’s something that’s worthwhile for sure.

Venise:
Yeah, absolutely.

Tim:
And I guess I would love to shift to a little bit more about like you personally, like with your own work. So kind of on a personal level, like how do you balance the demands that that come with, we know how busy ah people are when they’re teaching. and We also try and have a life outside of teaching, but how do you also run a business along with that? Like how does that work for you?

Venise:
Oh my gosh. Well, funny story is I am not balancing very well.

Tim:
OK, I appreciate the honesty.

Venise:
Yeah, like I am not even going to play about that. I finished the program in December. And for those 15 months, I had to submit something every Tuesday or Monday that would move me along in administrative tasks.

Tim:
OK.

Venise:
So without that accountability of a grade or school structure, I not been consistent. I haven’t. um And in my full-time job, I’m an instructional coach for my department. And I teach classes every day.

So it’s tough, but after I found my taxes this year, I got a huge boost of motivation. Like, oh yeah, I actually get benefits from being

Tim:
OK OK.

Venise:
So like this country is set up to reward small businesses. And there are like infinite resources that someone can use to help start their business. But the trick is finding a resource that feels comfortable in your gut and finding one that’s credible. Because sure, the things I learned at MICA are things that I had heard before, but it’s a whole different ballgame. When you have a professional that’s like a mentor working one-on-one with you for eight weeks, like in a grind. So I am now going, yeah, and so I’m gonna advise people like look for those programs, look for those small business startups and look for things that are creative centered because creatives, we face different types of challenges when it comes to making a business, making a product, making a service.

Tim:
Oh, that that is good advice. um I like that idea because I know a lot of teachers are are curious about that. You know, they sort of have that inkling like this is something I’d like to do eventually, but like they don’t necessarily know where to start with it.

Venise:
Mm.

Tim:
So I appreciate that. And then I guess my my last question for you before we go is just advice for for teachers who want to do this more in their classroom. Like if they want to explore more about entrepreneurship in their classroom or I guess in other advice just for themselves. If they want to want to do a person like what else would you say to them?

Venise:
I would, for me, it’s the do now, the bell ringer. That is the hook to get them in.

Tim:
Mm hmm.

Venise:
Have students like interview people in their family about jobs that they’ve had. like Try to figure out what jobs are they exposed to and then figure out a way to expand on that list.

And use art history, like I mentioned before. Find images of people doing labor definitely go with the Industrial Revolution. I have randomly brought that up so many times in my life because, like, the world as we know it is because of that. Like, we’re used to, I want it right now. I’m ordering it. It got delivered. Boom. But there was a world where artists were making that by hand.

Tim:
Yeah. Mm-hm.

Venise:
Like, that was the thing. Like, artists guilds were a thing. I’m, like, very new to Dungeons and Dragons. And my character is always in the artist guild. Like, always.

Like, I am about this guild life. So like start there um and then look at the labor arts movement because ah social justice is super important to me. I have a women’s and gender studies graduate certificate so you always want to have this intersection of well where is domination coming into play? Where is the worker and the laborer coming into play? So figure out where our other teachers may be tapping on the idea of work, right?

This idea of work in working conditions is so much rich material and objects, right? Still life works. Maybe you can bring in an object. um You can do creative writing prompts about objects, contemplating the use of it, you know, looking at it. There’s so many different abstract and literal ways to go about it, and I’m a very abstract thinker, like not linear at all.

Tim:
Mmm, yeah.

Venise:
And people, I would love if folks would reach out too. So um my email or whatever, like I love having these conversations about art history, and engaging them in this. And this was my first year doing this project, but it’s a keeper. I’m gonna keep this.

Tim:
Yeah, I love it. i I’m glad you found so much success with it. And I feel like there are so many great ideas that I think people can transfer into their classroom and ideas that you can continue to explore in future years too. So thank you for sharing all of that. We we appreciate it. So, uh, Vinise, thank you so much. It has been fascinating, uh, eyeopening conversation. I’ve loved it and we appreciate all of your time and all of your knowledge. Thank you.

Venise:
Thank you so much for inviting me as a guest. Like I fangirled when I saw you at the EAA conference. because You know, I’m in the pro learning and I’m like, that’s Tim Boga. So shout out to you for inviting me, super excited. And I look forward to all of the budding entrepreneur artists and creatives that happen after this podcast.

Tim:
I love it. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you to Venise! I enjoyed getting her perspective, hearing her stories, and listening to her advice. I thought it was a really fun conversation. I appreciated hearing about her students and what was interesting to them, and I appreciated when she admitted there’s not a lot of balance right now when she’s trying to do so much. That’s so real, and I think so many of us can relate.

But, as always, we will put links in the show notes for further exploration.

Hopefully you can find something that will be helpful for you, and hopefully you can find some ideas about entrepreneurship that will be of interest to your students.

Art Ed Radio is produced by the art of education university with audio engineering from michael crocker. Thank you as always for listening, and we would love for you to share anything that you find helpful with someone who you think could use it. Whether it’s this episode, one of the videos, one of the articles, or anything else, we really appreciate it if you pass it along so we can continue to reach and continue to help as many art teachers as possible. We will talk to you next week!