Advocacy: Speed Chatting with an Artist

Exposing students to the myriad art careers and opportunities available to them can be a daunting task. How do you cover various career options in a unique and fun way while engaging students and building interpersonal and communication skills?

Finding Arts Professionals
Several years ago, I hosted the first-ever Speed Chatting with an Artist event. Think speed dating, but with artists. The idea was to bring in as many artists as I could and have my students circulate around the room to talk with each one. My high school is located in rural Nevada, so our resources and exposure to art careers are limited. Networking and making contact with local professionals were my first priorities, but I knew that I would have to call upon professionals outside of our area to make this work.

I started by selecting a date and began reaching out to artists and professionals. Through networking, I was able to enlist the help of twenty people who work in the arts, including education coordinators, arts administrators, photographers, graphic designers, a cake decorator, a knife maker, and a fused glass artist. Amazingly, all of these people donated their time to make this happen, some driving more than two hours to be a part of this event.

Preparations
In the week leading up to our event, students came up with a list of questions to keep the conversation going. Many of my students are shy when asked to speak with professionals, so this helps to ease their nerves and keep them on track.

I also spoke with students about professionalism and appropriate behavior. I reminded them to make eye contact, shake hands, and politely thank each artist as they moved from one to the next. For many of my students, this was their first encounter with professionals in a formal setting. Setting these basic expectations helped set the tone and ensure that students behaved properly and respectfully.

My school uses block scheduling, so on Fridays I have an hour and a half with my advanced students preceded by my planning period. I utilized all three hours to set up and host the event. I provided coffee, tea, and pastries for our guests. Professionals arrived about thirty minutes before students so they could set up and settle in. Participants each had half of a table to display their work. We had twenty artists, so we averaged about an hour of face-to-face time.

Speed Chatting Procedures
During the event, each pair had approximately three minutes for a brief conversation. Students took notes as they asked questions and recorded which artist they were most interested in speaking with further.

Each artist had a number assigned to them to help with the rotation. Students were given a starting number and moved on to the next number. At the conclusion of the event, students turned in their notes so I could see which artists they were most interested in connecting with later.

Follow-Up Interviews
After the event, I paired each student with a professional, and students had one month to make contact with their artist and organize an in-depth interview. I encouraged face-to-face interviews, but I knew this would be challenging for most students. I accepted Skype or FaceTime interviews, phone calls, or, as a last resort, email exchanges.

I required students to write a one-page reflection following the interview. I asked them to respond to questions about how the experience opened their eyes to new career options, how this helped them to communicate, and how the overall experience impacted them. We concluded with writing thank-you cards after discussing how to address each participant and how to write an appropriate letter of gratitude.

Advocating for the Arts
Two of my students presented their experience to the school board with me. This was an opportunity for me to showcase what arts education can look like and how it can help build real-world skills for our students. In a district where arts education is limited, this is important as I try to build and maintain a solid program.

This experience helped students build their communication, writing, and interpersonal skills, while broadening their idea of what a career in the arts could look like. The event was received positively by both my students and the community. I hope to recreate this event in future years.