Break It Down | Make It Better is West Michigan’s longest-running professional development conference for artists, creatives, and arts administrators. Each year, creatives come together to build skills, form connections, and find inspiration in one another’s journeys.
This year’s theme, The Action of Art, explores how artists turn ideas into action through practice, collaboration, experimentation, and community-building. With over 30 speakers, this 2-day event will inspire attendees through panels, workshops, and round table discussions. Lunch is provided both days with a complimentary happy hour at AllArtWorks on Saturday. Hosted by ArtPrize edu, Avenue for the Arts, & AllArtWorks.
The doors for the event will open at 10:30am each day at Bamboo Grand Rapids, located at 2 Fulton W, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.
AGENDA
Day 1: Friday, March 20th
10:30am – 11:15am – Registration
11:15am – 12:00pm – Opening Remarks + Keynote Panel
12:15pm – 1:00pm – Session #1
Collaboration as Resistance– Artists Merima Smajlovic and Mary Jane Pories
Pixels to Performance: Video Games as the New Interactive Art Form– Casey Ward
Selling Your Work– Anna Donahue from Artist Entrepreneurs
Let’s Collab-Shayna Velasquez, Manager of Community Engagement at the Grand Rapids Art Museum
The Action of Joy: Building a Creative Life One Practice at a Time– Andrea Napierkowski
1:00pm – 1:45pm – Lunch
2:00pm – 2:45pm – Session #2
From Pitch to Projection– Spencer Everhart, Grand Rapids Film Society & Open Projector Night
If You Can Dream It, You Can Build It– Paulina Petkoski, Founder of PLAYGROUND DETROIT
Foundry and Fabrication– Gabrielle Egnater, Foundry Faculty at Grand Valley State University
Making Small things Big (and vice versa)–The business of Murals– Artist and Full-time Muralist Dania Grevengoed
First In, Not Pushed Out: How Artists Shape Districts, and How to Own the Outcome– Hannah Greening, Founder, Managing Broker Fancy Real Estate
3:00pm – 3:45pm – Session #3
People, Places, Process: Lessons from the City of Marquette Shoreline Cultural Trail – Amelia Pruiett, City of Marquette Office of Arts and Culture
RSVP to IRL: What Participation Actually Changes– Derek Mohr, Host of CreativeMornings Grand Rapids
From Idea to Action– Dorelle Brock
Leveraging Artist Documentation: Tips and Tricks– Eric Souther
Live Screen Printing Workshop– Carlos Rivera
3:45pm – 4:00pm – Wrap Up Remarks
Day 2: Saturday, March 21
10:30am – 11:15am – Registration
11:15am – 12:00pm – Opening Remarks + Keynote Panel
12:15pm – 1:00pm – Session #4
How Music Influences Creativity– Della Marie Levi, Owner of Della Soul Records Building Alternative Art Spaces– Hailey Johnson
What I’ve Learned While Running a Wildly Successful Art Club– Chelsea Roberts
How To Activate Under-utilized Spaces– VEIL Collective
Concept Over Medium– Jeffrey Augustine Songco
Art as Action: Building Community Through Creative Engagement – Pleasant Peninsula
1:00pm – 1:45pm – Lunch
2:00pm – 2:45pm – Session #5
Media Management– Matt Patulski
Vending Like A Pro– Jenny Hearns & Shyle Lyons, Merchants and Makers
12 Lessons From 12 Years of Daily Art– John Jurries, Painter
Creating Community Impact– Pamela Alderman
Paper Casting, Stencils, and Light– Sandra Haansen
3:00pm – 5:00pm – Happy Hour at AllArtWorks
PARKING + TRANSPORTATION: If choosing to drive, parking is recommended at City lots 9 charges $3 per day and is serviced by the WORK bus which is free, runs every fifteen minutes, and takes passengers to within 2.5 blocks of Bamboo in ten minutes. Bamboo is also within four blocks of Rapid buses 1, 6, 4, 14 15, and DASH.
You can map bus routes on Google Maps and pay on the bus with any debit, credit, or tap-to-pay option. Bike parking is also available in front of the building on Division Ave. The closest full-price parking is available at the city-owned Weston/Commerce ramp with a daily parking rate of $4/hour, $24 daily max.
