Greetings, friends!
A couple weeks ago, I put out a call for questions in an attempt to start an advice column in the newsletter. Let’s take a stab at answering one, lightly edited for clarity:
How do I foster critical relationships with other artists? By “critical relationship,” I mean one where you discuss and analyze art, and perhaps workshop each other’s work.
Great question, dear reader. There are a few ways into this one, and some of them are more expensive and time-consuming than others. At the top of the money/energy scale are institutions: MFA programs and admission-based workshops led by writers with name recognition. At the middle of the scale, community-based workshops, often led by adjunct professors, less-famous published writers, and those with a grassroots, community-based pedagogy (a.k.a. learning by doing). Near the bottom of the money/energy output scale are free, open workshops: these might take place online or at your local library, attended by random unvetted member…