Crowdsourcing with the arts council artjobs mailing list

This post is dedicated to Julian Miller from the Gorilla Organization
I met Jilllian at the Third Sector PR and Communications network event in London Last Thursday 19th of Feb. Someone was asking about the impact of working with bloggers, and what was the ratio of effort and related outcome/benefit of engaging. The question was posed by someone who worked in PR/Comms. As an evangelist and fan of virtual volunteer and philanthropist collaboration with artists and creatives I mentioned that getting people involved - crowd sourcing gave positive results.

I met Jillian at the pub bar when she heard me asking the bar maid to tease a Colombian from Cali to mention the word "Barranquilla". She heard the rolled 'r' and repeated it back to me which got the conversation going. Jillian's organization, gorillas, works to help to ensure the well being of gorillas. in Congo. If you can adopt a gorilla and donate.

How the arts council artsjob mailing list can help you connect and co-develop great visual communications
Whilst doing my usual volunteering - prior to working in the sector, I assisted Survivors of Depression in Transition to reach out and transform the group's creative writing into a calendar.
The power of the group's words were re-interpreted into corresponding images by volunteer artists. The result was a fantastic calendar that was laid out, digitally printed, and sold at the venue - Sheffield's winter gardens. In addition the artists were asked if they wished to donate their artwork as originals or digital prints, to help the charity fund-raise. They did. Their artwork was also exhibited nest to the poetry. This happened in the last quarter of 2007.

You too can get artists to help your charity and help them too - here's the sweet recipe
1. go to the arts council website
2. subscribe to the arts council arts job mailing list
3. check out the postings relating to requests for volunteering
4. get a feel for how briefs/appeals are put together
5. write a brief
6. send it out and be ready to receive ;o)

Things to think about (brief, managing artists,managing contributions/content)

1. are the contributions going to end in print or just on the web? - this has an impact on resolution and dimensions.
   
2. have you told your contributors explicitly enough that you want them to donate their work?
   
3. can you get a written ok from contributors to continue printing their work - to help you with fundraising after the event? - if you choose to.
4. have you thought about the fact that you could make that content more flexible and redeploy it in printing on demand products? (no sunk costs, see article here)
5. have you thought about getting an agreement with the artists so that you can use their work in things such as mugs, mouse pads, umbrellas, t-shirts? (printing on demand)
6. have you thought about showcasing your artists/contributors in your publications/website? - they have given their time to make a difference!
7. are you going to ask them for samples of their work to see if it fits with your values or will you visit their portfolios online?
8. will they send you a low-rez version (if the project is visual) and did you make sure they were aware of final dimensions and resolution?
9. have you got a friendly printer that will do digital printing and low runs? - if you choose not to go with printing on demand.
   
10. have you got colleagues who will help you decide which donated work you will include
11. has the brief included a short and sweet backgrounder that links to the collaborators values , appeals to their philanthropist values and also demonstrates how they will benefit too?
    

My experience has shown that as long as you are open, clear and speak from the heart of what you want and why you wish to collaborate - all will go well. Remember some budding collaborators who want to be involved will be doing so for various reasons. If the heart warming feeling can be supplemented by additional benefits where the body of work is recognized, appreciated and showcased to many, all the better.

I leave you with a quick video I prepared for you that has been sped up to quickly show the calendar that was made for Survivors of Depression in Transition.




Crowdsourcing and Arts Council Arts Job mailing list from william doust on Vimeo.

This is a video showing a calendar that was developed thanks to the collaboration of virtual volunteers who were recruited via England's arts council jobs mailing list.



All of the fab artwork was printed onto a calendar that was sold during mental health week in 2007. The artwork was exhibited and auctioned in Sheffield's contemporary winter gardens - right next to the city's gallery and creative industries.



Thanks to all those who participated.