Saludos everyone, and welcome to Checagou Conexiones, a site that I hope will be a valuable resource for artists, administrators and organizations of color. My name is Carlos Velázquez Acuña, and above all I am the proud son of Mexicano parents and fully reppin’ San José, California. For seven years I was the marketing manager for San José-based Teatro Visión, one of the longest running Chicano theater companies in the country. I was grateful for the organization’s willingness to provide me with mentors, send me to trainings and conferences, and allow me to learn and grow from my mistakes and successes.
The city of San José in 2008 conducted an artists survey, and a major finding was a strong desire from artists, specifically artists of color, for training on how to hone their craft and support themselves through their art. I noticed that although there were a number of resources available to these artists, they were often not aware of them. Also, many did not take advantage of networking opportunities that trainings and conferences offered to build their network and create a more united front of artists around the country. Since my move to Chicago this past summer, I have noticed the same trend.
With this blog I hope to connect artists with opportunities to network, workshops, conferences and other resources to help them move closer to sustaining themselves as an artist and to grow as a leader in the arts community. To ensure that there is equal awareness and use of the valuable resources and opportunities available to all. It is my hope this will ultimately build a stronger, confident and well-prepared community of artists ready to lead and succeed. Since I am now in Chicago most of the information will be geared towards the windy city, but will try to present info that will be useful to those in other areas.
I welcome any suggestions to help improve this blog. Any articles, resources, events, or wittier suggestions to the lame name I have for this blog would be very much appreciated. I can be reached at carlosvelazquez37@gmail.com
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