The Creative Chicago 6th Annual Expo: Sat April 4th! It's Free!

Who: Dance • Design • Fashion • Film • Literary • Media • Music • Theater • Art
What: A gathering of resources, services and expertise for people in the arts.
When: Saturday, April 4 10 AM – 4 PM
Where: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, Chicago, Illinois

The Creative Chicago Expo brings the best of Chicago’s cultural community together under one roof. Over 120 vendors and services, 21 workshops and panel discussions on topics specifically for individuals, arts organizations and small art businesses.

New this year — Consult-a-thon!

Consult-a-thon is a new feature of the 2009 Creative Chicago Expo. Meet one-on-one with experts in marketing, strategic planning, legal and accounting issues, and career coaching in all art disciplines. Sign up in advance online for a 20 minute appointment for only $10. (Limited to 3 appointments per person.)

Consult-a-thon will let you get feedback on a grant proposal from a funder, improve your website with advice from a marketing strategist, get tips from a casting director on successful auditioning, have your portfolio reviewed by curators and galleriests. Or talk board development and strategic planning with experts in the field.

Click here for a list of participating consultants and to sign up for an appointment.

WORKSHOPS
Over 20 free workshops by top local and national service providers throughout the day, targeting individuals, small arts businesses and nonprofit art organizations:
• Affordable Housing in Chicago
• Art Festival How-tos
• Benchmarking 101: Outcomes & Measurements
• Building a Board of Directors
• Business Licensing Basics
• Cultivating Individual Donors
• Finding Live/Work Space
• Fiscal Sponsorship
• Forming a Non-Profit
• Health Insurance Info for Artists
• Marketing For the Cash Strapped and Time Poor
• Meet your Arts Service Agencies
• Obtaining Capital for your Creative Industry
• Reaching New Audiences
• Space Development Starter Kit for Non-profits
• Starting an Arts-Based Business
• Strategic Planning for Non-Profits
• Time Management for Artists
• Tips for “Successful Grant Applications
• Winning Public Art Commissions
• Your Credit Score: Re-Building Your Financial Health

Workshop Presenters: Arts and Business Council of Chicago, Amdur Productions,
Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, The Center for What Works, Columbia College, Chicago Arts Entrepreneurship Center, Community Media Workshop, Communication
Society, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Executive Service Corps,
Fractured Atlas, Future of Music Coalition, Illinois Arts Alliance, Illinois
Association of Mortgage Professionals, Illinois Facility Fund, International Academy
of Design and Technology, Lawyers for the Creative Arts, Inc., League of Chicago
Theatres, Mission Paradox, and others.

EXPO VENDORS
Over 100 top arts business, space and other service providers from Chicago and the US will be at the Expo. Learn more about them in the CREATIVE CHICAGO DIRECTORY 826CHI • After School Matters • Aloft • American Indian Association of Illinois •AMS Realty • Arte y Vida Chicago • Artisans 21 Gallery • Artists’ Real EstateServices • Artreach at Lillstreet • Arts & Business Council of Chicago • Audience Architects • Bad at Sports • Ballet Chicago • Brazilian Cultural Center of Chicago • Brinshore Development • Bronzeville Emporium LLC • Bronzeville Visitor Information Center • Chicago Access Network Corporation (CAN TV) • Chicago Acoustic Underground • Chicago Artists Coalition • chicago artists resource • Chicago Cabaret Professionals • Chicago Community Loan Fund • Chicago Creative Coalition • Chicago Cultural Alliance • Chicago Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection • Chicago Department of Community Development • Chicago Department of Community Development-Rents Right Program • Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs • Chicago Film Office • Chicago Group Sales • Chicago Park District Department of Environment, Culture & Special Events • Chicago Printmakers Collaborative • Chicago Public Library Visual & Performing Arts • Chicago Public Radio • Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center • Chicago Tax Assistance Center • Chicago Waldorf School • Chicago Women in Publishing • City Treasurer’s Office • Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival • Claretian Associates – South Chicago New Communities Program • Columbia College Chicago • Community Media Workshop • Consolidated Printing • David Leonardis Gallery/Howard Finster Vision House • DuSable Museum of African American History • e-poets network • Ellen Baren, REALTOR, @properties • Executive Service Corps of Chicago • Experimental Sound Studio • Fidelity Mortgage Services, Inc. • Fractured Atlas • Future of Music Coalition • Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest, c/o Lifeline Theatre • Global Alliance of Artists • Gorilla Tango Theatre • Greenleaf Art Center/Coldwell Banker • Harold Arts • HD Design & Printing • Hogwash: An Improvised Tall Tale • Howard Ecker + Company • I-GO Car Sharing • Illinois Arts Alliance • Illinois CPA Society • Illinois Dept. of Healthcare and Family Services • iSearchiGive.com • JL Harris Associates • Julie Woodward-Trenker ABR, ASP, CRS REALTOR • KAE DJ Gospel Heritage Charity • Kartemquin Films • Latin Rhythms Academy of Dance & Performance • Law Offices of Keith B. Baker, Ltd. • Lawyers for the Creative Arts • League of Chicago Theatres • Lillstreet Art Center • Links Hall • Mayor’s Fashion Council Chicago • Midwest Writers Association • Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival • Mitchell Museum of the American Indian • Morgan Park Academy • Music Garage Chicago • Niche Realty • Office of the City Treasurer • Open Studio Project Inc. • Organization of Black American Culture – Writers Workshop • Paczolt Financial Group • Paeon Partners • Pilsen Together Chamber of Commerce • Podmajersky / Chicago Arts District • Preservation Chicago • Priscy’s Production Outreach Program NFP • Refuge: Center for Artists in Recovery • River East Art Center • Riverfront Work Lofts • Riverside Arts Center • Sherwood Conservatory of Music at Columbia College Chicago • Society of Midland Authors • SONZ OF THE MOST HIGH • Stacey Montgomery & Associates • StoryStudio Chicago • Superior Rehearsals • The Art Institute of Chicago Division of Continuing Studies and Special Programs • The Art Institute of Chicago Family Programs • The Chicago Mosaic School • The Great Books Foundation / The Common Review • the green lantern gallery & press • The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg • The Joffrey Ballet Academy of Dance • The Recording Academy • Third Coast International Audio Festival • Tree Studios • Urban Gateways • Vogue Fabrics • Wenger Properties • West Walker Civic Association/Art In My Back Yard • Women In Film Chicago • Young Chicago Authors • and more!