Franklin Beecham, Visual Artist

Just an update:

The Markham Art Collective is continuing its steady momentum of supporting the art world. Being as visible as possible is the aim of self promotion in the competitive world of the arts.

We recently visited the Stouffville Studio Tour and met some interesting and friendly artists, some of whom signed on to our free Art Directory. Next stop was the Markham48 Studio Tour. Again new friends were made which led to me writing a review on a great artist service: Easel Rentals. During this time I went full steam into SEO (search engine optimization) mode and got the Markham Art Collective into high Google rankings. Through the use of Twitter, we garnered several ‘followers’, then came the Facebook Page and on to LinkedIn, where I created a discussion group.

Being endorsed by respected arts contacts such as Nancy Bodi, Executive Director of the York Region Arts Council, Helen Walter of Wilson Street Studios and many others goes to show that the time was ripe for a new player in the local art scene. I explained to Judi McIntyre, Chair of the York Region Arts Council, that we weren’t about to step on anyone’s toes. Instead, we are here to support artists with our virtual resource. And it’s working tremendously. Artists are posing questions and getting easy responses.

Our biggest coup to date is Debut, our first invitational art and photography exhibit, which will run from December 28, 2011 to January 30, 2012. An assortment of 28 artists and photographers from all over York Region will have their creativity on display at the Markham Theatre’s upper and lower lobby galleries.

Many of these artists have never exhibited together before which will make the Artist Reception an active event and one not to miss. The Reception will be held on January 14 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm and I encourage you to gather your friends and come and mingle with some hot creative talent. This event is generously sponsored by Dyan Broderick, Sales Representative from Sutton Group – Heritage Realty Inc Brokerage. We will be featuring special guest harpist, Kim Michele who will bring the ambiance to a comfortable level with her skillful playing.

A month or so old and the traffic to the website is consistent and stable, and with entries on social networks we are gathering new artists and interest on a daily basis. So when you have a moment, come and visit the website at www.markhamartcollective.com, you never know, there might be a source or a video that will help to make you get noticed.