An Information Bulletin for Visual Artists Provided by VSA arts Winter 2004 VSA Arts the palette Letter from the Director Expanding the Career Forums to include our readers. 2 Career Forum in the Arts Findings compiled and reported on, and your fellow artists give their own opinions. 3 When Self-Expression Inspires a Laugh A few artists who create fine art that makes you giggle. 4 Design and Build Your Own Web Site An artist gives her first-hand experience. 6 Resources for Artists Grants, jobs, and other resources for artists with disabilities. 7 Social Security Weighs in on Common Artist Issues You asked, the Social Security Administration answered. 10 The Palette is an information bulletin for visual artists provided by VSA arts. Stephanie Moore Director of Artist Services, VSA arts Jennifer Colaguori Artist Services Coordinator, VSA arts Written and Edited by Alexandra Clyburn, Washington, D.C. Designed by kaze design, Washington, D.C. VSA arts 1300 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 700 Washington, D.C. 20036 Ph: 800.933.8721 TTY: 202.737.0645 web: www.vsarts.org e-mail: webmaster@vsarts.org VSA arts offers Palette-Online, an online monthly listserv that features opportunities, calls for art, and VSA arts' news. To subscribe, send a message to listmanager@vsarts.org with the following text: "subscribe palette-online" above: Allison Merriweather, Cozy, oil on masonite, 9"x 12", 2001 cover: Allison Merriweather, The Fish Dance, oil on paper, 16" x 20", 2004 back cover: 2004 International VSA arts Festival letter from the director Expanding the Career Forum to Include Our Readers This October, I attended the Arkansas Arts Council's annual conference that presented the work of our career forum. Not knowing what to expect and aware of the major state cuts in arts funding, I braced for a modest effort with minimum reach. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the agenda strong, there were highbrow speakers and well over 300 attendees. The program generously incorporated the voice of working artists, and had thoughtfully given a voice to the issues of artists with disabilities. I left feeling energized that artists with disabilities had a place at the table. The arts council valued the important work of VSA arts, and understood the road ahead. Instead of feeling defeated with scant resources, I felt a strong sense of teamwork in building a place for artists and your important contributions. We are in our fourth of year offering these career forums in different states. These forums are meant to identify the barriers for artists and arts administrators with disabilities, then to implement strategies to overcome these barriers. Our top findings are presented in this issue. We also asked several artists to weigh in on their own experiences. Read what the forum, and your fellow artists, think. Do you agree? If not, please complete our online survey, available at www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/artists/career_survey.cfm. We are interested in your perspective, and hope to have more opportunities in the future for you to lend your voice. Throughout the issue, we feature the artwork of artists who took part in our career survey. If you complete the online survey, we will feature your work in upcoming publications as well (An added enticement to participate, we hope!) This particular issue incorporates both disciplines, visual and performing. We have a lot to learn from each other, both where we overlap professionally and where we differ. The challenges and successes of our careers do translate across all media and in all dimensions. In the end, we're finding that the audience for these publications is the same-working artists. Stephanie Moore Director, Artist Services Career Forum in the Arts Artists Speak Their Minds in VSA arts Survey At the National Endowment for the Arts and VSA arts-sponsored Career Forums in the Arts, artists with disabilities, organizations that serve them, and representatives from the rehabilitation and arts communities come together to discuss issues, and identify ways to expand opportunities for artists with disabilities. Starting with the 1998 National Forum on Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities, these meetings have been helping to change the arts community in cities across America. By bringing together artists with the people who represent and serve them, and opening up a discussion about what's out there and what's needed, the forums have also served as a superb resource for gathering information about the state of the professional world for artists with disabilities. The National Center for Art and Disability (NADC) has compiled the information and identified four major barriers to achieving professional success in the arts. The four barriers fall into the following broad categories: 1. Lack of Access to the Arts Community. For artists with disabilities the fundamental barrier is access to the arts community. Architectural and programmatic barriers to participate in the arts remain a significant barrier to participation in the arts. There is a lack of access to performance space, exhibit halls and other physical environments where artists would be involved or could perform their work. Full access requires the arts community to view disabled artists, arts administrators or co-workers as participants, rather than as a population to be served. By ensuring access, the arts community would demonstrate full inclusion. 2. Limited Access to Training and Education / Discrimination. Some of these barriers are attributed to stereotypes and low expectations of people with disabilities by education and arts professionals. People with disabilities are frequently not perceived as creative and/or as capable of fulfilling the requirements of a professional arts curriculum within the education and arts communities. To not have access to arts training in a range of settings such as at the K-12 level, summer institutes, and in community-based classes may prevent students with disabilities from developing the necessary skills to qualify for admission into advanced training or postsecondary education. 3. Financial Disincentives. Financial disincentives and fear of loss of health care and other needed services may face any person with a disability using benefits and seeking employment. However, there are specific barriers to employment for artists with disabilities related to public benefits. Barriers for artists include restrictions on benefits because of irregular or infrequent compensation for their work. Some artists experienced severe financial consequences for receiving commissions, fellowships, grants or other monetary awards. 4. Arts Careers Are Discouraged. The arts are not perceived as a valid career path by rehabilitation programs. Vocational counselors often steer individuals into careers they perceive without risks or that meet more narrowly defined vocational outcomes. People with disabilities are frequently not informed about or encouraged to pursue arts-related occupations. Possible Solutions Forum organizers and participants discussed ways to improve conditions for artists with disabilities. The suggestions are not surprising-many involve activities and programs VSA arts already has in action. For many of the suggestions to be effective, however, broad-based marketing and public education campaigns would need to be put in place. For instance, one suggestion is to "develop marketing strategies to promote the abilities of people with disabilities." While public education is definitely necessary, it's not clear who would finance the development of a marketing strategy or its implementation. Other suggestions posed by the forum participants include providing public and private agencies with incentives to offer people with disabilities employment opportunities, and to provide artists with disabilities technical assistance, such as training on grant proposals. Mentoring was suggested as a possible solution. In addition to identifying qualified mentors for interested artists with disabilities, the forum participants suggested providing training to the potential mentors. Some other suggestions made include: Create festivals or folk art fairs and invite artists with disabilities to sell their art. Create an association of artists with disabilities to support each other, develop fundraising activities, advocate for their rights, and join forces to get included among the artistic segment of our society. Provide classes and workshops on self-employment, the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, Social Security, and the Small Business Administration to educate artists with disabilities. What do YOU think? We asked a selection of our readers to find out what they think about the arts community and their careers. The 12 artists surveyed were photographers, musicians, dancers, actors, painters, and poets. They represented a broad demographic and varying levels of professional success. Among these artists, the most frequently cited barriers to getting a job in the arts were lack of funding for the arts and artists with disabilities, fear of losing government assistance such as SSDI, and the arts not being seen as a viable career path. Artists surveyed were asked to select the top three barriers from a list of nine possibilities, which also included (in order of selection by surveyed) lack of collaboration between arts organizations and artists with disabilities, insufficient training/education, lack of skills/work experience, need for accommodation, lack of transportation, and physical accessibility of venues. The vast majority of artists surveyed saw positive change happening, and only one artist had lost money as a result of his artistic endeavors. When asked if they felt properly trained relative to their non-disabled peers the overwhelming majority gave an emphatic "yes." Two artists even said they were overtrained. When asked if their artistic work enhanced or hindered their financial situation, only two artists surveyed said their work hindered their financial situation. This runs counter to the commonly held fear (even among these artists) that they would lose benefits if they earned money through their art. Only one artist surveyed took part in a forum. Answers were evenly split when asked if they were involved in an artistic community or network of any kind. It was the same when asked if they were currently mentored or mentoring. Half were mentoring or being mentored, half were not. Chris Montgomery, Uranium Motel, black and white photography, 8›x 10,› 1991 Lisamarie Brady, Peekaboo, black and white photography, 6› x 4›, 2002 Jessica Keller, Tahitian Wash Day, watercolor, 18› x 22,› 1998 When Self-Expression Inspires a Laugh Artists Who Use Humor in Their Work Can't Help It-It's Who They Are Humor in the arts often occupies its own neglected corner. Comedians aren't considered legitimate performers until they show a more serious side of themselves through acting in dramatic roles, writing heart-wrenching memoirs, or otherwise exposing their less laughable inclinations. Visual artists whose works express humor are accustomed to neglect and apathy from gallery owners and critics. Despite this generalized 'snobbism,' humor is an incredibly effective way to reach people, and an honest form of self-expression for many performing and visual artists. "The humor in my work is not something deliberate, it's just who I am," said sculptor Arnie Segal, whose works are interactive, witty and surprising. "I think it just comes naturally from where you are as a person." Sculptures that Surprise Visual artists employ humor in broad and specific ways. Some artists, like Salvador Dali create paintings of unexpected subject matter. Some, like Jeff Koons, use unconventional media or unusual techniques. And some artists do just try to shock you or make you laugh. One of Segal's sculptures screams "Get your hands off of me!" if you lift the lid without knowing to flip the secret switch first. Pull the chain coming out of one bust's ear and his eyes light up. (This sculpture is called "Epiphany.") Segal said the humor he employs in his work sometimes stems from the initial concept, and sometimes comes from the challenge of creation. He started as a painter, but felt that sculpture held much more promise, especially with his training as an industrial engineer. He realizes his approach to sculpture is unorthodox, but can't resist making his pieces not only touchable, but responsive to touch. "I find that people are more used to the usual sculpture that sits there," said Segal "It's easier to sell the ones that don't do anything." For Allison Merriweather, the whimsical humor in her colorful paintings is sometimes deliberate, and sometimes just part of the tone of her work. "When I was growing up, humor was a big part of my family. We didn't have a lot of money, so we made each other laugh." Merriweather's upbringing was unique-with her mother's approval she left home at age 14 to wait tables. Waitressing led to jobs as a conservationist in California's forests, at a sheep farm in Scotland, a vineyard in France, and a ceramics factory in Florence, Italy. Her adventurous life seems to inform her paintings. Her pieces evoke the colorful dreamlike works of Marc Chagall but with a wry twist. Cats stare deadpan off the canvas, and seem to be smarter than the surrounding humans. In "The Misadventures of the Texas Line Dancers At the Brazoria County Gator Reserve," crocodiles make quick work of partiers dancing on the pier. "Sometimes I think of the title first, like with the line dancers," said Merriweather, whose studio is based outside Washington, D.C. "A woman I met said she worried about her dogs because she lived near crocodile-infested waters, and I guess it started there." Merriweather considers herself an emerging folk/ visionary/artist, and thinks her work just grows from who she is as a person. "My personality is sort of off the wall and irreverent," she said. Working for the Laugh Visual artists have the benefit of not waiting for the laugh every time. Once their work is hung or displayed, they can hide from the test of laughter. Stand-up comedians do not share that luxury. Stand-up comedy is considered one of the most challenging forms of performance, and doing it with a disability is no different. Alan Shain is a Canadian stand-up performer who has also written musical works and published articles about disability rights and access and is studying for his master's degree in social work. Shain loved drama in school and relied on humor in his day-to-day life, but his pursuit of a career as a comic largely stems from his desire to make a difference. "My comedy was inspired by my desire to change attitudes around disability. My stuff is mostly focused on attitude and perceptions. I'm just starting to branch out now." Even the social work degree is related to his disability outreach. "It came from my disability activism. We come up against so many attitudes, the social work degree gives me more ammunition." A performer with a disability can rarely disguise a disability. For a stand-up comic, that means being prepared for the response from the audience and your fellow comedians. At the comedy clubs that are the bread-and-butter for a stand-up comic, Shain faced a range of responses from supportive to patronizing. "Some fellow comedians treated me as an equal and others wouldn't even talk to me." He said some thought he was "using" his disability to get onstage, and just milking it for jokes. "But they're milking their own life for jokes too! I always got a great response from the audience because I was unique and new, and I wasn't talking about the same themes of drinking, sex, and girlfriends," he said. "Besides, in going onstage, you rely on what makes you unique, so my disability gave me a clear advantage," jokes Shain. "The humor in my work is not something deliberate, it's just who I am." -Arnie Segal Allison Merriweather, Saturday Night Blues, oil on masonite, 16› x 20,› 2001 Arnie Segal, Epiphany, ceramic, 28.5› x 24› x 4,› 2003 From Computer Illiterate to Award-Winning Web Designer: A Visual Artist's Journey by Elizabeth Hack (c)2004 Warning: Creating a Web site is time-consuming and at times the technology overwhelming. A relentless and diligent mind-set will serve you well in order to pass the challenging learning curve. But There Is Hope-if I can create a Web site, almost anyone can. If you have a good design sense and a crisp, logical mind, you can create an attractive site. I am a visual artist and always thought my place of work was in my studio. Life began to change one-and-a-half-years ago when I decided to design an online exhibition space to feature the "Wave Series," an ongoing painting project that incorporates mixed media. The events that transpired during the next twelve months were also a surprise; the Web site won nine awards. The Saga Begins A confession: I'm not a computer beginner. The ease of doing mailings with my husband's computer led me to classes in Microsoft Word, Pagemaker, and even the Adobes: Photoshop, Illustrator, and Web Design. Only a few years prior, I could barely use an answering machine! What I Have Learned There are two main software programs for creating a Web site: an HTML editor program and a graphics program. With the HTML program, the good news is that you don't need to learn HTML! These software programs will convert the design/layout of your web page into HTML. These types of Web authoring programs include Adobe GoLive, Macromedia Dreamweaver and Microsoft FrontPage. A graphics program will manipulate your images and perform various tasks such as sizing and color correction. Adobe Photoshop is awesome and is highly recommended if you can afford it. If you have budget constraints, Photoshop Elements is effective but it has fewer features than Photoshop. Once you develop a working knowledge of the HTML editor and graphics program you can create your own Web site. To begin, make an outline of your ideas and/or a flow chart. This will help create a site that is unified, well organized, and easy to navigate. Simplicity rules supreme, since you want your site to focus on your artwork and not distract visitors with annoying flashing lights or the latest gizmo. A good design concept is very important. I based my concept on Sea Ranch, a small community located in the North Coast of California. I intermingled "Wave Series" with photographs of the coast. Your concept might be based on a place, a person, or even a favorite pet. The key is to connect the theme to your artwork in a meaningful way. My Web site also contains a semi-hidden diary with photographs, links to favorite art sites, and comments about exhibitions. The diary adds a personal touch and people seem to enjoy it. More Tips and Comments A links page lists links of selected art sites and enables you to partner-up with other sites. A resource page and links page helps draw more visitors and encourages people to return to your site. Avoid long, exotic and funky addresses that contain unusual characters (such as "~"). Using your first and last name as a Web site address adds a professional touch. Keep your images small because you want the loading time on each page to be fast, ideally within eight seconds. Leave room for expansion-Web sites are fluid and organic and will be ever-changing. You want visitors to return, so update your home page with a new image and/or text every three or four months. Be sure to attach a copyright notice on your Web site with the applicable information. Visit the U.S. Copyright Office www.copyright.gov for details. After your site is completed and has been uploaded onto your server, submit it to indexes and search engines (see sidebar for server info). Many Web submission services are available and finding the one that best meets your needs involves some research. The site www.selfpromotion.com is an excellent resource for an overall understanding of Internet marketing. There are many advantages to creating your own Web site: being your own Web master will save you money -- perhaps hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Hiring a Web site designer can be expensive, and after paying for an initial design, there are usually additional fees for updating the text and images. My site serves as an artist's portfolio. While the site has made few sales, several art consultants and online galleries discovered me on the Internet and now represent my work. In addition, my site has helped me to network and this has lead to more exposure and connections. Over time I have developed a cyber community of people from all over the world. My site now receives 3,000 visitors per month. Final Words Creating a Web site has been transforming and empowering. I proved that I am not technically-challenged, and my own identity has shifted. The experience went beyond designing a Web site and winning some awards. I view others and myself in a new way, and realize that the potential in each of us is monumental. Elizabeth Hack has exhibited her paintings in numerous solo and group exhibitions at galleries throughout California. She has been the recipient of nine awards for the design of her Web site www.elizabethhack.com. Server Yourself Your Web site starts with a Web address. The best address is your own - your first and last name. You can purchase your name as a URL from networksolutions.com. Once you have purchased a Web address, you will need to find someone to host your Web site. A good place to start is with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). They usually offer Web site hosting services where you can rent space from their server. They will allow you to unlimited access to dial in, upload your artwork, and update it regularly. Prices range from $10 to $40/month for this type of Web site, but there are essentially no limitations on the amount of space you can use. A cheaper way to go is to create a Web site through AOL, Yahoo, or most e-mail account providers. Each has its own standards, but all will give you less space. If you're creating your Web site via an e-mail service, your Web site name will be a function of your email address (ie www.emailaccountprovider.com/yourname). If you're comfortable having 10 or fewer of your images on your Web site, this will still be enough space (copy and links take up very little space). Want a shortcut to all of this? Try the free www.myspace.com - a hot new resource for artists trying to create an audience. Much like the much ballyhooed Friendster.com, Myspace is an ideal place for musicians to share their work (but anyone can join). Musicians can upload samples of their music, artists can upload images, and the site includes bulletin boards where you can track your audience. Many new pop and rock bands are using Myspace to create a following. Alternative Rock legend R.E.M. recently uploaded its own "myspace" area to take advantage of this cutting-edge audience. resources for artists For grant opportunities, please check the organization Web site or contact them directly for application details and deadlines. The Artists' Fellowship www.artistsfellowship.com Provides funding to professional fine artists and their families during times of emergency, disability, or bereavement. The Fellowship does not accept requests from performance artists, filmmakers, craft artists, hobbyists, or commercial artists or photographers. Contact the Artists' Fellowship, Inc., 47 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10003; 646.230.9833. ArtJob Online Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) www.artjob.org This highly acclaimed service is by subscription-$25 for three months, $40 for six months, and $75 for a year. The ArtJob Web site is updated daily, and ArtJob subscribers also receive monthly email updates. ArtsLynx: Arts as a Force of Healing, Building & Empowerment www.artslynx.org/heal/index.htm Post yourself on this Web site, build a network of fellow artists, and visit their well-researched links. Center for Arts and Culture www.culturalcommons.org The Center for Arts and Culture Web site contains nationwide job listings in the arts, humanities, and arts advocacy. Center for Emerging Visual Artists www.cfeva.org Formerly called the Creative Artists Network, the Center offers a two-year program, in which artists receive instruction and exhibition and teaching opportunities. Career consultation and technical assistance include grant writing, tax and legal research, and employment advice. Contact The Center For Emerging Visual Artists, 237 S. 18th St, Suite 3A, Philadelphia, PA 19103; 215.546.7775. CHANGE, Inc. Awards artists emergency grants of $100-$500 for medical, living, or other expenses. Contact Change, Inc., Box 705, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276; 212.473.3742. (Offices in Florida damaged by hurricanes, temporarily closed at presstime.) Craft Emergency Relief Fund www.craftemergency.org Provides interest-free loans to professional craftspeople for emergency relief. Loans range from $200 to $2,000. Applicants must spend 50% or more of their time producing and/or marketing their own work. Creative Hot List www.creativehotlist.com Search by title or location with this tool. It also lets you create a file of job prospects and contacts. Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation www.calarts.edu/~stdafrs/web/greenshields.html Offers funds of up to $10,000 Canadian for any art-related purpose to representational or figurative artists working in the early stages of their careers in painting, drawing, printmaking, or sculpture. Contact Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, 1814 Sherbrooke St. West, Suite 1, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3H 1E4; 514.937.9225. FindCreative.com www.findcreative.com This colorful site makes it easy to create your own portfolio, join the online community, and browse career advice. The Foundation Center www.fdncenter.org The Foundation Center's Web site is a deep resource of newsletters, resources, and links to funders. From the main page, click on the "for individual grantseekers" on the lefthand column. The Gunk Foundation Grants www.gunk.org The Gunk Foundation supports projects that move out of the theatre or gallery and into the spaces of daily life. The grants range between $1,000 and $5,000. Contact The Gunk Foundation, PO Box 333, Gardiner, NY 12525; 845.255.8252. e-mail: info@gunk.org. Money for Art www.moneyforart.com Get professional help when you prepare your grant materials. Money for Art charges for its services, but offers special rates on a case-by-case basis. National Arts And Disability Center (NADC) www.nadc.ucla.edu NADC is the national information center for issues of arts and disability. The site includes directories, lists of available studio space, and more. New York Foundation for the Arts www.nyfa.org Updated every Sunday, this site features a comprehensive and international list of job opportunities. This is also an extensive source for arts job sources. Pollock-Krasner Foundation www.pkf.org Offers one-year grants of $1,000-$30,000 to professional painters, sculptors, and artists who work on paper. Applications are reviewed 4-5 times each year. Contact Pollock-Krasner Foundation, 725 Park Ave., New York, NY 10021. Puffin Foundation Grants www.puffinfoundation.org The Puffin Foundation supports projects that will advance progressive social change. Grants of $500-$2,500 are open to all artists residing in the U.S. Contact the Puffin Foundation, Dept. AC, 20 E Oakdene Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666. StarvingArtistsLaw.com www.StarvingArtistsLaw.com Free legal services for artists. Twenty-six states are represented, as well as an international resource. Issues often handled include contract negotiations, mediation services, nonprofit incorporation, copyright information and infringement lawsuits, tax information, estate planning, and lease review. Visual Aid www.visualaid.org Grants take the form of vouchers for art supplies to encourage artists with life-threatening diseases to continue their creative work. Contact Visual Aid, 785 Market St., Suite 720, San Francisco, CA 94103, e-mail: visaid@dnai.com. Social Security Weighs In on Common Artist Issues Specific Answers, Web Resources Help Artists With Disabilities VSA arts recently sent some of our readers' most common questions to Karen Martin and Mark Bacak, two communications public affairs specialists of the Social Security Administration (SSA). Below are their responses. Q: I recently received a fellowship (or artist-in-residency) that will pay me a lump sum well above the limit. Does the fellowship count as 'substantial gainful activity' even though it is a one-time honor? How will it affect my benefits? Since the provisions for fellowships vary, each case has to be evaluated individually. SSA follows the IRS definition of fellowships that are granted from the government, nonprofit agencies, or private concerns, which enable individuals to further their education and training. There are a few general guidelines that may help individuals understand the impact that a fellowship may have on benefits. Any portion of the fellowship which is used for tuition, school fees, or other educational expenses is excludable as income. Allowable expenses also include: carfare, stationary supplies, and impairment-related expenses that are needed to attend school or perform school work. Earned income is the amount of the fellowship that is not considered an allowable expense as listed above. Earned income is used to determine trial work period (TWP) service months, substantial gainful activity (SGA), and in the calculation of supplemental security income (SSI) benefit calculation. Q: I do not have enough money to pay for supplies such as paintbrushes and business cards to get my career moving. Do these supplies count under Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) or the PASS plan? What about assistive technology that will enhance my ability to paint, such as adaptive canvases and an accessible van to get to trade shows and craft fairs (IRWE)? What if I need to take business courses to start my career, will they cover that? The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) work incentive, Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS), allows an individual to set aside his/her own income and/or resources to purchase items needed to reach a work goal. For example, an individual whose goal was to be a self-employed artist could set aside the money needed to pay for supplies, business cards, transportation, necessary course work or other items needed to reach his/her work goal. The money must be kept in a separate bank account, and cannot be used for anything other than the items specified in the PASS plan. Only individuals who receive SSI or who can qualify for SSI can have a PASS. The PASS plan has to be approved by Social Security. For more detailed information on PASS go to the work incentives segment of SSA's Resources Toolkit on their Website at www.socialsecurity.gov/work, or read the publication Working While Disabled, A Guide to Plans for Achieving Self Support located at www.ssa.gov/pubs/11017.html. In order for these supplies to be excluded as an IRWE, they would have to be work- and disability-related expenses. For example, special tools that have to be adapted for a person with disabilities could be considered as an IRWE, as opposed to a tool that would be used in the same way by any artist that would not be considered an IRWE. Q: I do not have collateral or a credit history to obtain the necessary funds to start my own business in the arts. Does Social Security know of a way to establish a loan for this purpose? Could they back me for such a loan or serve as my representative? (Such as Handicap Assistance Loans through SBA?) See the answer to the preceding question re: Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS). Social Security does not have loans, does not recommend loans, or have any institutional capability to refer people to pay for loans. Your local vocational rehabilitation office may have information on loans. Some folks have used a PASS to pay off a loan. For example, taking out a tuition loan (on your own), but using income or resources set aside in a PASS to pay off the loan. Q: A career in the fine arts is characterized by irregular payments. How will such payments, that might be in large or small sums, be perceived in the Trial Work Period? The Trial Work Period (TWP) is based on "services," which means the activity in employment or self-employment that is performed for pay or gain. For self-employment, the work activity constitutes "services" if the net earnings exceed the dollar amount in a calendar month or if the individual spends more than the amount of designated hours in that month in the work activity. For artists, it would appear as though the hours spent in the self-employment work activity would be the first measure used for determining TWP service months. However it may be necessary to compute the TWP money amounts from the monetary compensation. If it is not possible to determine the net earnings for a particular month of self-employment due to irregular payments, the net earnings for the entire period of self-employment activity can be divided by the months of self-employment to find net earnings per month. The TWP service month dollar amount changes each year (began changing in 2001). The 2004 amount is $580 per month; it will be $590 in 2005. The Self Employment Income (SEI) hours in self-employment for service months increased from 40 hours to 80 hours effective 2001. The 80 hours has stayed at 80 ever since then. Please note that exceeding $580/month or working in excess of 80 hours does not stop your checks in the TWP. It just means that you are using up a trial work month. After the TWP is over, if you exceed $810 ($830 next year) you run the risk of losing benefits. Q: I understand that a PASS plan is the best way to get my career in art moving. Who do I contact to get this support? Are there other groups that can help me achieve a business in the arts? For general PASS information you may contact your local Social Security office or call our toll-free telephone number at 1.800.772.1213. For more detailed information you may contact the Social Security PASS cadre in your area. To find the cadre closest to you go to www.socialsecurity.gov/work/ResourcesToolkit/cadre.html. Your local Benefits, Planning, Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) agency or your local vocational rehabilitation agency may be able to help you with your PASS. Find yours at www.ssa.gov/work/ServiceProviders/bpaofactsheet.html Your local community college, or your local office of the Small Business Administration (SBA) (www.sba.gov) or SCORE chapter (www.score.org) may also be able to help you with your plan to establish a business in the arts. Note: SSI recipients who are thinking about a career in the arts should take a look at SSA's Spotlight on Income from the Arts to see how work can affect their SSI check. The spotlight is located at www.ssa.gov/notices/supplemental-security-income/spotlights/spot-arts-income.htm. Q: My biggest fear in starting a career in the arts is the thought that I may lose my health benefits under Medicare. Are there alternative benefits that I might explore that will not be affected if I become self-sustaining and lose Social Security? Under the provisions of PL 106-170 (The Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Act), Medicare benefits were extended for Title II disability insurance beneficiaries. Even though cash benefits may cease, Medicare coverage (note, the beneficiary has to pay the monthly premium for Part B) is extended for 93 months after the Trial Work Period, if the individual continues to be disabled. Following the end of the extended period of Medicare coverage, an individual can purchase both the Part A and Part B coverage. However, there is a substantial premium for this coverage. Some states, under PL 106-170, have developed other health care assistance for individuals with disabilities who work. Contact your local county assistance office to find out if you live in an area with other assistance. Q: Most of the representatives that I have approached do not understand that a career in the arts is a legitimate way of making a living. Is there information that I may provide to my SSA representative or Voc Rehab counselor that will reinforce this truth? Obviously there are careers in the arts. The ultimate goal of Social Security's work incentives is independence. A person who is planning a career in the arts should be prepared to demonstrate that this career will lead to independence prior to speaking to a Social Security employee. A well-prepared case with facts, examples and documentation is almost always compelling. Social Security claims representatives have to be wise stewards of the public funds. They do strive to be fair. Nearly all SSA employees will respond favorably to a well-documented and realistic vocational goal. "If you are a talented performer I find the community comes to you." - Benita Gold-Slater, saxophonist Heather J. Kirk, From One Lily Pad to Another, color photography and digital manipulation, 23.5› x 18.5,› 2003 Janet Ahrens, Storm, mixed media, 24" x 12", 2004 Take Part In the Survey What's it really like for you? Go to www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/artists/career_survey.cfm and complete the survey discussed in this story. Help us to know what your personal experiences are as an artist with a disability. VSA Arts "It is my belief that the natural human condition is one of disability-physical, emotional, spiritual. We all have areas in our lives that separate us one from another. While we all may be in different parts of the boat, I believe that by and large we all are in that same boat." Jon-Michael Hernandez, Actor, Director, Producer and Admissions Counselor for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts photo: Scott Suchman VSA Arts 1300 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 700 Washington, D.C. 20036