Making Creation Happen - Margate Experience Day

How do creative people come up with idea after idea after idea, while the rest of us struggle?In this one-day workshop, with artist Dan Thompson, we'll look at what artists do all day and how entrepreneurs can learn from them.

The programme:

10.30 Welcome. We'll get a studio tour, hear about a typical studio day, and be introduced to the idea of artist as small business. Working from the collection in Dan's studio, we'll see how archives of two old printing businesses have led to the creation of new artwork. We'll then have a go at some basic printing, making postcards.11.30 Coffee11.45 Can you create a business in a day? We'll use Margate as a case study, looking at the way that entrepreneurs have responded to the opportunity of culture-led regeneration to create new businesses. Then, working in small groups, we'll use the same prompts to see if we could create a business for Margate's Old Town.12.30 Old Town Tour and Lunch14.00 Armed with the new information we have from the Old Town, and some Wild Cards, we'll refine our ideas and create a one-page business plan. And at 15.00, we'll pitch our ideas to a panel. The best team wins prizes!

There will also be the chance to visit the Turner Contemporary art gallery which is hosting the internationally renowned Turner Prize.

The Experience Day includes free travel from either Canterbury or Medway, the workshop and lunch.

About Dan ThompsonThe workshop will be led by artist, activist and entrepreneur Dan Thompson, whose career has seen him work across the UK, and deliver talks on creativity in Ireland, the Netherland and Australia. While practising successfully as an artist, he has also visited No 10, helped Unilever develop new styles of leadership, and worked with senior officers at Sussex Police. He has been director of a national arts organisation for five years, which provides support and advocacy for 24,000 UK artists.