We’ve had two sessions of Picture your Future workshops now, and it was great to work together with artists. Creative energy is just a great thing, and because we create new things (projects) with SIFE GWU as well, it is inspiring to talk to individuals who constantly create beautiful pieces of art.

Our first speaker, Peter Krsko from Albus Cavus, showed how creativity and hard work can turn a small artist collective into an internationally operating NGO that keeps adding to its impressive track record with innovative projects. The unconventional way of attracting attention with huge murals – some might call it guerilla-marketing -  has certainly paid off.

During our second workshop, Tyler Spalding from Ashoka stressed the importance of positioning yourself as a unique person with unique work to convince people about the value of your art. Be it gallery-owners, potential buyers or media, you’ll have to convince them to dedicate time or money to you and your work. That means that you’ll always have to be able to consistently pitch what you’re doing and why.

I can’t wait for the next workshops about using digital media to get that pitch across, intellectual property rights, fund-raising, book-keeping etc. See the Picture your Future page for more info.

SIFE GWU asks you to Picture your Future

On November 12th from 8 until 10pm, SIFE GWU will host the first session of the Picture your Future project at the Elliott School, Suite 505. Picture your Future is a series of workshops that gives artists from the DC metro area the business skills they need to successfully market their art in the current economy. This will not only contribute to their living standard, but also to the DC art community in general. At the end of the project, in April 2010, the artists will organize an art auction to implement their business skills in practice.

Being a member of SIFE GWU is hard work, so we try to keep our meetings as relaxed as possible. Therefore, we will have a get-together on Wednesday October 21st from 9pm at Sign of the Whale, 1825 M St NW. If you are interested in SIFE GWU and you want to meet the current team in an informal athmosphere, than this is the perfect occasion to do so. Hope to see you there!

Are you interested in economic development at the local or international level? Are you dedicated and motivated to creating lasting impact? SIFE GWU is now recruiting new members to help implement enterprise-based development projects. Please go to the Join Us page and submit the on-line application form. We will contact you after you submitted the form.

Going back to class always evokes mixed feelings. It is sad to leave the exciting (hopefully) summer behind and go back to life as usual, consisting of classes, boring professors, house-chores and looking for an internship. Luckily for me, it also consists of engaging in SIFE GWU again. With SIFE GWU, no two days are the same, our faculty advisor and Business Advisory Board are some of the greatest people you’ll ever meet and you get to shape your own projects and network. So that will make the semester another great challenge and experience that I’m happy to start!

Coming up with new ideas for SIFE GWU at a beach in Lebanon

It is summertime, and that means that SIFE-life diverges from its normal, busy routine. Our members focus on an internship in DC or Beirut or visit family in China or Europe, so our activities are toned down – but not suspended! Between the office, uncles and seashore we keep working on our projects and organization. Inspiration, creativity and enthousiasm never take a break, so you can expect an even stronger SIFE GWU after the holidays then we had at the end of last spring-semester.

From Sunday 10 until Tuesday 12, SIFE GWU went to Philadelphia to visit the national competition: the SIFE USA Expo. There, 137 SIFE Teams competed to be national champion. In the 4-year league (for 4-year colleges, as opposed to 2-year colleges), the team of Flagler College won the national championship. Congratulations! We completely agreed with the judges’ decision. Flagler College didn’t only initiate great projects, they also presented them in a beautiful, no-nonsense and clear manner. For more information on FC SIFE, see fcsife.blogspot.com

Our trip to Philly showed us how rewarding it can be to work hard and implement good projects. So that is what we are going to do!