Strategies for creatives, looking back on Nathaniel Huard's first presentation

Confluence - CV's team is always happy to offer a platform to artists from our programs who wish to survey our community, open up a conversation on a specific topic or test some material.  

As a first complementary activity to our programs in 2024, we offered Confluence - CV participants a training session on artistic entrepreneurship, put forward by a percussionist musician and graphic design entrepreneur from our community. Based on his professional experience, Nathaniel Huard has developed an entrepreneurial methodology for artists. We were thrilled when he approached us with a proposal to carry out an initial test presentation of his course material to the artists in our programs! 

Nathaniel Huard is a graphic designer specializing in the arts and culture milieu. In addition to his design expertise, he helps artists, associations and cultural enterprises develop strategies that help them align their values with their service offering. At the same time, he works as a professional percussionist and is an active member of the world music scene in Canada. The combination of his artistic stage experience and graphic design skills gives him an in-depth knowledge of the performing arts and the cultural sector. 

Nathaniel's hour-and-a-half-long test presentation was followed by a period of discussion and feedback. The interest of the group of participants was palpable, and the exchanges between the presenter and the artists were numerous and fruitful. Nathaniel's intention is to help artists with cultural entrepreneurship projects develop new communication automatisms that transcend sectors and backgrounds. Participants were invited to reflect on how they present and talk about their proposals. Nathaniel then guided the group through a more precise redefinition of their cultural offer, so that they could distinguish themselves advantageously to potential diffusion agents and customers. Through strategies for self-representation, but also for presenting a project or an offering, strategies that aim to increase opportunities and therefore income, Nathaniel hopes to contribute to the growth of his fellow artists. 

In a spirit inspired by co-development, the participating artists were invited to comment on their experience as learners following the training. Furthermore, a feedback meeting was organized with the Confluence – CV and Nathaniel, ensuring that he receives very well rounded and custom support in this process of perfecting his presentation. Nathaniel will take advantage of this first forum to ensure that he sets up the optimum learning conditions for the best possible transmission of his material. 

"For over a year, I'd been wanting to share with other artists my method and philosophy on the phenomenon of self-promotion and the diffusion of a cultural project. It's been a privilege to finally be able to express these ideas out loud, and to share with other cultural workers the techniques I've applied to my own music and performing arts projects.

My aim was, yes, to identify certain problems that many artists face, but above all to offer practical solutions that can be applied quickly and require few resources to deploy. I was pleasantly surprised by the participants' reactions, which led to discussions rich in content and emotion. Thank you to Confluence - CV for giving me the opportunity to benefit from its platform for my first talk, and for creating a healthy space conducive to exchange and smooth running of the activity."

- Nathaniel Huard, graphic designer and percussionist  

Thank you to the artists present for participating, in real time or recorded, in Nathaniel's presentation, whom we also thank warmly and to whom we wish a great continuation with this workshop! 

Nathaniel's work can be viewed on his website : nathanielhuard.com