Bloomington, Indiana – Bloomington artists looking to strengthen their creative work this fall will have three chances to do so without paying a registration fee. The City is bringing back its professional development programming with a small-group workshop series built around challenges that can shape both artistic careers and the communities around them.
This year, the focus moves beyond the business side of creative work. The sessions will tackle collaboration, conflict and burnout, three issues that can affect artists and arts administrators regardless of their discipline or career stage.
The City of Bloomington will offer the free professional development workshops for artists and arts administrators in October and November as part of its continuing effort to support creative entrepreneurship and provide resources for Bloomington’s creative community.
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Bloomington has offered workshops on professional development topics since 2024. The 2026 series will concentrate on building stronger collaborative communities, handling disagreements and accountability, and finding healthier ways to respond to burnout through self-compassion and joy.
Andrea M. Sterling will facilitate all three sessions. Sterling brings more than 20 years of experience in community and academic facilitation, with work centered on community care and the use of self as a starting point for collaborative work.
The series begins Monday, Oct. 19, with “Starts with You: Using the Self to Build Stronger Collaborative Community Culture.” The workshop will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
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A second session, “We’re All We’ve Got: Navigating Conflict, Accountability and Repair,” is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 2, also from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The final workshop will take place Monday, Nov. 16. “Combatting Burnout: Using Self-Compassion and Joy-Work to Balance the Scales” will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and close the fall series.
All three workshops will be held at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut Street.
Space will be intentionally limited. Each session can accommodate no more than 25 participants, meaning the entire series offers 75 workshop spots if all three sessions reach capacity. Registration will remain open until each workshop fills, and a waitlist will be available once capacity is reached.
Participants who want to attend more than one session will need to register separately for each workshop.
Additional information about the individual topics, Sterling’s background and registration is available through the City of Bloomington Arts page. With only 25 seats available per session, interested artists and arts administrators may want to register before the smaller workshop format reaches capacity.
