IAM Encounter conference in NYC

I’ve been receiving emails about the IAM Encounter conference for a couple months now, but it wasn’t until this week I thought of going. The latest email included a list of seminar titles, some of which really piqued my interest: Your Art Career IS Your Business; The MFA: want one? got one? now what?; Aesthetics and the 21st Century. Another title with potential is Take Your Pride and Shove It, which sounds like it could relate to my interest in the artist-as-genius complex in America.

Encounter is pretty much the same cost as the April retreat for people who care for artists — although I could drive to Austin and will fly to New York — however the IAM conference seems as though it could be a springboard of sorts for me into a more serious artistic career. It’s geared more toward artists from what I can tell. I also have two options for lodging in the City, one with a Siloam Springs acquaintance involved in ArtServe International who is also attending the conference, and also with family across the river in Jersey. The email, interestingly and wisely, from IAM also suggests local monasteries as places to bunk.

The practical side of me is saying things like “You shouldn’t spend that money because . . . ” The visionary and artistic side of me is saying things like “This is a Divine opportunity and it clicked this week for a reason . . . ” At this point I’m leaning towards going, and hoping to get my brother to come along. I feel like I need to make a decision quickly, while airfare is still good and I have a chance to nail down a place to stay.