Sales and Marketing: Developing my Practice- 22nd October
How do you build commercial resilience into a contemporary studio practice?
Hosted at the Carnegie, Swords, Sales and Marketing: Developing my Practice offers a transparent, real-world look at sustaining a successful creative career. Led by Elizabeth O’Kane, this session unpacks the mechanics of securing public commissions, successfully responding to listings advertised on the VAI website and balancing gallery representation with direct studio sales. Attendees will gain actionable insights into developing long-term client relationships, fostering organic word-of-mouth, and establishing steady commercial demand for their work.
Elizabeth O’Kane
Elizabeth O’Kane is a Dublin–based sculptor and painter, and a member of The Society of Portrait Sculptors. She is best known for her bronze sculptures of Spiorad Ban Chíarraí (Spirit of Kerry Women) in Tralee; John Hume (in Leinster House and Washington DC); John Count McCormack (Iveagh Gardens, Dublin); and Dr Garret FitzGerald at UCD. Her work focus on portraiture and movement, she is fascinated by the human face, expression and enthnicity. Elizabeth sculpts in clay, bronze and stone.
Originally a French translator, she is largely a self-taught artist. She is an elected member of The Art Students League of New York, where she has studied regularly since 2008. She has also studied at the Florence Academy of Art, and the Pietrasanta Marble School in Italy. Travel is a large inspiration in Elizabeth’s paintings of cityscapes and architectural scenes; she paints in watercolour and is a member of the Watercolour Society of Ireland, the Ulster Watercolour Society, and the Dublin Painting and Sketching Club. Elizabeth has lectured in portrait sculpture to the Friends of the National Gallery of Ireland, and at the Institute of Art Design & Technology Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.
Elizabeth exhibits regularly with the RHA and the Royal Ulster Academy, and exhibited at the Zurich Portrait Prize in The National Gallery of Ireland. Elizabeth was invited to judge the inaugural Sir William Orpen Portrait Prize in 2025, a prestigiuos all-Ireland self-portrait competition.
Collectors of Elizabeth’s work include the European Parliament, Irish Embassies in Washington DC and London, Leinster House, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Office of Public Works, the National Concert Hall, the National Library of Ireland, Shannon Airport, University of Limerick, University College Dublin, the Irish Rugby Football Union, Munster Rugby and Belfast City Hall.
This event is supported by Fingal County Council.