Creativity, community and professional development take center stage this October as Holland College, KKP Charlottetown, Creative PEI, and Thinking Big host Dotgain, a professional development conference created for visual artists. Dotgain takes place on October 18 at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall located in the Charlottetown Centre on the Holland College Prince of Wales Campus.

In the morning, attendees will have the chance to meet other talented, award-winning creative professionals, engage with the local visual arts community, and hear this year’s keynote speaker, Emily Cohen. Participants will enjoy a catered lunch and participate in workshops, panel discussions, and presentations throughout the afternoon.

Keynote speaker Emily Cohen has consulted and worked with many leading design firms across the US and Canada. Through these experiences, she has developed, tested, and curated key business insights and strategies that have helped firms become more effective, profitable, and fun to work at. Emily conducts strategic business planning retreats and provides confidential, best-practice insights and advice on staff, client, and process-management strategies. She loves sharing her expertise through speaking engagements, guest posts, her Skillshare class, webinars, industry activism, and, most recently, in her new business book for creatives, Brutally Honest, No-bullshit business strategies to evolve your creative business. Emily Cohen is also fast-talker, a designer by degree, an avid reader, a trend-spotter, a connector, and her clients’ advocate.

This event is an excellent opportunity for local creative professionals to find out more about emerging trends, learn new skills, and join the discussion about our industry’s future. For more information visit www.dotgain.ca.

In this picture: Keynote speaker Emily Cohen. Photo by Jason Varney