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Power Up with PR Excerpt
Q&A
Another helpful tool for the media is a question and answer sheet—a Q&A.
The Q&A will help the media understand your art better. For instance, Ray
Bliss Rich, a Hillsboro, New Hampshire-based artist (www.sumi-art.com) explains
his Sumi-e painting on his web site. His art form is not widely known in the
US, and his Q&A is educational and helpful to reporters.
To design a Q&A, put yourself in a reporter’s position. What would
you ask the artist? What would you want to know about the art form—how
it was created, why it doesn’t fade? What is the process? What tools
are used? How long does it take to create? How many other artists in the country
create in a similar way? Draw questions from the typical queries you have already
heard from your public.
List five to ten questions and provide answers in simple English—no technical
jargon comprehensible only to your creative colleagues. Remember, you are not
promoting your work to other artists, you are pitching the media and eventually
the public. While some art critics may know your specific art form, do not
expect all media representatives to be knowledgeable about art. The purpose
of a Q&A is to clarify, simplify and make your art comprehensible, not
to create more confusion.
Your Q&A should be printed on your letterhead and be no more than two pages
in length; one is better. Focus on the most important, relevant questions and
provide clear answers. Questions should be in bold type, enabling the reader
to scan quickly.