Putting it Together:
Packaging and Portfolio Building
Akasya Crosier & Suzanne Fatta
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In-demand freelancers and entrepreneurs Akasya Crosier and Suzanne Fatta lead a panel discussion on how packaging and portfolios can get you hired as an artist. Akasya and Suzanne both lead fulfilling careers in the arts and will discuss their journey, trials and triumphs that got them to where they are today.
During this session, attendees will:
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Hear firsthand accounts of how Akasya and Suzanne were able to break into the WNY freelance artist scene with spectacular aplomb
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Get to know the benefits of how enticing packaging and portfolios can land clients and work in WNY
Akasya Crosier is a mixed media artist and graphic designer based in Buffalo, NY. After graduating from the University at Buffalo in 2017, Akasya began her career as a graphic designer at Shea's Performing Arts Center for three years. Since then, she has been running her own business designing for local clients and creating products out of her digital illustrations - notably, a Buffalo-themed coloring book which is now in 4 local stores and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, she works as a children's art instructor for Locust Street Art, a nonprofit organization located in the fruit belt that provides free and low cost art classes to the public. Her goal is to enlighten others about the fulfilling - and secure - career paths that can come from pursuing the arts, especially in a time when resources to that knowledge can be tough to navigate. For more info about Akasya and to see her work, visit akasyacrosier.com.
Singer and model Suzanne Fatta quickly became one of the most in-demand arts professionals in WNY since she returned to Buffalo after 5 years in England. As a very low Contralto, Suzanne sings Bass with the world-famous Vivaldi's Women choir (dir. Richard Vendome) in Oxford UK, and pioneers the use of low female voices in opera often taking lead Baritone roles in Baroque operas. Harvard-educated, her Lecture-Recitals (selected by OPERA America as one of the top 15 National Opera Week 2014 events in the nation) are sell-out WNY audience favorites. Suzanne is the Founder and Director of The Women of Vivaldi, the only dedicated early music vocal ensemble in WNY, and one of the few true all female choirs - including female Tenors, Baritones and Basses - in the country. She is also the Founder of Pavana, an early music trio consisting of voice and historical plucked & strummed instruments. You can see her perform jazz weekly as one of the featured singers at The Bittersweet Piano Lounge.
Ms. Fatta’s operatic roles, consort work and solos have taken her around North America and Europe, performing on top stages in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Malta and more. Suzanne has performed with and been Choral Director for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; she also served as both Alto and Tenor Section Leaders with the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and Chamber Singers under the BPO. She is a featured singer in the documentary Peter Ackroyd’s Venice for SkyArts TV across Europe. A highly experienced performer, Suzanne's skills as a Contralto Soloist and Baritone Ensemblist are now in demand in New York; she is currently working with some of the top composers in the country to commission new Contralto repertoire, and to develop world-premiere operas.
Modeling under the name Carmina Suzanne, Ms. Fatta is a published agency plus model and diversity advocate with top designer, magazine and runway credits including 12 magazine covers, with Getty and Vogue.it credits. Signed to one of the top plus agencies in the world (with representation in Italy, France and the USA), she models in Paris, London, NYC, Toronto, Miami, LA, Berlin, Santiago and more. She's been featured in campaigns with some of the top plus designers in the industry, and has even worked as Serena Williams' fit model at Burberry in London. In addition, in London she Event Managed/ Produced a number of fashion shows including Curves in Couture, the first plus-only show in British history. Carmina Suzanne continues to campaign tirelessly for plus, mature, petite and disabled models of all colors to be treated fairly in fashion. She is now The Associate Director of Westhaven Management Group, covering thousands of models in dozens of countries.