Does the cold weather have you glued to the couch, avoiding errands, dreaming of warmer days? Now isn’t the time for that. This is the time of year to buckle down and get to work on creative projects! Thankfully our local arts institutions have a smorgasbord of options to help you further your career as a creative and jump start your process. 

New York State Writers Institute is hosting an online memoir class taught by author and former New York Times staffer Marion Roach Smith. The class will focus on: How to identify the right topic for your memoir. The #1 mistake most memoir writers make. How to decide what to include in your memoir and what to leave out. The first step to structuring a memoir people will actually want to read. You can register for the 90-minute class here. It costs $49 with all proceeds going to benefit the NYSWI.

January 16 from 7-8:40 PM.

The Alliance for the Creative Economy and Overit will host an event exploring DIY career paths available to members of the creative economy. Speakers will include Dor Dotson, owner of Genuine Article, a boutique marketing consultancy in Catskill NY; Erin Sikopoulos, owner of Turn A New Leaf Massage & Energy Work in Saratoga Springs NY, and Lily Hevesh, professional domino artist who creates videos on her domino artist channel.

Jan 18 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Overit in Albany.

Center of Gravity in Troy is offering you the chance to learn how to create your own video game. The Beginner Video Game Designer Orbit group offers education on building games on platforms that require no previous experience in coding. The group also critiques and assists budding designers with their game projects.

January 19 from 12-1 PM. Free.

Photographer Whitney Hubbs will discuss gender, the history of photography, and the landscape of the body and spectatorship. Her work focuses on investigating how the photographic canon leaves out the female perspective and lends more credence to the male perspective.

The Clark will host the free talk on January 31 at 2 PM. 

The Tang will host a talk examining the various careers available in museums. A group of museum professionals including Skidmore alumni will discuss what is like working in different kinds of museums and the various career paths.  

The event is free to the public and will be held at the Payne room at The Tang on January 31 at 6 PM.