Your work deserves more than an Instagram grid or a website you have to keep renting.

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll build a real portfolio website that you own and control. No technical background required. You’ll learn how a website actually works, bring your own artwork online, make design decisions based on your practice, and customize the site so it feels like yours.

By the end of the session, you’ll leave with a live website you can keep using for free, plus the knowledge to update it as your practice grows. A custom domain is optional and can be added later.

Workshop Schedule (4 Hours)

Part 1: Own Your Online Presence

• Understand the difference between renting your presence through platforms and owning your own website.
• Learn what platform risk means for artists relying on Instagram or subscription website builders.
• See how your website is structured, where the code lives, and how your content gets published.
• Bring a working site template online and open your live website for the first time.

Part 2: Curate Your Work

• Add your own images, titles, descriptions and artist bio through the site editor.
• Learn how portfolio curation affects the way people understand your practice.
• Choose how your work is arranged and presented online.
• Understand how to add and manage new work after the workshop.

Part 3: Make It Yours

• Pull colours directly from your own artwork to build a personal website palette.
• Explore typography, layout and visual density as part of your creative identity.
• Make simple changes to your website code and see the results happen live.
• Learn how templates can be adapted rather than treated as fixed designs.

Part 4: Map Your Practice & Keep It Alive

• Add locations to your work and explore how your creative practice exists across a city or region.
• Learn how to connect a custom domain if you want one.
• Connect your website to your social platforms.
• Learn how to add new work and maintain your site over time.

By The End Of This Workshop, You Will

• Understand how a basic website is built, hosted and published.
• Know the difference between owning and renting your online presence.
• Have a live portfolio website you control and can continue using.
• Know how to add, remove and update your own artwork.
• Make basic changes to colour, typography and layout.
• Understand how curation and design shape your creative identity online.
• Know how to maintain and expand your website after the class.

What We Provide

• Website Template: A tested artist portfolio template with multiple layout options.
• Hosting Setup: A guided deployment process so your website is live by the end of the session.
• Portfolio Tools: An editor for managing your artwork, writing and portfolio content.
• Mapping Tools: An optional map feature for showing where your creative work exists geographically.
• Documentation: Written instructions you can keep and refer to after the workshop.

What To Bring & Requirements

• Laptop: Required.
• Artwork: Bring 5–10 images of your work already saved to your laptop.
• Colour Reference: Bring one image of a piece you would like to pull your website colours from.
• Artist Bio: Bring a short bio. A rough draft is completely fine.
• Technical Experience: None required. This workshop is designed for artists with no web-development background.
• Pre-Workshop Setup: A short setup guide will be sent before the workshop so required accounts can be created ahead of time.

Event Details

• Date: To be confirmed
• Time: To be confirmed
• Format: 1 single session (4 hours)
• Location: Urban Art Collective Art Hub, 50 Bayswater Avenue, Ottawa
• Instructor: Joseph Drazen
• Level & Audience: Artists and creatives with no technical background, especially anyone relying on Instagram or a subscription portfolio platform.
• Maximum Capacity: 12 students
• Minimum Enrolment: 6 required Required