There is a lot of debate how it is changing, not many are sure how the art market will develop and what will happen to it's participants in the future, but everyone agrees that changes are fast and unavoidable.
Art experts and journalists are discussing the "gallery crisis" and the shift of the art fairs. You would probably read and hear about various survival techniques the art world is using:
However, nobody mentions those without whom the art market would not even exist - the creators of art, THE ARTISTS. How are they affected by the changes in the art world? How is their life changing and how do these changes affect their creative work?
Well I think more and more artists will have to rely more on themselves in the future rather than art galleries, especially those who are just starting out.
Artists will have to extend their knowledge and learn new skills - sales, marketing and PR. They will have to become efficient communicators, knowing how to talk, write about their art and reach their target collectors.
The artists of today must master social media and build a strong online presence. All this means, they will be (are) independent, fully in charge of their careers and income.
Some of them are doing very well already, building a strong following online and ensuring steady flow of income from their art - and that is yet another challenge for the galleries no one talks about.
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Photo credits: artist Aurelija Šimkutė and her sculpture "Hypocrite", photo by Elaine Pringle.
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The main challenge today seems to be selling art online. I think it is quite natural — talented and creative people often lack education in business and marketing, not to mention the wild wild digital world…
So I decided to gather a small group of artists and share what I know and what I have learned as being an online gallerist for two years. The beauty of educating others is that you also learn a bunch of things yourself and that was such a pleasant and interesting experience for me as a lecturer.
Here is what I’ve learned.
Well we all kind of have this feeling that majority of people are buying art for emotional reasons, it is also backed up by the data in various reports, my group of 6 creators confirmed that — they are very personal about exhibiting their art and all their artworks sold at the shows were driven by the emotional connection with the viewer.
This fact is in the statistics as well, but I am still hopeless trying to resist this fact! We, women are responsible for all the beauty, cosiness and emotional comfort, so how come men are more into buying art? I guess the answer lies in the definition of status. I assume ladies are more practical and men buy art not just for aesthetic reasons, but because of a strong identification with a certain artwork as a proof of a certain status, a reflection of their identity.
Probably it is kind of natural that after seeing wonderful artworks created by an artists friend, someone would advice to quite the day job and do it full time. I understand such advice is very emotional, but I would dear to call it irresponsible. It is not easy to build career in art and takes a lot of time, so I would always recommend an alternative source of income (or at least enough savings) and take slower steps, because you will need time to learn new things until you become a successful full-time artist.
First of all, all of my workshop attendees are ready to give up the most precious resource of our contemporary life — their time. Instead of relaxing after work or during the holiday they choose to create. One of course participants chose to work less hours, so she can draw, another — quit a job with a well known and desirable employer. They are hardworking, willing to learn new things and invest (can’t win a marketing game without it!), so I am sure they will succeed, because apart from those things, they are also extremely talented!
Huge applause and respect to my first group of wonderful creators, let me introduce them to you:
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