Getting Organised

Happy New Year everyone.

With fresh starts and a big shake up of things in mind – I wanted to flag up this link:

http://gigaom.com/2011/12/29/why-2012-will-be-year-of-the-artist-entrepreneur/

posted by @Anamariacida on twitter last week. It looks at ways in which (non-visual) artists are reclaiming their autonomy and control over their work, sales and income. This ranges from self-published ebooks, videos of concerts available to download for $5 and musicians using soundcloud to share music and topspin to sell tickets for concerts.

“No doubt, the vast majority of economic wealth is still distributed through large corporate media, but as new technologies enable artists to reach consumers directly through push-button creation and distribution, there is a movement afoot. Expect this movement to expand in 2012 as more artists take control of their own economic destinies and become part of the artist-entrepreneur generation.“

No examples from the visual arts, so why not? I think there’s some crossover with crowdfunding here and why visual arts doesn’t have to most success compared to other art forms.

Warning – simplified arguments coming up….

Firstly, the visual arts has historically been predicated on unique works and largely still is. Some people do sell multiples and large editions, but I know that some would class this as selling out. Because of this unique touch of the artist thing being desirable, contemporary art doesn’t have such a populist audience and the majority of people would not expect to be able to afford original art.

Secondly, the value of art is set by the ‘art world’ – complex system of galleries, dealers, art fairs etc etc. People seem to need this validation to know whether art is ‘good (read – likely to be worth lots in the future) or not. Hiring galleries is still looked upon as being a bit of a naff; something that an artist who is unable to get shown elsewhere might do. Artist-led shows that are successful and receive press are often organised by well-known names, or they might operate in a way that apes a commercial gallery, or they look for art world people to come and see it and validate that way. It’s all still measured by the same art world-shaped stick in the end.

So, what are some ways in which artists can take more control over their income and sales? I’m thinking about it…. suggestions welcome.

Thanks to everyone who voted for AIR council – I’m very happy indeed to be on board.

I saw this ‘opportunity’ on twitter today via Lizzie Hughes: http://tinyurl.com/cma3vce

(@lizzieh)

So, the rough facts:

“BEARSPACE is at the centre of the rapidly growing art scene in South East London, providing a platform to show, encourage and promote emerging artists in London. Director Julia Alvarez curates independently, including the Wimbledon MA interim exhibition, Deptford X 10th Anniversary & Play, a survey of play in contemporary art.

Application:

Bearspace invites artists of all disciplines to apply for this unique opportunity, with a brief statement, c.v., and 3 images of work to be considered for selection, of which 1 to 3 pieces may be selected for exhibition. Applying is free of charge with a £200 charge if artist is successful, to cover costs including administration, gallery staff and PR over this period. Please note these costs have been highly subsidised by BEARSPACE to support emerging artists aside from our usual programme.”

Thoughts:

1) This always seemed like a good and credible space. I am confused by this.

2) Targeting emerging artists seems like the easiest and most cynical option – they might be naive and eager enough to find the cash.

3) They should be more honest and offer the space FOR HIRE rather than promoting this as a supported opportunity.

4) This may be heavily subsidised, as they say, however, the gallery should still offer support to help the artist fundraise the cost if they genuinely couldn’t find it themselves.

5) If it is so heavily subsidised (support in kind no doubt), why could they not find the last £200? Seems odd.

6) In some ways, having an open call and only charging the successful artist is fairer, but it’s not an amount that most people have spare, and it’s not cool.

7) How are artists expected to make new work and do it well if they have to pay for their wn time/production as well as the fee.

8) Surely a good and mixed programme would include emerging and more established artists anyway? Why is them supporting ’emerging artists aside from our usual programme’ such a special thing to do?

I just don’t like this one bit.

I saw this today and wanted to share it:

http://graduatefog.co.uk/2011/1815/cozette-mccreery-sister-by-sibling-fashion-internship/

It’s a funny/deadly serious response to an interview that appeared in Vogue relating to internships. What struck me most was that the designer – who uses interns – defends the fact with the line that it is ‘normal’ in fashion. I think that hits the nail on the head for most internships; people just think it is normal, that they have to work for free to get on, and the plentiful supply of willing volunteers continues.

Forget what’s normal – there IS a minimum wage, it’s taking advantage to have interns for nothing for so long, you don’t have to do it and what’s more, you can write and tell people exactly what’s wrong with the situation so they can’t plead ignorance.

On that note – regarding writing to people to tell them how things could be, I also wanted to share an email an artist sent following an open call.

The artist’s question: is there a fee/production/travel materials project for this open call that requires a site visit and site-specific work?

From the gallery:

Dear artist,

Thank you very much for your enquiry! Unfortunately our project does not have a budget for travel and production of artwork, which we expect the artists themseleves cover the cost. However, we will cover all the installation, techinical support, electricity supply and promotion cost. Please see attached with the full brief to get more information. Hope you will participate in our exhibition!

From the artist:

Hello,

Thank you very much for your response. I was interested to read the project brief; it really does sound like a wonderful project. However, it seems that you are looking for work that responds to the specific site or context (and I prefer to work context-responsively anyway), and I am afraid that without financial support it would be impossible for me to undertake site visits, produce new work for the show and continue to pay my rent and bills! Having worked for cultural and academic organisations in the past, I really do appreciate that budgets are tight; however, contemporary artists do need at least some remuneration for the work that they do and the time that they spend doing it. As an experienced artist and commissioner, I can say that it is not usual for contemporary artists to have to pay for electricity supplies or tech support in venues where they exhibit, and so this is not usually factored in as support in kind.
I wonder if you are aware of the Arts Council’s Grants for the Arts scheme? This scheme enables individuals and organisations from all backgrounds to apply for small-to-medium grants towards engaging artistic projects in England. I have used this scheme myself to enable me to pay artists for their work on various projects, and it is incredibly helpful and accessible. The Arts Council are very keen to support and promote the idea that everybody should be paid for their work; in their view (with which I agree), even the smallest amount of investment produces better artwork – and therefore better outcomes for everybody involved. I am sure that, if you wish to work with contemporary artists in the future, the Arts Council would be very interested to support a project that uses contemporary art to engage people not just with art, but with history, too. Here is a link, which I hope will be helpful to you in the future: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/grants-arts/ Again, it is with regret that I cannot submit a proposal for consideration. I wish you the best of luck and every success with the project.

Perhaps this is a good template to send out next time you find yourself in this situation? Round of applause.

Morning!

This year I got shortlisted for a commission and a residency that ended up being awarded to 1) a social enterprise and b) a design agency. They were small/medium to large things – between 2 – 12k, so substantial projects, but not in the intimidating (for me) leagues of some public art budgets. After writing about the Olympic ‘Taking the Lead’ commissions earlier in the year I noticed that a large chunk of those went to production companies and very few to individual artists, which led me to wonder why.

Some ideas about why this may be:

Artists don’t apply in large numbers for really large scale projects as individuals. I am making presumptions and drawing parallels with Dany Louise’s report on arts funding and her findings that many artists simply aren’t applying for funding. Individual artists may lack experience and presume they aren’t able to handle a large commission, especially if they feel they don’t know what it involves.

The work is of a scale that it requires more than one person. Like when artists start having work made for them to keep up with the demand or ambition of the work.

Commissioners are nervous, money is tight. A production company or group of artists possibly represent; experience, ability to handle a large commissions (strength in numbers), something different (hybrid of art/music/technology).

Production companies have paid staff (sometimes) and are able to put together a more impressive tender. Design aspects of companies might mean ideas are more resolved, communicated more easily, are less esoteric and therefore more likely (in the commissioner’s eyes) to appeal to wider public than work of one artist.

My question – in increasingly lean times, are artists going to find it even harder to get paid work on offer if they’re tendering against well organised, experienced groups and businesses? This may be especially true for recent graduates who’ll have less opportunity to gain experience and will lack the track record that commissioners want to see. Maybe artists need to adopt strategies used by larger outfits and utilise those strengths for themselves. This doesn’t necessarily mean working in collaboration, but strong communication and a confidence in what you’re offering. Taking a brief and making it into your project, negotiating the terms until you are happy.

All things that we artists should be doing, but that have more emphasis placed on them in a design education.

I know some will be reading this and are immediately dismissing public commissions, but you should apply and make them what you think they can be. Negotiating – as far as you can – so you can work on your own terms.

Owl Project http://www.owlproject.com/

Sans Façon http://www.sansfacon.co.uk/

Interview with Shauna Richardson:www.a-n.co.uk/p/1325304/

Artist’s Olympic Commissions in a-nwww.a-n.co.uk/p/1346879/

Those Olympic facts:

East: On Landguard Point – Pacitti Company

East Midlands – Lionheart – Shauna Richardson (individual artist)

London – Bus Tops – 2 lead artists + 4 staff + 2 interns

North east – Flow – Owl Project (3 artists) and Ed Carter (musician and arts producer)

North West – Column – Anthony McCall (individual artist working in NY with a production team)

South East – Boat Project – Lone Twin (performance company)

South West – Nowhere Island – Alex Hartlet (individual artist with expedition team)

West Midlands – Godiva Awakes – Imagineer Productions (producers of large-scale outdoor events/ carnivals/theatre.)

Yorkshire – Leeds Canvas – partnership between Opera North, Northern Ballet Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Yorkshire Dance, Leeds Met Gallery and Studio Theatre, Situation Leeds, Leeds City Council, and Leeds Art Gallery – Quay Brothers as lead artists. This one utterly baffles me in terms of ‘Artists Taking the Lead’

Northern Ireland – Nest – Dumbworld Ltd (production company) – They’re currently advertising for a project Manager in case anyone’s interested!

Scotland – Forest Pitch – Craig Coulthard (individual artist)

Wales – Adain Avion – Marc Rees under production company R.I.P.E (Rees International Projects Enterprise)