Marketing the Arts
Marketing the arts and separating the artist from the entrepreneur
The business side of the arts, which can both sustain individual artists and lead to wealth creation, needs to be encouraged and properly managed.
Promote Art
Competitions as a way to promote art
I personally am very selective about the art competitions that I choose to enter. In my earlier years I used to enter just about anything, simply because the prizes were so enticing.
Art and Money
Art and money while pursuing your art career.
You might also consider other at-home business opportunities, such as writing a book. (This process is outlined in detail in my “Art Insights” seminar.) Ultimately, you can publish your own book e-book or online newsletter and have different products all related to your field of art. Many possibilities exist for a varied income stream.
Art Help
Art help with responsible financial management
Artists need to organize their money and protect and save their wealth. I have met many artists who were simply overwhelmed by financial planning. Most often they are responsible for the problem by not taking sufficient interest in their finances, and it is often necessary to twist an arm in order to persuade an artist to audit their income and take control.
Art and Business
Art and business success through using ‘The Parthenon Principle’.
To create an effective varied income stream we can look to the Parthenon Principle. If you have visited or seen the ancient Parthenon temple in Athens, you will recall its many Doric columns. These columns are the parallel between this surviving structure and the wealth we aim to build.
Art Marketing
Art marketing for emerging artists
If you are an emerging artist, set reasonable expectations. While no one gets very far without a certain amount of ambition, it’s important to realistically structure your approach to getting what you want.
Sell Art
Best ways to talk about your art in order to sell art.
The best way to talk about your art is to start with the elements that you are most clear on. It’s really important not to waffle when you talk about art in general and particularly when addressing your own work. It’s most effective to directly respond to the questions being asked.
Artist Marketing
Artist marketing is also an attitude.
Marketing is also an attitude. Your own perception of your work can usher in desired perceptions from others. Many artists start apologizing for their work. Here’s a secret: the viewing audience wants you to succeed, and they want you to be confident because they don’t want to feel sorry for you.
Art Businesses
Be resourceful with your art businesses.
Artists should think both creatively and responsibly about supporting their income. I wish to instil the importance of flexibility in today’s economy and the benefits of a multi-tiered income stream to support artistic activities. A multi-tiered income stream is not a compromise – it is an intelligent means to continue to practice what you love.
Selling Art
Selling art effectively means managing your time and also means placing a value on it.
Managing your time also means placing a value on it. I set aside time for silence and space. Do not assume that packing as many shows into a year is the right use of time.
Art and Business
With art and business, know what you want and set goals.
Visualize what it is you are seeking and what you expect out of your creative business. Artists all to often enter this business environment without knowing what they want or what is possible. When you are sitting alone in your studio and you’re wondering why you’re not having any success, have you ever asked yourself how much you’re willing to sacrifice for that success? Success often requires hard work and sacrifice. The degree to which you’re willing to go will be entirely up to you. Think carefully about what you really want to accomplish and set some goals to help you get there. If, for example, you want to have four exhibitions a year, start planning for them. Make the necessary connections. Have a target and set your goals.
Arts Marketing Your Work
I’ve often wondered what arts marketing is selling, exactly. I’ve come to the conclusion that when we engage in arts marketing, we as artists are trading in transcendent experiences and altered mindsets, rather than mere objects.
Artist Sales
Art is the business of sharing worldview, but it’s also the business of artist sales in the face of stiff competition. No business would attempt to compete without a strategy, and without a business-minded plan, both artist sales and the impact of your art suffer.
Art Pricing
If your work is made of found objects and recycled materials, is it rubbish – and subject to rubbish art pricing? Or is it a work whose value far transcends that of which it is made? When it comes to art pricing and an audience’s willingness to value your art, education makes all the difference.
Creative Arts Marketing
For some artists, creative arts marketing is a sort of accidental pursuit, a byproduct of the real work of making art. But in my case, an accident helped me see byproducts as art and brought a new dimension to my creative arts marketing at the same time.
Selling Art
The necessity of selling art can lead creative expansion to a dead end. “If I head in a new direction,” we ask, “will my audience follow?” My experience, though, is that striking out for largely unmapped territories is what makes the resulting art appealing to so many. And it’s what makes selling art so rewarding – in both financial and spiritual terms.
Art Marketing
Art marketing doesn’t have to be a one-way communication from artist to audience, yet another “buy now” in a world flooded with them. Instead, the best art marketing is a give-and-take sharing of ideas, motivations, and passions.
Marketing in the Arts
Some artists believe that their ambitions, particularly when it comes to marketing in the arts, are best served by moving to a large city. If that’s what inspires you, great. But for those of us who prefer a quieter, maybe even idyllic setting, technology and easy travel make global marketing in the arts possible from anywhere.
Fine Art Tips
The best fine art tip for any artist, is to look within, find the small shining truth at your centre, and never, ever let it go. My core truth – my ultimate fine art tip – is that there is no separation between artist and environment. And that insight has led to some of the finest art I’ve ever created.
Success in Art
Success in art can mean 100 different things to 100 different people. But for me, a large part of what makes me feel success in art lies in turning environmental blight into a colourful message of future beauty and sustainability.
See John Dahlsen’s Recent Works
