It’s a brand new decade, and artists are poised to take over. As the world becomes more visually driven, art is becoming increasingly valued (and ever-present) in the aesthetics of daily life.
Society is shifting towards a resurged support of the arts, and artists can take advantage of the momentum by implementing new strategies to grow their practice.
Here are a few suggested goals for artists in 2020:
Increase Your Output
Artist’s block is real, and post-holidays it can be difficult to come back into the studio and make fresh work. Challenge yourself to create at a more frequent, even time-constricted rate to generate more pieces and explore different methods of fabrication.
Even if you feel your work is mediocre when rushed, you’ll be developing a habit of consistent making. Besides, some of the best-loved works of art were created in a matter of minutes.
Goal: Make one new piece per week. For better or worse, you’ll have 52 new artworks to show (or hide) by the end of the year.
Learn How to Write Better Grant Applications
There is a staggering amount of art funding that goes unapplied for in the U.S. If you’re not taking advantage of opportunities to better fund your projects, someone else will. While it can seem overwhelming if you’re new to the process, you’re not alone.
There are courses, workshops, blogs and communities dedicated to educating arts on grant writing, and like any solid art practice, it gets easier and more fluid with consistency.
Goal: Attend a grant writing workshop in-person or online. Join a local meetup or even a Facebook group to have your grant applications peer-reviewed before submitting.
Be Bolder in Marketing Your Work
Whether you realize it or not, we all have a personal brand, and it’s likely out there on the world wide web already. It’s up to you to dictate the way people find, discuss and engage with you and your work.
Digital marketing can be daunting at first, but there are plenty of resources to learn more about search engine optimization for your website (Don’t have one? There’s step 1). Social media can also be a great way to share your work with a wider audience, and even generate direct sales with a new fan or patron base.
Goal: Get consistent with making professional website updates and social media posting. Upload new photos of relevant work as they are made, create a blog, and research how other artists are succeeding in selling art online.
Aim Higher
Ever fall into imposter syndrome when you’re in a creative lull? One of the best ways to snap out of it is to simply put yourself out there, whether you feel ready or not.
Start with a lofty, but attainable professional goal (a museum show? A new gallery deal? A solo exhibition? A pop-up) for the year. Be specific (try the SMART goal method) to help you see it through.
Goal: Set a SMART goal for a bigger project or exhibition this year, and use time management techniques to stick to it.
Make New Connections
Fellow artists can be your biggest resource. The insights your peers have to share are invaluable, from fabrication techniques to writing proposals to simply sharing in your journey.
Take advantage of the artist communities available both in your area and online; you may find you like the camaraderie just as much as what you’ll learn from each other.
Goal: Join a local or even online-based artist group, where you can learn new skills, share your work, help to promote each other’s practices and build a support network.
In that same spirit, I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn, so we can both being to grow our networks and share in our creative human capital. Happy New Decade!
Society is shifting towards a resurged support of the arts, and artists can take advantage of the momentum by implementing new strategies to grow their practice.
Here are a few suggested goals for artists in 2020:
Increase Your Output
Artist’s block is real, and post-holidays it can be difficult to come back into the studio and make fresh work. Challenge yourself to create at a more frequent, even time-constricted rate to generate more pieces and explore different methods of fabrication.
Even if you feel your work is mediocre when rushed, you’ll be developing a habit of consistent making. Besides, some of the best-loved works of art were created in a matter of minutes.
Goal: Make one new piece per week. For better or worse, you’ll have 52 new artworks to show (or hide) by the end of the year.
Learn How to Write Better Grant Applications
There is a staggering amount of art funding that goes unapplied for in the U.S. If you’re not taking advantage of opportunities to better fund your projects, someone else will. While it can seem overwhelming if you’re new to the process, you’re not alone.
There are courses, workshops, blogs and communities dedicated to educating arts on grant writing, and like any solid art practice, it gets easier and more fluid with consistency.
Goal: Attend a grant writing workshop in-person or online. Join a local meetup or even a Facebook group to have your grant applications peer-reviewed before submitting.
Be Bolder in Marketing Your Work
Whether you realize it or not, we all have a personal brand, and it’s likely out there on the world wide web already. It’s up to you to dictate the way people find, discuss and engage with you and your work.
Digital marketing can be daunting at first, but there are plenty of resources to learn more about search engine optimization for your website (Don’t have one? There’s step 1). Social media can also be a great way to share your work with a wider audience, and even generate direct sales with a new fan or patron base.
Goal: Get consistent with making professional website updates and social media posting. Upload new photos of relevant work as they are made, create a blog, and research how other artists are succeeding in selling art online.
Aim Higher
Ever fall into imposter syndrome when you’re in a creative lull? One of the best ways to snap out of it is to simply put yourself out there, whether you feel ready or not.
Start with a lofty, but attainable professional goal (a museum show? A new gallery deal? A solo exhibition? A pop-up) for the year. Be specific (try the SMART goal method) to help you see it through.
Goal: Set a SMART goal for a bigger project or exhibition this year, and use time management techniques to stick to it.
Make New Connections
Fellow artists can be your biggest resource. The insights your peers have to share are invaluable, from fabrication techniques to writing proposals to simply sharing in your journey.
Take advantage of the artist communities available both in your area and online; you may find you like the camaraderie just as much as what you’ll learn from each other.
Goal: Join a local or even online-based artist group, where you can learn new skills, share your work, help to promote each other’s practices and build a support network.
In that same spirit, I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn, so we can both being to grow our networks and share in our creative human capital. Happy New Decade!
