I have lived in a handful of cities across the US - managing to test out all of the time zones in the contiguous US - until my most recent move landed me in Los Angeles seven years ago. In every place I’ve lived, I have (to varying degrees) gotten involved in the local art community. Each place has had its own challenges and advantages, but one thing that has been consistent is that my artistic peers are all trying to find ways they can continue to make their work and move forward in their careers and practice while financially supporting themselves, and maintaining a quality of life on top of that.
In each city I have found a friend or small group of friends to compare notes with and check in on each other’s goals, successes and failures in terms of being an artist and having a balanced life. Over and over, these conversations have reiterated the resistance most artists have to doing any administrative work for their art practice. Perhaps it’s my genes (I’m the daughter of a scientist and a musician) but I was born drawn both to creative endeavors as well as to the magnetic allure of office supplies and spreadsheets. As much as I love my time in the studio, administrative work is actually appealing to me, and I’m good at it. I try to encourage my friends to update their websites, write their artist statements, and apply for grants. Most of the time, these suggestions are met with a look of dread, and then lots of excuses.
I try to tell them: there are places asking you to ask them for money. Or that want to hear about that show you’ve been dreaming up for the past two years. There are organizations that want to help you develop your professional skills, and cabins waiting for you to come and rest in them. These opportunities do exist, but I’ve heard so many reasons why people don’t apply for them:
They don’t know what opportunities they are eligible for
They don’t have time to apply for things, let alone look for opportunities
They don’t know how to present their work or talk about it in an artist statement
They don’t think they are good enough to receive grants/awards/residencies/(fill in the blank) and by extension, think if they aren’t selected then it’s a waste of time
If they have to apply for it, it must be for amateurs
They feel their time is better spent in the studio
These excuses all have a solution whether it is changing your perspective, or finding someone to handle these hurdles for you.
As an artist myself, I personally keep a calendar of the deadlines applicable to my own work and goals and apply to these every year. My 2019 calendar already has over 100 deadlines available to me. I have received grants, publication fellowships, had curatorial proposals selected, received funding for an exhibition catalog, and bulked up my resume with exhibitions around the world. If any of the reasons above are keeping you from pursuing the opportunities available to you or if you are on top of it, but at a stage where you want to outsource this work, I invite you to contact the Artist’s Office to see how we can help.
-Virginia Broersma, The Artist’s Office