Opus Newsletter Contributor

Alice Rich is well known to the BC art community for her seminars on business issues facing visual artists and in her own right, as a photographer and painter. Since graduating from UBC and Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design, Alice has worked in professional roles with two major galleries, founded a publishing company, and is presently working as an artist and seminar leader. She also has extensive community involvement on Art Boards and committees.

Opus has asked Alice to share some of her insights with our readers and is co-sponsoring her new seminar series early in the New Year. These participatory seminars will include special guests representing a wide range of backgrounds from the professional art community. Alice's workshops will be open for registration starting in January at which time a fee schedule will also be available. Detatils on Alice's workshops are availabe at the end of this article.

The building of an art career can look like a series of curves, both upward and downward; it is not a slam-dunk. But whether your career has started or you are at mid-point or sliding to a finish, ready to test the judgment of history, your occupation as an artist is a continuum that needs tending. This tending is required not only in creative and technical terms, but also so far as gaining acceptance and recognition for your work. How do we get our work known beyond family and friends, our favourite supportive patrons?

Many artists have a system to keep everyone informed of their new work, upcoming shows etc. through mailing lists and email messages. But how many spend a morning a week or a day a week to open new doors? The 'marketing day' can be just as creative and fun as a 'production day'.

If you are avoiding the marketing aspect of your career development then figure out how to fit it in and then discipline yourself to do it on a consistent basis. Avoidance is not an answer. For the moment, we will assume that you need to change a habit or behaviour that keeps you from marketing and actually replace it with a new habit. This may require that you tailor make a structure to fit your own unique needs and enable you to be comfortable enough to work on your objectives.

The Perturbation Phenomenon

Making a significant change and moving too quickly out of one's personal comfort zone, can easily result in personal chaos. I am not suggesting moving too fast and making a giant leap to create change, before establishing a suitable support structure for the new state. The 'Perturbation Phenomenon' illustrates my point. Perturbation can be seen in the familiar experiment with the frog that is thrown into a pot of boiling water only to jump right out. Any self-aware frog would, but when the frog is placed in tepid water and the heat is slowly turned up to reach a boiling point, the frog accepts the changes in temperature and slowly cooks to death. The point here is not to risk expiring, but rather to slowly increase the heat, creating a new comfort zone for yourself in which you can succeed.

One approach for the artist is to build on relationships as a way of marketing artwork and securing a reputation. Picture the frog's pot as the vessel that holds your art career and within it, your goals and ideas. Now, don't turn the temperature up high and expect to win - turn the heat up slowly, creating a step-by-step action plan whereby you reach success. A few can identify their right market immediately and their artwork soars to recognition and demand. For the rest of us it is a question of research, introductions to venues through relationship building and testing those venues. The testing of venues available in one's local community and the world beyond requires staying in touch with dedicated follow-up. For most, it is a long sales cycle.

Dedicating one day a week to marketing is a prime example of building the structure. Setting reasonable short term and mid term objectives will keep us from jumping out of the pot and allow us to generate movement forward. Initially, the work may be very uncomfortable and challenging. Instead of one day per week, you may decide to choose two mornings a week to allow for easier follow-up. Having set the time aside, what do you do with it?

Your first assignment is the easiest - visit the galleries that you have wanted to see, artist-run centers and design shows and look around. See where your work fits or does not fit. Talk to the gallery owners and other artists you encounter to get a feel for who the market is and how best to approach it, given your work and interests. Seek out those people who are both knowledgeable and positive, not those few who are too jaded to offer encouragement. Use the structure to your advantage, gradually heating the water as you gain confidence in this activity. Set your goals higher as you go. If your structure is sound (right contacts, right timing, etc.) you will neither leap out of the pot nor perish from the heat. If you detect weaknesses in your structure (approach), reassess and adjust. All the while, quietly evaluate your progress.

Research and relationship building is what it takes to become known and to find your target market or simply the right venue for you. After much testing you may decide that selling and showing work out of your studio/gallery or in the hairdresser's salon is the best option. But on certain days your research may take you to an international art expo and the small business web site to figure out how to pay for the trip. You make the rules and find out what works for you. Turn up the temperature (push yourself a notch further) if you are not getting the results you want.

Introduce yourself to people within art communities and make the effort, on a continuous basis to look, listen, read, see, network and get into the action. Balance the isolation many artists seek in creating their art with outer world contact. Speak to people and let them know what you do, hand out a business card, sign your artwork on the front right hand corner so that when a viewer comes across your work they identify you with the work. Common sense I know, but I am always surprised by how many miss these opportunities for recognition.

No art career or any other career is made overnight. Some artists appear to have instant success, but we seldom see what is behind the lines. For most of us, achieving success is a continual process of making inroads and small wins, of finding directions that suit our individual criteria of where we want our artwork to be. You select and approach your prospect with a portfolio and/or submission or idea, you caution yourself for disappointment but move with intent. The individual says "no" and makes an excuse not to use your work. Now you are baffled or discouraged or feel like you have closed an important door. But you can turn this into a win by asking some questions of the prospect. Learn from the feedback or at least get a lead to someone else who the prospect might suggest. Because you have carefully researched to find this right door, you probably want to keep the door ajar or determine why you were off base and how.

Another example. You approach a publisher, who rejects your initial body of work. You listen to the feedback, you think you have heard a firm 'no', but is that actually what has been said? This is a sensitive time where you are required to read the situation and step aside from your work for the moment. Often, what was actually said was, "I like your work but? not at this time" or "I am not sure our market is ready for it" or ? "but lets stay in touch and see how your work develops in the future." The publisher may be testing you to see if you know how to follow-up and deliver.

It is too easy to interpret a response as "no", when in fact it is an invitation for an ongoing relationship with that business, institution or person. Rather than having lost everything, you have opened a door, so don't let it close tightly - keep it ajar and the line of communication flowing.

A third example - you have made an important introduction to a new gallery. They are not sure about your work at the moment, they read your CV and view your transparencies and are thinking they should see the originals. They have some interest but are cautious. They tell you that they like your work. They would like to see more in the future and stay abreast of what you are producing. They request that you keep them informed by sending jpegs as updates of your work. Again, it is easy to take that as a "no." Other artists, however, will recognize that response as a natural part of the structure. They also have comfort zones and are in the habit of slowly but steadily raising their water temperature.

Perturbation rules. The new gallery is not necessarily willing to jump into the pot of boiling water with someone whose work they have just been introduced to and whom they have never met before. That makes sense; you are being given the opportunity to start building a relationship with the gallery. It may be that you end up at another gallery sometime in the future but you are adding to your reputation by sharing professional information in the world that you are a part of, the art community.

Everyone is important - burn no bridges because your road may turn and that rejection may become one of your biggest fans. Or, you may realize that it is the wrong market and you choose to close the door and keep researching. Or choose to build a reputation that labels you difficult - a pain in the neck perhaps; this could be a mystique that you cultivate as part of your marketing aura. There are many ways to move around this community and you can develop a system all of your own - creativity prevails. But above all, you must be genuine.

Being famous by one's outrageousness and being successful through one's absolute conviction of success also works. Some people, like Andy Warhol, make their career success look easy. Good marketing can make a good career. We often wonder, was the artist good or was it the guerrilla marketing techniques that won them success? Andy Warhol knew how to self-market and get media attention. He never denied it but set out to accomplish just that and be a famous artist. Even a step beyond, he wanted to be a household name. Long after Warhol's death he is still reaching his goal. This is a marketing plan that an artist can develop, but for the rest of us, we can try to sustain relationships and build our careers over time so not to leap out of the pot of boiling water and give up.

Marketing one's own artwork is typically a personal issue. Fortunately, in doing it, there are ways to reduce risk of personal jeopardy, embarrassment and torment. The efforts I describe support the creative acts of finding your niche, making the proper introductions, developing your submission process and testing the options, listening, learning and refining. So, approach the challenge with the confidence that the merit of your work stands and over time, each introduction builds your career beyond the supportive family and friends.

In subsequent articles, I will explore in more depth the development and use of various tools to aid this process, including portfolios, websites and the Internet, personal coaches and others.

Contributed by Alice Rich
alice-rich@shaw.ca

Registration for Alice Rich's seminar in Vancouver starts December 5th, 2003. The seminar runs from January 23-25th, 2004 and is structured as a comprehensive program. The 3-day program is designed to help artists discover a multitude of marketing and career building ideas. Cost of the three-day Artrepreneur Seminar is $299.00 + GST.

To receive a registration form, program outline, location and other key details, contact registrar, Joanne White at alice-rich@shaw.ca or call 604-255-1010. Payment must be made upon registration by Visa or cheque. You will be sent a confirmation letter with full details.

If you require further information about the Alice Rich seminar visit her website www.alice-rich.com or email: alice-rich@shaw.ca. Please note that enrollment is limited, please register early to assure your space.

DAY 1: Friday, January 23 - 1:00pm to 6:00pm
Pulling Yourself Together and Marketing Approaches: Take an inventory of old patterns and determine your personal intent and start an action plan. This seminar reviews approaches to researching and targeting your gallery submissions.
Guests: Art Consultant and Gallery Representative.

DAY 2: Saturday, January 24 - 9:00am to 5:00pm
Marketing Outside of Galleries: This exciting day looks at trade and marketing opportunities with publishers, design houses and on the internet. The business of art, including contracts, accounting, copyright and more, are also examined.
Guests: Professional Artist and Lawyer.

DAY 3: Sunday, January 25 - 9:00am to 4:00pm
Portfolio Evaluation & Brainstorming: This final day includes critiques of participant portfolios and group focused work on strategic marketing planning and development. It will also assist you in evaluating individual business and financial needs and using the information presented.
Guests: Commercial Art Photographer and Publisher.