by Alyson Stanfield on July 28, 2010
If you don’t like to think of yourself as competing against other artists, I hear ya. I understand where you’re coming from.
But we all have competition.
We know that if someone is looking for art and they don’t buy your work, they’re going to buy it from another artist. If someone doesn’t commission you, they’re going to commission another artist. If someone doesn’t enroll in your art classes, they’re going to enroll in another artist’s. If someone doesn’t read your art blog, their probably reading another artist’s blog.
Gwyn Vermeulen, Abstract Triptych Glass Mosaic. 24 x 22 inches. ©The Artist
Don’t think of competition as a bad thing. Instead, consider it a challenge.
Competition can get you up in the morning and motivated. Competition can drive you to do better work and become more focused on your career and where you want it to go.
[ Competition can also make you sick to your stomach or stop you cold in your tracks. If you're not motivated by competition, you should find a way to listen to and to trust your inner voice. ]
And remember: Just because you see someone as your competition, doesn’t mean that they view you in the same way. Their actions can motivate you without them even knowing it.
Your competition is probably someone who:
- Works in similar media, genre, sizes, and/or subject matter
- Has comparable pricing
- Has a similar education
- Is at an equivalent stage in his or her career
- Exhibits in similar venues (with a similar audience looking on)
- Offers classes or workshops along the same lines of those you offer
Who is your competition? Are you keeping an eye on them? Or do you prefer to ignore them and trust yourself?
by Alyson Stanfield on July 26, 2010
Why sit back and wait to hear from a gallery, curator, arts writer, art center or museum when you can connect through Web 2.0?
©2009 Hagit Shahal, Woman with Nailclipper. Hard ground etching with aquatint, 20 x 25 cm. Edition 25.
Not sure how to go about this? Let’s use galleries for these examples.
First, find a gallery’s fan page on Facebook and Like it. At the same time, follow gallery tweets on Twitter.
Granted, many galleries don’t use these social networking sites, so focus on the ones who do. In order to find galleries to follow, you must know that they’re a good fit for you. Don’t waste your time on galleries that show only Florida artists if you live in Nebraska.
I conduct a standard Google search to find people on social media. Here are two samples of my searches.
Search words: Translations Gallery Twitter
This led me to the gallery I was looking for:
http://twitter.com/translationsart
Search words: Sync Gallery Facebook
Success again!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sync-Gallery/262299831412
Since fan pages on Facebook are public, they’ll show up at the top of the search results if the pages exist. Ditto for Twitter accounts.
You can also use Twellow for Twitter searches within categories. (Thanks @PattyHankins for the advice.) Or there is TweepSearch for names and keywords. (Thanks, @cornerstoneva.)
Once you’ve found some good galleries to follow on Twitter and Facebook, you need to join the conversation.
Contribute your voice to the dialog when you have something to say. You want to add value to the conversation, not just Like a post. Also, instead of just declining or ignoring an invitation from a gallery on Facebook, write a personal note on the event wall—leaving your name there for all to see.
Do the same on Twitter by responding to questions posed by these people and retweeting the good stuff. Be sure to link generously.
Beware: This might take some effort! The results will be worth it.
FINAL WORD: Don’t lurk on Web 2.0 sites. Become a valuable contributor to the dialog. Join the conversation with galleries and other art world types through social media. Remember that social media is social.
Wanna hear a friendly voice? (Mine!) Listen to the audio version of this content.
Join us! The fun starts July 28
