One major UK event boasts spaces for 1200 artists’ works from anyone resident in the UK. It carries significant weight with a prestigious name, airtime on television and can be a sign of recognition for the lucky few who get accepted. However, all is not what it seems. The actual number of slots for people like me is far less than those claimed, partly due to the usual stagnation of a network of favourites and names that get to curate their own artists’ works instead. Those that are left get whisked past a panel of cobweb-ridden philistines who are out of touch with anything but the most shocking or most mundane of artforms and genres.
Your entry fee and transporting costs would be better spent with a children’s charity or a local hospice than being squandered on the notion that you are going to be the next Hirst or Emin
Then there’s the stress of waiting for the acceptance or rejection correspondence. And worst of all is knowing that some crusty fuck-head thinks that what you do is NOT good enough for others to see. This very principle is wrong at the most basic of levels.
All open-submission contests and exhibitions are shameless popularity contests and nothing else. These have sod all to do with art and everything to do with money and the number of votes a piece of art can get. That’s like X Factor for art. What a great travesty that we have to reduce aspiring artists of all ages to a procession of wide-eyed wannabe’s because they are hoping to get exposure and sales. For a few this will work but for the rest of us it never will. Art should not be a about the number of votes you can win. When was the last time you went out on a sunny day into your local park, dropped a canvas on the grass and started painting?
Get real. Success with your art will have little to do with what you get from these competitions. Sure they can provide a platform to showcase your amazing work but they can also be very demotivating too.
If you loosen your grip for a second it can all start falling away from you. I sell paintings. I hand deliver most of them. I take art to people and hang it in their own homes. This works, very well. But it’s hard graft. I know a number of artists (without any online presence) who work three hours a day, don’t know their market and don’t do anything to promote themselves and they wonder why they can’t pay their mortgage. Is it really that difficult?
I have no magic wand, no secret to selling art and no winning formula to share with you. I just work ridiculously hard seven days a week. I stress about where the next piece will come from, worry that I will never sell another piece and get frustrated when I throw away one canvas for each one that looks good. I frame and staple until my thumbs bleed, I lie awake at night thinking about new directions and off-shoots for turning what I do into other forms of work. We all have a unique style and there is a market for all art. If you don’t believe that then stop because you are wasting your time.
You just have to believe that what you are doing is right. You don’t need art competitions to do that. They can help if you are one of the lucky ones but pinning your aspirations on the nod of a judge’s head can do more harm than good. Besides, becoming determined and resilient makes your art turn a corner. It shapes the very creativity that pours from your fingers. It makes your art better.
This year I have not entered two of the major UK art exhibitions, I have chosen not to do another Saatchi showdown (don’t even get me started on that one) and I have rebuked approaches from two galleries who seem hell bent on screwing me on price and control even before they have seen my work for real. I told them to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine
Being scammed, manipulated and bullied by galleries, art judges, online gallery websites and people who think they know what my work is about fills my heart with great sadness and my head with determination to dispense with these arseholes altogether. I don’t need them and I will never need them. This bourgeois network of Neanderthals is dead in my mind. Too much of our energies gets put into this kind of pseudo-networking instead of going into promoting our websites and artwork which, after all, is our shop window to the world. Make it work for you.
Art is for people – all people. It is at the core of who we are – along with love, war and peace. It doesn’t belong on faceless white walls in austere galleries nor should it be beyond the reach of those who want to own it.
Thanks for reading. Share if you enjoyed my rants about the ‘system’…
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12 Comments
2:09 pm
Elizabeth A. Andersen
Hi Swarez, I have just started to paint and have become obsessed with it. I’ve painted 6 pictures over 3 weekends and my head is bursting with ideas – so much so I find myself sitting at work wishing I could go home and paint instead. I accidentally came across your website while looking for info about abstract art. When I saw your work, I instantly knew that they were exactly what I myself am trying to express. Your work is amazing, so vibrant and colourful. I am also very impressed with the professionalism with which you have designed your website. I’ve seen nothing that can match it. I also love your refreshingly honest and down-to-earth way of communicating your thoughts. I wish you continued success and hope that you don’t mind me seeking inspiration from your work as I try to find my own artistic identity.
Best wishes,
Elizabeth
2:35 pm
ADMIN
Wow! Thanks Elizabeth, those words are so kind and thoughtful. I am very pleased that you find my art and methodology inspiring, I have always aimed to keep things fresh and honest; I think that allows the art to stand on its own feet. It’s so good to hear that you are creating – and with such vigour too! keep up the great work and mail me if there’s anything I can help with. Swarez.
12:22 pm
Graham Swan
I couldn’t agree more with your ideas of there being art for everyone. In fact I have been working on a series of paintings fifteen so far expressing that subject using friends and students as models set in gallery spaces, viewing all art styles from Lichtenstien to Monet. Keep up the inspirational work. Cheers
Graham
1:56 pm
ADMIN
Wahoo! Thanks for that Graham – so glad to hear that you are getting inspiration from far and wide – your project sound very interesting indeed and I shall go have a look at your website for my own inspiration! Thanks for posting a comment, it is very much appreciated!
11:49 am
Russell Scott-Skinner
Hey Swarez, Stumbled across your website and really agreed with what you said and also your attitude. Where abouts are you based? as would be good to chat further etc over a pint. My web is http://www.russellscottskinner.com and I’m looking to do another exhibition in spring/summer next year and would be keen to just chat about us maybe starting the ball rolling on a group exhibition as love your work and where you’re coming from etc. So hopefully speak soon. If not keep faith in your work and what you’re doing in the battle of being an artist. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Russell
9:27 pm
mysticmoy
hi, i do agree with a lot of what you say, but on the other hand if you live outside london, and in the sticks,how are you to get noticed. i know my art is good, and i did get through the online submissions for the RWA bristol. of course not the handing in part.i believe in my work, and have so many ideas, i am always inspired.
unless you get a lucky break, like you just did, by the look of the last blogger comment.How else can you publisise your work. doing your own exhibitions is one thing, and i have, and also tried the galleries, but that is horrible. its like begging for a chance. i really dislike thier attitude.
good luck with it all, any advice would be greatly recieved if you can take a look at my blog and see if its worth continuing, love the work. keep it up.
10:11 pm
ADMIN
Ah yes, the artists’ eternal conundrum. Let me say first that I have had NO lucky breaks. Truth. All I am is persistent. I work long, long hours, I re-invest every penny into what I am developing, I have taught myself about web design and Search Engine Optimization and I never, but never, give up. I f I have a problem I find a solution; I don’t sit around waiting for someone to solve it for me. I started with one canvas, one paint brush and three colours of cheap paint and no idea what to do yet I kept going and going because I loved it. In all that time I have never once walked through a Gallery doorway. I have never held a show of any kind though I would like to one day. Get a website you can sell from, learn to do it yourself, control it yourself. This is good. Get social, on as many networks as you can handle – see what everyone else is up to. This is time sapping and hard work but persistence is key.
You can’t rely on the establishment to get you noticed, it has to come from within. Believe in all that you do and think of ways you can take your art where people will notice it. Develop ideas on a blank sheet of paper, abandon traditions if you have to but stick with the core of things – that you are an artist, your work is fantastic and that your day will come. If you can’t convince yourself of any of those three things then achieving what you desire will be all the more difficult.
Keep going, live for your passion, create beautiful work that you enjoy and engage with. Learn all the difficult stuff, make mistakes, work hard, paint hard. Get in people’s faces wherever you can. Be true and courteous and it will translate into your work. You have some fabulous pieces Moira so dig deep, breathe in and decide to take on the world – you may just be surprised at what happens. Hope that helps. BTW – Hawthorn Bay is BEAUTIFUL!!!
12:28 am
mahar
hi i came across your website as i was looking for competitions to enter my paintings in
and i am a bit confuse how do i get my work noticed with out going to a sham competition or sorry ass galleries and judges irritatingly judging my work
my art work is different but similar and i want to show it off to the world
i was wondering if you could give advice on how you got your work notice and how i can get my work notice
thank you and bye from mahar
7:25 pm
ADMIN
Well it’s hard. There are some really good Galleries out there and some great shows but picking them is difficult. What I do is not right for most; I do everything myself – web design, SEO, promotion, marketing – the list is endless. I choose this because of the reasons I put into this post. It is much harder to get noticed this way as you aren’t relying on anyone else. All my work comes from people searching for me online, that’s it. A website and a knowledge of basic SEO and a stack of hours will help a lot. Think about how you can promote what you do locally to begin with then think how you can diversify your talents into other related areas like teaching etc… Maybe offer a free to enter competition or something??? Just play with ideas. A website is vital though; start there if you can :0)
5:16 pm
james alexander
Finally!! Someone who knows the difference between making things happen and waiting in line for ‘your chance’. You are spot on with the notion that creativity has to extend to everything we do, including creating our own success. Anyone who thinks in terms of Arts Council grants, patrons, galleries or agents has already handed over responsibility to someone else for their success.
I’d go further, and say that there are too many paintings in the world already, so if you’re going to put this stuff out there, you’d better have a damned good reason – it’s not enough to be good, you’ve got to be relevant to something or someone.
love your attitude, love the fact you’re earning your own success the hard way.
Respect,
James
11:34 pm
ADMIN
Awesome comment James, thankyou so much! You’re right – we gotta make a stand and be different because there’s so much out there these days that it could be in danger of all looking the same. Like you say, success is another part of the creative process.So let’s get on and create some!!!
8:46 pm
jacs obrien
Well said