Convincing artists of the benefits of reaching out and tapping into the collective energy found among other artists can be challenging.
“In general, artists prefer to be alone,” says Alyson B. Stanfield, art marketing consultant and founder of Art Biz Connection. “They can be resistant to getting out of their studios, meeting other artists and people in general. Yet those who do these things have an easier time selling their work.”
To help artists grow beyond that resistance Stanfield created a structured nine-meeting program in which artists design their own marketing plans in a safe, group-centered environment. There is a real bonus in developing a bond with an empathetic support group capable of providing advice, motivation and pushing boundaries of creative thought. Stanfield likens the groups to the ‘salons’ of the late 19th and early 20th centuries which went on to nourish influential visual
and literary artists like Ernest Hemingway, F.Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
Vancouver’s latest addition to Stanfield’s fold is “10 + 1 Arts Collective”. Our group of 11 emerging artists has been meeting bi-weekly since February and we have organized a group showing of our respective works to be exhibited in June.
This blog will serve as a way to contact the group, a showcase for our individual work and source for news and events. Welcome!
