Creative Questions: How Do I Get My Name Out There?

We’re tackling those all-important questions asked by our creative community. In this article we explore: how to get your name out there. Three arts professionals share their wisdom to provide you with a series of valuable insights.

Carla Rapoport, Founder & Executive Director, Lumen Art Projects Ltd

The creative world has been shifting significantly over the past few years – well before Covid-19 struck. Get a good degree, a good gallery or job at a design studio and head for the right parties – this just won’t work like it used to.

Today, a good presence on social media, a good story to tell and creating networks is the key to getting known. Keep in mind that the direct-to-consumer model is growing in the creative world, from fine art to graphic design. Competition can sprout up anywhere.

A good, clean website is essential, as are one or two social media accounts, one personal and one professional (if you own your own business). Get to know bloggers by commenting or tweeting to them and attending their events. Join and attend events by networks of people who do what you do. This is so much easier in the post-COVID world of Zoom.

Lumen Art Projects has been running a global competition for 9 years and in that time, we’ve seen dozens of careers transformed by winning an award. There are competitions all over the place, so do the research and be ruthless about entering your work in competitions, residencies and grants that apply to your field. Even if you don’t win, it provides you with a chance to reflect on your own work and build ideas for the next project.

Andrew Lansley, Chairman, Bath Society of Artists

When I first started out, I didn’t have a plan. I knew that the most accessible thing I had to hand was drawing – so that’s what I did! I used drawing as a means of finding a way into my practice, and most importantly, It got me out and about walking and drawing. Besides building up a body of work, I was thrown into contact with the public who would ask me what was I doing.

This was at a time when I knew nothing about social media, however, walking and drawing gave me something which I could Tweet and share across my social platforms. From this came my first branded idea: WalkAndDrawBath.

It’s easy to feel nostalgic about it now, as it gave me an identity and it put me in touch with a lot of people. More importantly, it roused great interest in my work. Since then, my work has developed and changed as every artist’s work must.

Björn Geldhof, Artistic Director, PinchukArtCentre

This is an incredibly challenging time for artists. We should all recognise that the first need is for institutions, collectors and governments alike, to support them and invest in their practice especially now. This is a time where we are in need of systematic critical reflection and new models of thinking. It makes artists essential.

As for the artists, it is time where there is opportunity to take distance. To reflect and consider what will be at stake during the next decade.

At the same time, many curators cannot travel and they need to rely on their research online. Therefore it is essential to engage online. Artists should ensure their works are presented well on existing platforms and that they have a site where researchers can delve into the work in depth. Making both works and written content (interviews and articles) available, will be a good exercise – especially for artists who don’t have any representation.

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