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.