[PODCAST] ART PROBLEMS: How to Combat The Rising Cost of Being an Artist
Inside the Museum of Modern Art. Photo credit: Paddy Johnson
In the latest episode of the Art Problems podcast, Paddy Johnson and artist William Powhida discuss the increasing cost of museums, art fairs, application fees, and travel impacting artists and how to beat them.
You'll learn:
Where to stay when visiting New York that won't cost $500 or more a night
How to avoid a large fair entrance fee
And how to lower the cost of museum fees
Listen in, and let me know what you think. If you've got affordability hacks, I want to hear them!
ART PROBLEMS: Every Networking Tip You Need to Be Ready for the Fall Art Season
The start of the fall season is upon us!
And with all the openings and fairs this fall, it doesn't take much time to start feeling overwhelmed.
You might be asking yourself questions like,
"How do I get my art seen when there is so little press to cover the five million shows now open across the country?"
"How do I network at openings and fairs when no one wants to see my work unless I am the exhibiting artist?"
"How do I attend these events without bankrupting myself in the process?"
In this episode of the Art Problems Podcast, I provide answers.
Relevant links:
Hyperallergic art fair discounts:
https://hyperallergic.com/841510/your-a-z-guide-to-new-york-city-september-2023-art-fairs/
Two Coats of Paint:
https://twocoatsofpaint.com/2023/09/nyc-selected-gallery-guide-september-2023.html
Art Haps Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17XFl-TJwmEMvdFPAfwUDVnwSDS6W7tMvdxu94vpmV00/edit#gid=0
Gallery Platform LA
ART PROBLEMS: Your Complete Guggenheim Fellowship Guide
Are you worried the effort of completing a Guggenheim application won't pay off?
Are you worried your work and show history isn't strong enough?
These are the anxieties of ambitious mid-career artists, and I'm here to help.
In this episode of Art Problems I give you the skinny on the Guggenheim Fellowship.
All the tips you won't find in the application instructions, but you need to know—they're in this podcast.
Listen now, and subscribe.
ART PROBLEMS: Are You A Hunter or Trapper?
The hunter and trapper analogy is the best I've heard in a while
Paddy Johnson, Founder of VVrkshop (left), Artist Eric LoPresti (right)
Do you struggle to maintain optimism about your art career? If so, you're not alone. So many mid-artists suffer from burnout that's a near epidemic. But not Eric LoPresti, which is why I speak with him in this episode of Art Problems. He's the most optimistic artist I know, and he's just like you and me, chipping away at his career.
How does he do it?
Some of it may be disposition, but LoPresti also does an excellent job of defining success for himself inside an industry that has few markers to gage it. We discuss his goals for his work, his approach to securing the opportunities he's gained, and a work strategy that identifies artists as either hunters or trappers.
The hunter and trapper analogy is the best I've heard in a while, so I recommend listening to the podcast to learn more!
Relevant link:
http://www.ericlopresti.com/
ART PROBLEMS: The Future of Social Media is Email
Welcome to the future where down is up, up is down, and email isn't just a spam storage service.
In this podcast, I share the news that many artists aren't going to like—email is back, baby! In many ways, it never left us, but in this episode, I discuss the recent media shift to newsletters and why artists should be placing their focus there as well.
If you haven't been building your mailing list, now is the time to start. It can transform your career.
Relevant links:
ART PROBLEMS: The New Gallery Model Every Artist Needs to Know About
John Dennehy, co-founder of Testudo (left), Paddy Johnson, founder of VVrkshop, (right)
A gallery with an incredible curatorial record, a publishing wing, a 90% sales split to the artist AND 5% resale royalties may sound like an artist's fantasy, but it exists! Enter Testudo, a new online-first gallery dedicated to inclusivity, transparency and security.
In this episode of Art Problems, I speak with John Dennehy of Testudo, the gallery he co-founded with his partner Kirby Voigtman in 2021. We discuss the gallery model, its importance to artists and collectors, and the company's goals.
Listen to the podcast and let me know what you think on Instagram or via email. This is a gallery you need to know about.
Relevant links:
https://testudomkt.com/editorial
https://testudomkt.com/editorial/about-testudo
https://testudomkt.com/artist/courtney-puckett
https://www.vvrkshop.art/blog/is-site-specificity-relevant-to-a-generation-of-nomads-not-really
ART PROBLEMS: How Has The Art World Changed?
In this episode, William Powhida joins Paddy Johnson to talk about the changes in the art world, since 2017. Powhida and Johnson focus on Upstate Art Weekend and a recent New Yorker profile of Larry Gagosian to examine these changes, and use Powhida's 2017 show, "After the Contemporary" at the Aldrich Museum of Art, which imagines the art world of the future, as a starting point.
Relevant Links:
The World According to Larry Gagosian. FT.com
How Larry Gagosian Reshaped the Art World. The New Yorker
After the Contemporary -The Aldrich Museum of Art
ART PROBLEMS: How Netvvrk Helped Secure Close to a Million Dollars in Grant Funding For Artists
Okay, this episode of Art Problems is a doozy! In it, I discuss how Netvvrk artists secured nearly a million dollars in grant funding for artists in just two years. If you want to know what Netvvrk artists did to secure awards like the Guggenheim Foundation Grant, The Pollock Krasner, and JMF funding, this episode is where I break it down.
In this podcast, you'll hear what support materials matter more to artists in different parts of the industry and what you need to do to make them work for you.
Free Masterclass: How to Get Seen in the Art World
Live, Tuesday, July 18th, at 7:30 PM EST
ART PROBLEMS: Demolishing The Day Job Stigma for Artists
Image: Macon Reed (left), Catherine Haggarty (Right)
Does having a day job make you feel a little self-conscious about the status of your art career? If so, you're not alone.
Prompted by a recent discussion on the VVrkshop Instagram, Paddy speaks with Catherine Haggarty, Founder of The Canopy Program, co-founder of NYC Crit Club, and an artist and Macon Reed, artist, and Netvvrk member about the day job stigma for artists.
We dive into subjects like:
How class and privilege support the expectation that artists work full-time in the studio, starting in art school
How acknowledging that you didn't come from privilege, can feel like you're breaking an unspoken set of rules.
The importance of defining success for yourself rather than letting an industry set those terms for you.
Plus, Catherine coins the term "Art Math" for us and breaks down her formulas.
Relevant links:
ART PROBLEMS: Fairs For the Rich
Installation view at Frieze New York, hosted by The Shed - lead image
In this episode of Art Problems, artist and critic William Powhida joins Paddy Johnson to discuss the context surrounding an expanded art fair cycle in New York. What once lasted a week now spans two, which, in this year's depressed market, amounted to a much longer timeline for dealers to lose money.
We discuss Frieze, NADA, Future Fair, and Spring Break, and why the growing exclusiveness of the fairs hurts art.
Relevant links:
Hat tip to Michael Anthony Farley and Whitney Kimball for their summary of Spring Break in BMore Art.
https://bmoreart.com/2023/05/cigarettes-ceramics-and-curatorial-chaos-spring-breaks-secret-show.html
ART PROBLEMS: How Does the Supreme Court Warhol Foundation Ruling Affect Artists?
In this episode of Art Problems, Paddy speaks with Luke Blackadar lawyer, and Deputy Director of the Arts and Business Council, about the Supreme Court's Ruling against the Warhol Foundation in AWF vs Goldsmith. Amongst the areas of possible impact, we discuss appropriation artists who use screen printing, A.I. renderings using artist work, and copyright trolls.
Listen up. This one's a great one.
ART PROBLEMS: Where 80 Percent of Your Opportunities Come From — And It's Not What You Think.
Photo: E Brady Robinson
We all talk a lot about artist statements, instagram, going to openings and getting studio visits as a means of securing shows, residencies and grants.
The unspoken truth, though, is that if nobody wants to look at your art, the best artist statement in the world won't make a difference to your career.
So, the art world actually is about the art.
Here's the thing, though. Making better work requires research and feedback, all actions you need to take to develop all your support materials. A holistic approach to your practice will help you realize your full artistic potential.
In this episode, we dive into what a holistic practice looks like and why goal setting is key to your success.
Listen to the podcast and let me know what you think!
ART PROBLEMS: How to Get Shows and Sales from Instagram
Photo Credits: E Brady Robinson
I’m back with another podcast episode for Day 2 of my artist support material series.
If you missed the announcement, for the rest of the week I'm releasing a podcast every day focused on the most important support materials you need to have to get shows and how to hone them.
Let's be real, these materials can make the difference between an exhibition and no exhibition, and I'm here to make sure you can get those opportunities in this podcast. That's why I'm talking about Instagram on this podcast.
I'm also here to talk about the problems of Instagram and how to navigate them because we are in a social media recession.
So, understanding that if you're having a tough time on Instagram you're not alone and that you can make small changes to what you do without spending all day on the platform and get the same results will be major for you.
I'm going to walk you through the individual parts of your Instagram account that I review in our annual member assessments and exactly what I look for, so you can make these gains.
I aim for you to walk away from this episode with at least one actionable tip you can implement on your Instagram today.
So, are you ready to take action? Listen here.
ART PROBLEMS: The Mistakes That Keep Curators and Dealers From Contacting You
I hope you're ready for something new, because I've put together my first ever podcast series and it's been a long time coming.
Starting today, I'm releasing a podcast every day for the rest of the week on which support materials can get you opportunities and the exact process we use inside Netvvrk to create member assessments that allow you to hone those materials.
In today's episode, I talk about the importance of your website, how the most common mistakes I see will keep curators and dealers from contacting you, and the simple steps you need to take to avoid those mistakes.
Nothing I will discuss requires special skills or knowledge.
And everything I discuss is part of the personalized assessment process we follow on Netvvrk, that gives our annual members specific feedback on the areas of their practice that will get them connections and show opportunities the quickest.
So, are you ready? Let's do this.
Listen to the podcast here
10 Tips for Writing Artist Statements On PepTalks for Artists Podcast
I discuss my 10 tips for writing an artist statement that CRUSHES with my good friend Amy Talluto.
Today on Peptalks for Artists, I discuss my 10 tips for writing an artist statement that CRUSHES with my good friend Amy Talluto.
These aren't just your standard rules of thumb like "avoid jargon", "write sentences that makes sense" (although there's nothing wrong with that). These are the tips I've established after looking at thousands of artist statements and seeing the same types of mistakes repeatedly. And they're not all what you'd expect.
They're easy to follow.
They will help you avoid the common mistakes.
And they're entirely actionable.
So have a listen, and even a laugh. Because this episode is pretty funny too!
Let me know what you think on Instagram!
Art Problems: How to Avoid the Scams and Pay-to-Play “Opportunities” Targeting Artists
Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893
Navigating all the scams and pay-to-play schemes targeting artists is not easy.
They’re everywhere. And if you’re not careful, you can get sucked into something that seems fine on the surface.
That’s why I established a taxonomy for these schemes and discussed exactly how to identify them in any circumstance on the latest episode of Art Problems.
The taxonomy falls into five main categories:
Instagram and Twitter scams. (someone pretending to be you or stealing your account.)
Email scams. (Someone pretending to be meta. Someone pretending to be a buyer.)
Pay-to-play scams (Someone asking you to pay for real estate in exchange for “visibility” they have no incentive to secure.)
Application fee scams (lottery schemes in which the payment for the application fee supports a prize pot, and a jury is used to whitewash the lottery structure.)
Publication and copyright scams (Payment for listings and books that may not have any financial return, and companies that send copyright infringement notices for images you’ve posted online)
Last year, I almost got scammed by one of these scammers and by a scheme I had already seen many times!!! This year, I’ve started tracking them.
I don’t want you to lose your social media accounts or your money!
So, have a listen, and let me know what you think on Instagram, email, or the social media platform of your choice.
Art Problems: How to Get a Public Art Commission - Extended Version
A rendering of Thomas Evan's public art commission for the Denver Air Port. Image credit: Michael Sparendeo of Open Arcana
In this episode, Paddy builds on her latest piece in Hyperallergic, "How to Get A Public Art Commission," by diving into the details.
In this tactical podcast, you'll learn everything you need to know about how to get public art commissions, from what language to avoid to where to find calls that don't require pre-existing experience.
Read the full article here.
5 Ways to Give Up Networking Forever
Five ways artists can give up networking.
In this episode, I talk about five ways artists can give up networking while building a larger network than ever.
Sound too good to be true? It probably is, but you'll never know unless you tune in.
The Impact of Self-Acceptance on the Mid-Career Artist
Can you grow out of self-doubt? In this episode of Art Problems, I talk with Netvvrk member Julie Peppito about how she navigates the issue.
Julie Peppito’s Bird Condo at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Image courtesy of the artist.
Can you grow out of self-doubt?
In this episode of Art Problems, I talk with Netvvrk member Julie Peppito about the trappings of childhood precociousness and how her negative art school experiences impacted her sense of self-worth and even her participation in the art world.
And we talk about how she navigated out of negative experiences into a space of greater self-acceptance and artistic fulfillment.
You’ll want to hear Julie’s story. She’s like a lot of us – figuring it out but with a refreshing level of transparency.
Julie Peppito Biography
Julie Peppito (b.1970, Tulsa, OK) combines multiple materials to create creature-like sculptures, layered tapestries, installations, collages and playground art. The hybrid forms are about connection, waste and escapism.
Peppito holds an MFA with a concentration in sculpture from Alfred University in Alfred, NY (2004), and she received her BFA from The Cooper Union in New York, NY (1992). Peppito’s work has been the subject of 10 solo exhibitions. She has exhibited at many New York non-profit and commercial galleries including: Kentler International Drawing Space, curated by Charlotta Kotik, The Long Island Children’s Museum, Heskin Contemporary, Art in General, PS122, Momenta, and Ethan Cohen Gallery, among others. Peppito received a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Sculpture (2001). You can see her playground art at J.J. Byrne Playground (completed 2012) and James Forten Playground (completed 2007), both in Brooklyn, NY.
In 2022, Peppito created a “bird condo” that was on display at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens as part of the exhibit “For the Birds”. Peppito creates, teaches art and lives in Brooklyn, NY with her partner Gideon Kendall and their son.
What All the Most Visible Artists Are Doing
Felix Gonzales Torres at David Zwirner Gallery, NY
What All the Most Visible Artists Are Doing
I spent the last two months reviewing artist work, CV, Instagram, and websites and found that the most visible artists do the same four things.
On this episode of Art Problems, distill what I learned from doing over 250 artist assessments into these four actions you can take too.
And if you like what you hear here, you’re really going to love my free masterclass How to Get Seen in the Art World, because I do an even deeper dive into how you can build towards bigger and better venues and opportunities.
And if you're saying, "but Paddy, I've already seen your free masterclass," this one is an update you won't want to miss because it includes all the material I've learned over the last year.
You'll hear all of it first! Sign up link in the podcast notes.