Marketing Artwork

One of the most challenging things about being a professional artist or craftsperson is the difficulty of marketing yourself, putting your creations out there, connecting with other artists and finding ways to get your work shown in galleries and shows. Most artists and craftspeople are understandably not businesspeople. Marketing and networking can be an alien planet, a foreign language or simply a daunting task that makes an artist cringe. So how does an artist get out of the studio and connect with other artists, gallery owners and the general public?

These days there are many ways to do this, but one of the best is online. The advent of social networking sites on the web has created a whole new avenue for people to connect with each other, and some of the most popular websites in the world at this time are social networking sites. The main problem from the perspective of an aspiring professional artist or craftsperson is that these sites are mainly geared toward general socializing or dating. There are a few more options for musicians, but the visual artist is still challenged to find a way to use the social networking phenomenon effectively to get their work shown and their name recognized.

A social networking site for artists could be an amazing way to harness the usefulness of social networking sites without all the other junk that goes along with them. Painters, sculptors, graphic designers, illustrators and other artists working in visual art mediums would be able to post photos of their work, biographies of their approach, and explanations of techniques. A social networking site geared specifically to artists would enable an artist working in one area to connect and share ideas with an artist working in another part of the world by creating an artist directory. Collaborations between artists would be facilitated and new projects and ideas would be able to come to fruition.

Another benefit of a social networking site that is created specifically for artists and craftspeople would be the ability for gallery owners and show promoters to find artists and connect with them with ease. These types of artist resources are invaluable. Creating shows and openings would be easier and more effective with a social networking site for artists. One of the biggest challenges as a professional artist is getting the work out there. Getting paintings, sculptures and other visual art creations in galleries and at shows is always the challenge and a social networking site for artists would make this difficult task a much easier and more pleasurable endeavor.

Lets face it…artists are generally not business people, and an up and coming artist generally cannot afford to hire a publicist or marketing firm to help them get their creations to the public. This reality requires an artist to take on a difficult role of business manager. Anything that helps make this part of the job easier is certainly to be welcomed with open arms. A creative directory is needed here. Imagine being able to build a profile page that includes a biography, an artist statement, an explanation of techniques, a link to a personal web page and a database of artists right at your fingertips. Include photographs of the work and easy contact info, and a social networking site for artists becomes one of the most valuable resources for any creative person to take advantage of. An online artist directory is something that is much needed and much overdue.