Feed a Starving Artist: School them in Blockchain
Gif from The Artist's Dilemma (1901)
So is blockchain the advent of Web 4.0? Is it a new renaissance as some would like to believe? Can upvotes to artists and creative types actually support their lifestyle and craft? Or is this just a jump from crowdsourced kickstarter campaigns or Patreon pages to the newest shiny platform?
A simple search on Steemit for "artist" yields copious results of posts that act as pseudo portfolios for artists around the web. Some are quite handy like this post from @lilyraabe listing 5 grants that fund individual artists while others lead you deeper down the rabbit hole.
As trite as it is ... making art is hard. Passion and perseverance often do not lead to pay. So artists find side-hustles to support themselves so they can pursue their creative impulses. The lucky few who can earn a living through their art must then face the challenge of forcing creativity through deadlines, feedback changes and revisions (but that's a different post).
Currently the United States government is slashing support for the arts and public media, I can't help but wonder if our culture even values art making any more. Is a government's disbursement of funds an accurate reflection of a society? Or is making art the struggle of individuals, and not the responsibility of a nation?
Shout out to street artist Joe Boruchow
As an artist, I wish I could just draw all day and not worry about the business of art. Most art schools would have us believe this fantasy too since they do a piss-pour job of training students on how to actually earn a living as an artist. Instead, we must search for galleries, non-profits, and or foundations that have a mission that our work "fits" into. We draft artists statements in the hope that someone jives with our vision and our identity so that we can catch our big break: an exhibition (where we might sell a piece and give 30-50% away on commission), a small grant to do research for our next big idea, or a week-long residency where we can "get away to focus" on our work. How is any of this sustainable as a career for an artist to live and have a family?
Artists need general operating budgets so they can do their work – Ask the tough questions, inspire conversations, and make our world a tiny bit more beautiful. Sadly, most foundations do not fund operations for 501 c3 non-profit organizations, let alone individual artists. But, maybe the idealist vision of Steemit as an engine for artists isn't just a pipedream?
Perhaps, all we need is a geek squad (or incubator) to train artists on how to leverage Steemit? Maybe, there's an innovative non-profit out there whose mission is to support and assist artists? Maybe, they just need to launch a blockchain literacy program that can empower their constituents to go out there and mine new currencies while they make more art?
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How else can Steemit and or other blockchain platforms help artists support themselves while they do their thing? Share your comments below!
100% of the SBD rewards from this #explore1918 post will support the Philadelphia History Initiative @phillyhistory. This crypto-experiment conducted by graduate courses at Temple University's Center for Public History and MLA Program, is exploring history and empowering education. Click here to learn more.
I think Steemit has great potential for artists. The value of Steem is backed by advertising and advertisers like Steemit because of the amazing content created by all different types of artists. The elimination of a middleman is a giant win for both the artists and the community at large.
One concern I do have is that only the popular art or big name artists will get rewarded and as a result, many new and experimental artists will not get the funding they deserve. What do you think can be done to encourage larger artists to support the smaller ones?
Thanks for your question. It's similar to some of my concerns about Steemit requiring whales in order for new users (minnows) to get over the barrier of entry. I think that the only way that a "small" artist gets "big" is through reaching out to other artists and people who have shared interests. Say "Hi, your work is great and you might like mine too"... and then over time....more people know about you and you grow to "medium" and so forth. Speaking from experience this can be intimidating, but you really have nothing to lose.
I would love to upvote young and emerging artists, but if I don't know they are out there it's hard to give them props.
Plus currently, Steemit is not very user friendly in terms of styling a portfolio so I haven't been swayed about its utility for artists yet unless they have a friend who can help them with markdown.
I agree. I think a big part for new users is to learn and understand what they can do to promote their work. It can be a little bit of a grind but some time and persistence goes a long way.
In terms of styling portfolio's, what platforms are the best examples? I think if there's enough demand for such an application, someone will build it for steemit.
Interesting framing of the possibilities! So your suggestion is that @sndbox or ??? take on an incubator role for the Philly cultural ecosystem. That they establish
of their creative product. That is way more change-oriented than converting crypto to USD and applying it (yawn!) to old problems.
It's only a great idea IF there's a recipient ready, willing and able. Maybe they are out there. Any ideas as to how to find them? Short of that, what's possible to move our initiative in that general direction?
I can think of at least five different artists who would consider recreating their portfolios on a platform that will potentially make them money. With an org like the Painted Bride, InLiquid or The Plastic Club we will not have a problem finding participants. But we need to pay them for their time, the incubator and the space where they will meet and food. Stay tuned my LOI will get into the details.