PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with Nando’s to art up yo’ life. How? Well, they’re giving y’all the chance to win a bespoke painting by street artist / Yeezy depicter, Scott Marsh. Keep reading to find out how you can enter / win or head HERE to learn more.
One of the best things about living in the 21st century is that everyone (including those with the cognitive ability of a potato) can not only do what they love, but make cash off it too.
Yes, it’s high time we said sayonara to the dated stereotype of the starving artist and instead give a warm ‘ello to its modern-day replacement.
We asked Chris Loutfy, Gallery Curator at Goodspace and Artist Agent at Ha-ven, for some tips on how you can turn your artistic endeavours into something that’ll put food on the table.
Go get ’em, fam.
HAVE YO’ OWN STYLE
Ha-ven reps emerging and established artists like Adriana Picker, Chris Yee, Georgia Hill, Jess Cochrane, Sha’an D’Anthes (Furry Little Peach), Stellar Leuna and Thomas Jackson. Weirdly enough, what separates them as artists just so happens to also be their commonality: they all have hugely individual styles.
“Keep working on work that is entirely your own, and try not to let the work of those you admire slip into your practice,” says Loufty. “I think the artists who stand apart are those who have a distinct and unique style of working.”
It’s basic economics when you break it down. If you can create summin that’s unique, people only have one choice – they’re going to have to pay your hard-working ass for it.
GIRD YER LOINS
Sure, it’s 110% feasible to make money off whatever artistic project you’re offering, but it ain’t going to happen over night. Don’t go flipping your boss the bird too quickly because, Loufty sensibly reckons that, “As an early career artist, you may have to work another job.”
Additionally, some of you might get well-paying gigs that utilise your go-to medium, but aren’t exactly what you were hoping to be doing.
“There’s opportunities to work within your lane but on commercial projects that aren’t entirely your work, or work that you won’t put your name to, but is still art based.”
So, yeah, the subject matter can often be less sexy than what you were chasing, but at least you’re using your skill set + polishing your craft. Oh, and the money’s usually better on the dark (commercial) side.
“A lot of artists who do really well money-wise have a good commercial side to their work that people might not be aware of.”
While we’re on the topic of ~art~ we thought we’d let you know about a lil’ comp Nando’s is running to win a custom Scott Marsh (graffiti artist / known Yeezy lover) artwork. Watch the video below to see his talent at work.
To enter, pop in to a Nando’s restaurant, upload a pic to Instagram (+ make sure your ‘Gram is on public) of your favourite piece of Nando’s art and tell us in 25 words or less why you vibe it with the hashtag #periperks. Only members can win, so if you’re not already a member you’ll need to join PERi-Perks too.
BEST OF LUCK, FAM.
GET ON THE INTERWEBS
“I think having a website and being present on at least a couple of the main social media platforms is super important,” says Loufty. “Instagram is an obvious one and Facebook has been good to artists I work with.”
Hello, person of the internet. Welcome to 2016. If you don’t want to be living off Mi Goreng for the foreseeable future, do yourself a solid and have:
– A “holy balls that’s beautiful” website with e-commerce functionality.
– A Facebook page that’s constantly sharing hot content (yours or otherwise).
– An Instagram account with its own style that compliments your work.
– An Etsy (+ its bedfellows) account to create even more leads for sales.
Loufty believes, however, that a website is THE most important thing to have (in terms of online interaction) as a budding artist.
“You definitely have to build your own platform on your website, create a mailing list and build an online store… As we’ve seen in the past, social media platforms come and go, so to save losing touch with your fan-base its good to have them engage directly with you through your own website.”
Also, there’s aesthetic limitations on having your operation run solely through social channels. Like, what’s better for your brand: a jaw-dropping site, or an FB page that kinda / sorta / definitely looks like everyone else’s, but with your work? (The answer is website, FYI).
LIVE YOUR MOST SCHOLARLY LIFE
Look, as an artist, you’ve gotta hunt high and low for funding. Your talent bloody well deserves to be supported.
Scholarships are one of the main, go-to sources of cash establish artists use to monetise their craft – and because the globe’s full of fantastic folk who recognise the value of art, there’s a truck-load of them available world-wide.
Some come from typical, exclusively art supporting institutions, and others from places you wouldn’t typically imagine.
The Nando’s African Art Initiative, for instance, supports undiscovered, emerging and established African artists in a pretty massive way. The program locates raw talent and purchases work off them to be displayed in their restaurants, as well as using pieces to spice up things like their menus. The program isn’t a hand-out, it’s a hand-up, and has led to over 15,400 pieces of art being displayed across 24 countries.
As the Nando’s African Art Initiative proves, it’s defs worth hunting around for scholarship-esque programs to support yourself with.
A good place to start looking in Australia, suggests Loufty, is the National Association For The Visual Arts (NAVA).
(NET)WERK IT
Sure, networking might seem like a bit of a no-brainer, but its importance (especially in terms of making coin for artists) is worth stressin’. Get yo’ damn-fine ass down to as many gallery openings, exhibitions and meet-ups as humanly possible. It’ll pay off big time.
“Going to your peers art shows and galleries is a good way to meet people in this world,” says Loufty.
That being said, if you’re work’s good enough, he reckons you’ll probably be right as rain if you can’t make every networking opp going down.
“I honestly think that if your work is strong enough, and authentic enough, you will grow opportunities from that.”
A-bloody-men.
Best of luck chasing those phat stacks, you talented humans. Your hustle will be harder than most, but it sure ain’t impossible to get your Warhol on and live quite a cushy existence.
While we’re having a yarn about art ‘n whatnot, we thought we’d let y’all know about an ace comp our mates at Nando’s have going on atm. Seeing as they’re yugeeee supporters of art, they’re giving PERi-Perks members the chance to win their very own painting by the aforementioned street artist responsible for the iconic Kissing-Kanye mural, Scott Marsh. If you’re keen on having one of his pieces hang in yo’ crib, then pop in to a Nando’s restaurant, upload a pic to Instagram (+ make sure your ‘Gram is on public) of your favourite piece of Nando’s art and tell them in 25 words or less why you vibe it with the hashtag #periperks. You gotta be a PERi-Perks member to win, so sign up HERE if you ain’t already.
You can check out Ha-ven’s website HERE and / or treat yo’self to some constant eye-candy via their ‘Gram @haven_agency.
Photo: Edvard Munch / The Munch Museum, Oslo.
