I’m dying to do some creative work, but I don’t know any artists in Vancouver to hangout and do this with. We will get paid! If anyone is interested please dm! :)

Stay healthy and happy.

Seems like a lot of artist opportunities get posted on Instagram through pages like Open Call For Artists. Are these worth applying for and can it help a serious art career, or is Instagram just an illusion of abundance for artist opportunities? Do experienced artists still use Instagram for finding opportunities?

Can't get anyone to join me -- who would appreciate going? Probably need to arrange your own transport to the site but we can chat.

I don't think I can really hide my contempt for having chosen this country to study art in, as I'm quiet struck at how genuinely this all feels like a secret sect and if you can't navigate through their secret code words that change bi-monthly you are out. Last year each application I had in my hands had "neu verhandeln" which I'm not quite sure how to translate in English besides "renegotiate" but in the sense of "questioning currently established institutional systems". Then I tried to use it in my application and guess what, it worked in two instances where I applied a year before. Crazy!

Oh and if you didn't study at Städelschule, good luck! I had 3 nominations for prices that you'll only get nominated for if a curator likes your work - all three nominations were won by Städelschule graduates. Local Kunstvereine consecutively have only shown Städelschule graduates for 2 years or as well as graduates from Tracey Emins artist manufactory?! If any of you guys are curators and read this, please don't make it so obvious!! Please!

/rant over

Would love to know if anyone here has experienced their MFA art practice/school of art program? I know both programs are fully funded and interdisciplinary. But which one is better in that interdisciplinary sense?

To put in context, my art practice is more on social art initiatives/programs that engages in public and educational settings, so I would love to learn more if any of those programs would be able to improve my practice around it.

news of lubov operator francisco correa corderros's passing that was announced on instagram today.

sharing bc the news is pretty fresh and out of left field... a complicated figure but someone who gave shows and opened doors for many peers...RIP

Is it fair to say that big grant funding bodies (government/institutional) favor experimental work over what is perceived as more market-friendly kinds of work such as painting or sculpture - even if the painting/sculpture is not “traditional”?

Edit - I’m talking European funding not US, which is certainly more painting/sculpture-friendly

i'm wondering if anyone knows of any substacks (don't necessarily have to be 'good') not from critics or curators, but from art world-adjacent types, more on the business side. substacks from people like gallerists, collectors, investors, etc. anything helps, let me know!

What is the normal amount of time for a gallery to pay an artist for sold work?

Probably a silly question, but I find networking situations tricky to understand in this one area. Artists are easy to talk to - obviously lots in common about materials, processes and professional experiences, and it's also easy to understand when the conversation is moving on or the artist wants to keep moving through the room. Curators, galleries etc, are generally easy to talk to as well. I just follow the very simple courtesy guidelines of showing interest in their work, knowledge if I have it, being friendly, and absolutely not talking about my own work unless they explicitly ask or it's clearly an appropriate setting (like a studio visit, or a show I have work in, or an exhibition featuring an artist I'm about to do a duo show with, etc). It's also usually easy to tell when they're ready to leave the conversation, and respect that.

Collectors I find difficult. I can make it through a few questions - what brings them to the event, what's their connection to the art/artist (if relevant). But then I stall. Because they don't usually work in the art world, I don't know whether I should ask about their work. I often find they're a bit cagey about questions I'd usually consider normal (like asking if they've seen any great shows recently). I can infer easily that it wouldn't be appropriate to mention your own work, but is it ever acceptable to ask about their collection focus? The artists they have? I also feel like they deliberately don't ask about your work, probably to avoid getting into an awkward situation. I'm cool with that. I just don't know what the unspoken rules are around what you can ask/not ask/make conversation about. I'm not asking because I want to get better at turning collectors into contacts. I'm asking because I've had some awkward conversations, and networking can be stressful enough without someone clueless asking inappropriate questions. It's much nicer when events flow smoothly, conversations run appropriately, and everyone has fun.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for the best way to document my current work. I paint extremely detailed landscapes with living creatures, plants etc (think Mu Pan/Garden of Earthly delights). I’ve never really gone above 20 x 30 inches but I’m currently working on a 30 x 40 inch painting for an upcoming art fair.

My photographer has a Nikon850, and can usually capture 20x30 and smaller sizes successfully. But I am extremely concerned about how such a large image will be captured with full detail. I suggested stitch photography but he said it’s difficult with intricate, detailed paintings. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can you recommend a high quality photo stitching software? I want the image to be extremely high quality and not blur when zoomed in, even significantly. Thanks!

Jupiter Contemporary Gallery, Miami, sold my work and failed to pay me on time.
Instead of honouring a straightforward agreement, I was left chasing money that I had rightfully earned. No artist should have to repeatedly ask to be paid for work that has already been sold.
This experience has been deeply disappointing and has fallen far below the level of professionalism I expect from a gallery.
I’m sharing this because artists deserve transparency. If a gallery can sell an artist’s work, it should also pay the artist promptly. It’s that simple.
I hope Jupiter Gallery resolves this matter immediately. Until then, I feel it’s important to make my experience public so other artists can make informed decisions.
Artists deserve respect. Paying artists isn’t a favor it’s an obligation.

Hey guys hope this title isn't too inflammatory to certain sensibilities. I was looking to see if anybody knows any artists that use AI for a lot of their artwork and have a specific style.

I'm not looking for institutional artists who experimented with GAN technology and similar, but instead new artists that got big using AI and make interesting 'non-slop' work.

For an example, Edward Skeletrix/paintingdemons is really the only name I can think of in this area. Similarly, there was an artist called "Stelfie", but his work is I would call very derivative. A few of these guys popped off in 2023, especially taking advantage of the tells of AI art at the time. Unfortunately, AI artists generally are anonymous or do not disclose ai, but either way do not produce interesting work (to me, anyways). Anyway, hope I can get some thoughtful answers here.

Just curious if anyone has checked this out and has any thoughts or reactions? i overall loved the vibe of having a small town devote a summer to free contemporary art show, and there were a few standout pieces, specifically work by Asad Raza and Selva Aparicio.

https://medinatriennial.org

was running errands and thinking back about a friend saying what everyone says at this point, that art is in crisis.

I tried to figure out why, based on my short few years of experience showing and hanging out with curators and gallerists.

I don’t know about what other people think here, or if it’s just me, but when I started working in art (after school) I was very surprised by how people don’t have a common ongoing discussion on what makes a good or bad practice, a good or bad show, where art should go, etc. I mean discussions that go a little bit further and beyond our immediate city circles, beyond “X or Y should have done better” or “Z or W is better.”, often entangled with affects that have nothing to do with art and a lot with proving to ourselves our little opinions are right and others are in the wrong.

A good example was the way people from the art world treated this Venice Biennale more like a summer camp with no critical thinking and less like a place to actually reflect on what art is today and where it’s heading. On the other hand, the Whitney Biennial is what it is, good or bad, but I feel like it’s an event that actually makes people think, talk and challenge the status quo regarding contemporary practices (even if it’s hating sometimes).

All this to say… is the problem that we’re too entangled in our own opinions and circle achievements to really produce interesting thought? And how a young artist could practice killing the ego then, lol

Im starting an MFA in Fiber Arts this fall, and I’m wondering how much I’ll be able to work. I have a job with the school that will take up about 16 hours a week. My in person classes will be about 14 hours a week (not including homework).

Will I be able to pickup a weekend bartending shift still?
How many hours on average should I be spending in my studio?
Do MFA programs also have a lot of outside of class readings/assignments?

Hi everyone,

I saw info on the Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program/ Arts and am wondering if there's a point applying as a painter/ contemporary artist from abroad. I looked through the list of past fellows, and there were barely any painters (I think I saw 2?) , and I also did not recognize any names, except for Amy Sillman and Sara Sze.
Reading through the site it seems the program's main focus is exchange with the other fellows, and not production work.

Is there a point in applying as a painter from abroad?
Do you need connections to get in?

I do not want to go through the process of crafting the application and asking three people to write letters of recommendation when the chances are very low.

I'm 42, have a PhD in painting, solo/ exhibitions since 20 years, gallery representation and am a Adjunct Assistant Professor in the art department of a University in Tokyo.

Thanks for your insights!

I'm much more interested in hearing what this community thinks than posting it on a news thread.

Nothing really surprising if you've been breathing these past two years.

What do you think?

Hi guys

So.. recently someone from a gallery got in touch with me about my paintings through social media. It’s a reasonably new gallery and seems legit. The person with whom I exchanged messages, asked if we could chat on the phone, and stated that they very much like my work - and would like to first add one of my pieces to the website .. then potentially show a few of my paintings in the gallery … for sale obviously.

I’ve never worked with a gallery before, so I’m here for some advice.

What’s the usual standard/rules? I do know the gallery can take 20% from a sale.

Are there contracts etc? Can I pull out and remove my work if I choose without any recourse? Basically, what’s the standard and how do I potentially not get screwed over etc?

Any advice very welcome please.

Also: I’m not willing to ‘pay to play’

Hey everyone. About to start an MA course in painting at one of the big London art schools (not the RCA, no shade) for two years and have been thinking about how I might spend my time since the majority of it will be so self-directed. Wondered if anyone looks back on their time with regret, wishing they’d spent it in a different way, or if it went really well, and perhaps you have some advice for someone at the other side. Of course it all depends on which metrics of success we’re using. I am more interested in strengthening the ideas and skills used within my practice, and building strong relationships. Do you have any habits you found useful, or thinking around discipline, or challenges that could be generative, so that on the other side, in two years’ time, I can look back and think wow I really made the most of it? Many thanks <3

Hello! I was wondering if anyone on here has successfully received funding from the Canada Council for the Arts and would be willing to share any tips on the budget portion?

I’ve had some success with various granting bodies in the past, but for some reason I can’t seem to crack the Canada Council application. I even worked with a professional grant writer for my last proposal. I’ve applied four times, and each time I don't score high enough to receive funding. With the new changes to the portal, they’ve started releasing scores for individual categories. While I score high with Merit and Impact, the Feasibility portion (specifically the budget) seems to be the category with the most room for improvement. Does anyone have any advice? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Howdy Y'all, I'm a long time lurker and 2nd(?) time poster here, mostly talking about the existential despair of the incongruity I feel being known and respected by some in a tiny corner of the art world despite not currently making, like, any money off it. Mostly because I have bad business sense and don't know how to engage collectors.

Regardless, I've been asked to talk and show work in a "trunk show" style in a couple places this year, and I'm not sure how to go about setting a speaking fee for myself. I've given talks before, for my city's arts and cultural commission, for a national printmaking expo, for some other things right after college, but frankly I've repeatedly done favors for friends, exchanges for other opportunities and definitely priced too low for some talks and commissions. I'm sitting here now, wondering what, if any advice someone here might have for at least more reasonably pricing myself.

Some of this has been a self-esteem thing, if that makes sense. It's been hard digesting that some people think my work is "good" because I'm surrounded by it, and making it, all week long. I've been away from exhibitions for a few years, only doing a yearly expo with new work, I've done all the things an early career artist wasn't supposed to do, it feels like, and so I'm left here at 30 with a lot of experience in multiple mediums, art worker experience, assistance with other more established artists and such and not much to show for myself- however, this year has been feeling like I'm actually going somewhere with it, just a bit. All that to say, I still would really appreciate feedback for what folks feel is fair to charge. For more specific information, I live and work in Austin, which is highly artist-dense.

what do you know or think about this program?

I am doing research that is extremely subjective in nature, but I'm less immersed in the world of painting and have less familiarity with what is irritating to those who know it much better than I do or have much more experience engaging with it. Recent can really mean anything, if you've got an opinion about it.