There’s approximately 40,000 art students starting college to become an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) each year. Around the 1980’s that figure was about 20,000. If we take an average of 30,000 artists graduating every year for the last 50 years, we would have had 1.5 million productive artists, but we don’t.
Instead, there’s many excuses as to why that many artists can’t be in the fields of The Arts and Performing Arts. The top excuses I’ve heard for decades are “there aren’t enough jobs in The Arts” and, sadly enough, “the artists just aren’t good enough.” I’ve also heard that “if an artist can’t take criticism, then he shouldn’t be an artist.”
You can read about my viewpoint about criticism and also about rejection. Help 2 Succeed has had great success with validating the rightness – in doing so, artists have improved to professional levels and do achieve their dreams to make a living with their artistic creations. So, right there two of the above misconceptions about artists making a living with their art are shot right out of the water. It’s just not true.
Envisioning how things can be and how improvements can be made is what artists do. If we had 1.5 million artists actively out in our current society, envisioning it’s survival, prosperity and future, we would have a very beautiful and quite interesting place to live.
In my researches, I did find some good suggestions today to answer the question: “Why Don’t Art Schools Teach You How To Market Art?”
The best answer is to FIND SOMEONE that has answers. If you’re in college, start asking professors and other faculty. Or better yet, no matter if you’re in college or not, FIND SOMEONE anywhere that has answers.
In the days of old to current times, mentors have been sought out to learn from. Creative folks in any field of The Arts would seek out a master to apprentice with. Mentors can be in any arena: business, marketing, social media, The Arts, etc.
Search the internet to find successful artists in your area(s) of expertise. A good rule is to reach for more professionalism in order to raise your own game, so look for creative people that are doing better work and better marketing than you are.
Use the tools here at Help 2 Succeed. Listen to the Radio Shows to get tips and tricks from successful artists. Utilize the mentoring and Boost2Success programs. Or, go to other websites, artists, mentors – the point is, FIND SOMEONE. Do it now.
You, creating and making a living as an artist, is something that is very needed. You can look around our current society and envision changes that could be made to improve it. Your art alone can uplift it. Be all that you can be. Challenge yourself to reach greater heights. FIND SOMEONE to help you. Do it now.
To Your Success,
ILIA