How to make and market art in an economic slowdown
Are you concerned about the impact of the economy on artists and selling art? What will a recession mean for artists? Find out about making and marketing art in an economic slowdown.
Topics include:
- rethinking your approach to art
- being business-like
- different ways of marketing art
- what to cut and where to invest
- reducing and avoiding risks
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- Making A Mark - posts for artists working in a difficult economy
- Making A Mark Guides - The Art Economy
- Artbusiness.com - Alan Bamberger comments on art and the economy
- Articles about the art economy
- The Art Business - more information from makingamark
- Artists blogging about the slowdown
- Art Supplies and Equipment - more information from makingamark
- The Art Business - Blogs of Note
- Art Business Bloggers blogging about art and the economy
- Making A Mark
- Comments and Feedback
- Who is makingamark?
- . and finally......
Making A Mark - posts for artists working in a difficult economy
- Making a Mark: What should artists do about marketing their art in a recession?
- January 2008: How does the economy affect art?
What are the possible strategies for artists in a recession?
What are the options for marketing art? - Making a Mark: What should artists do about marketing their art in a recession? - Part Two
- April 2008: An analysis of how the marketplace is changing and ideas for responses
- Making a Mark: The art of economising - on art materials
- Every morning I glance at the headlines in the paper that I read online. This morning's headline jumped off the screen at me - Economy: 80% fear we are heading for recession - ICM poll. As a result 60% are trying to spend less, with clothes and fuel costs heading the list of cutbacks.
But there was no mention of art materials..........
What does spending less mean for artists? - Making a Mark: Fine artists in decline in the USA?
- Provides a summary of basic facts about fine artists - which tends to suggest that fine art is a precarious career.
The total of fine artists, art directors and animators is completely bucking the overall trend of growth and has been in overall and significant decline since 1990. - Making a Mark: Taking action after the bubble has burst
- September 2008: Introduction to a series of posts about how to manage risk and/or recover from a truly dire situation.
- Making a Mark: Managing Business Risks as an Artist
- Do you know what is the biggest business risk you're exposed to?
Have you ever thought about how likely it is to happen - or indeed what sort of impact it would have if it did?
Do you have any plans in place to address that risk - and any other major risks that you face?
Read this if you want to learn more about how to identify, assess and address risk - Making a Mark: 10 good habits for good times or bad
- These are good habits for any time - good times or bad - but they're particularly relevant when the financial picture looks bleak and you need to know you're making the very best use of your time and resources.
- Making a Mark: Government seizes control of Singer & Friedlander
- This post is about the impact of the banking crisis and the looming recession on the sponsorship of art competitions and prizes.
- Making a Mark: Bright spots in the gloom and doom
- I thought it was about time to start pointing out some of the things we can be cheerful about as artists. So here's my list of bright spots. I'm really sorry they're not all going to apply to everybody but there are very definitely some bright spots in all this gloom and doom
Making A Mark Guides - The Art Economy
- MAKING A MARK A Making A Mark Guide - Managing Business Risks
- Managing Business Risks describes an approach which can be used by artists to identify, assess and address business risks
IMPORTANT - DISCLAIMER Please note that although I have professional experience I am not formally engaged in offering professional advice and therefore I take no responsibility for and have no liability in relation to your reliance on the information here. Most of the people writing on the internet are sharing their experiences and offering their opinions. It's up to you to make sure your research is thorough enough for your purposes. If you need to secure professional advice then I suggest you contact and contract with an appropriate professional.
Artbusiness.com - Alan Bamberger comments on art and the economy
- Articles for Artists - Resources to Present, Promote, Market Your Art
- Highly recommended
ARTICLES FOR ARTISTS RESOURCES TO PRESENT, PROMOTE, MARKET YOUR ART
A list of Alan's hugely informative and helpful articles about the business of being an artist
He tells it like it is! - How to Sell Artwork in a Weak Economy
- SELLING ARTWORK IN A WEAK ECONOMY - A BASIC HOW-TO
confronting adversity is a fact of life, especially for artists, and any artist who expects to be successful must continually adjust to prevailing conditions in order to survive. So let's assess the situation and explore how certain adjustments might play out to the upside at this point in time. First, we'll talk money, and then add a few words about expanding markets - Art Market Trends - Art in a Weak Economy
- ART MARKET TRENDS - ART IN A WEAK ECONOMY (November 2007)
Note to readers: The following article examines the probable impact of recent economic and financial events on the overall art economy and art market trends, and on the speculative sector of the art trade in particular, a sector which has been, to resurrect the dotcom homily of Alan Greenspan, "irrationally exhuberant" over the past several years. On a broader level, it explains how the art economy works and examines the risks and misconceptions inherent in art speculation. However, no matter who you are or what kind of art you create (or collect), economic uncertainty makes buying and selling art more challenging. (I promise you artists an article within the next several months on how to surmount some of those challenges.) And now back to an analysis of current art market trends... - Contemporary Art Market Bubble 2005-6
- HEY KIDS-- IT'S BUBBLE TIME!!
This article pre-dates the mortgage meltdown. It once was art market news; now it's art business history...
Articles about the art economy
- The Independent - Do we need art galleries any more?
- Do we need art galleries anymore?
As art becomes the only viable option for investors, Annie Deakin argues whether the internet is a help or a hindrance to the art market.
The Art Business - more information from makingamark
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Copyright and Orphan Artworks - Resources for Artists
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Visual artists need to know how to protect their images - both on the the internet and in the wider marketplace where artists have to deal with the fact that not all countries operate copyright law in exactly the same way. At the same time they need...
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The Art Business - Resources for Visual Artists
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Do you want to know more about the business side of being an artist? Or maybe you're looking for a particular piece of business information for artists? Whether you are an emerging or experienced artist, this site provides you with a link to informa...
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Blogging for Artists - Resources for Artists
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Are you an artist and want a blog? Or maybe an artist who wants to work on improving your blog? If you are then read on - you'll find links on this site to sources of advice, information, and all other matters which are relevant to blogging for arti...
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Packaging, posting and shipping art - Resources for Artists
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How do you pack art? How do you post art? What about international deliveries? What about customs? How do you get it back again? This site doesn't pretend to have the answers to all the very many questions people have about getting art from artist to...
Artists blogging about the slowdown
- Ancient Artist: Developing an art career after 50: Time for an Equity Stake in Yourself
- Sometimes it feels as if everything has derailed. Our personal hopes and dreams are eclipsed by larger dangers and catastrophes. Worries pop up from beneath our feet and the path we charted is now so steep it's impossible to move forward. For the creative personality, these fears can stop us dead in our tracks. But it doesn't have to be this way.
We can take out an Equity Stake in ourselves.
Why not take advantage in the economic slowdown to slow down our own mad dash forward? - The Extraordinary Pencil: Recession-Proof Marketing Strategies
- The economists say that during a recession business slow to a slow crawl. You don't have to get caught up in this if you're willing to explore new venues and make some marketing changes.
- Spirit River Studio: Self-Marketing as an Artist
- This week as I read an article about self-marketing from a corporate perspective, I realized that these marketing strategies could easily apply to the self-marketing of an artist.
Art Supplies and Equipment - more information from makingamark
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Art Equipment - Resources for Artists
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This site is for visual artists. It provides links to: items of art equipment and tools recommended ways of putting together toolkits and recommendations for equipment for working in the studio or plein air Additional information about speci...
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Art Supplies in the USA - Resources for Artists
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Do you have problems finding art shops or art suppliers or just anywhere that has got that illusive item that you want. Do you forget who stocks which range? This site provides details about where to find fine art materials supplies in and around th...
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Art Supplies in the UK - Resources for Artists
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Do you have problems finding art shops or art suppliers or just anywhere that has got that illusive item that you want. Do you forget who stocks which range? This site provides details about where to find fine art materials supplies in and around the...
The Art Business - Blogs of Note
- Articles for Artists - Resources to Present, Promote, Market Your Art
- Artbusiness.com - Highly recommended
ARTICLES FOR ARTISTS RESOURCES TO PRESENT, PROMOTE, MARKET YOUR ART
A list of Alan Bamberger's hugely informative and helpful articles about the business of being an artist
He tells it like it is! - Art Biz Blog
- Art business blog for marketing, promotions, and general business help for artists. From Alyson B. Stanfield.
- Art Print Issues
- Barney Davey's News and Views on the Business of Fine Art Prints and Giclees. Practical information visual artists can use to learn how to sell art prints and giclees.
- EmptyEasel.com: Oil Painting Tips, Selling Art Online, Artist Reviews and more
- Review of sites for selling your art online and helpful tips for selling art on the internet.
- FineArtViews Blog by Clint Watson
- FineArtViews Blog by Clint Watson
Art Business Bloggers blogging about art and the economy
- Art Print Issues: Art Is What You Make It
- Now, if you are not so depressed about the undoing of our national financial underpinnings, you might be wondering how you can sell some art.
Making A Mark
Katherine Tyrrell's blogging portfolio about: - Making a mark creating drawings with pastels, pencils and pen and ink - Art projects - Notable Artists - Developing art careers - Art blogs and blogging about art - Reviews of art books and exhibitions - Inf
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Bob Ragland wrote
Making a living as an artist in a bad economy ain't rocket science. One has to do the extra stuff to survive. I learned the business part of being an artist early, I repeat early. See the barn, paint the barn, sell the barn. Do this again and again. The artwork is a product and one has the option of selling that product. Purity leads to the poor house. There are a lot of artists who bank regularly. Market harder when the economy is tough. Do some alternative guerilla marketing stuff. I paid my house off ten years ago this year, so I could withstand not having sales for a while. In fact I can cherry pick the people I want to have my work. I sell my own work. I am a non starving artist by my own effort. See www.freewebs.com/bobragland
http://bobraglandraglandnonstarvingartist.blogspot.com
I am not the best artist, I just give my art life the best effort.
Marketing matters!!!!!!
Bob Ragland
Who is makingamark?
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Who is Making A Mark?
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I'm an artist with a very wide range of interests who enjoys learning about art, making art and sharing information about art. I've combined all my information sites with sections of my other websites and blogs to highlight my main interests and acti...

