While the world is full of creative people, in 2001, there were only about 2.5 million people in the United States that identified as artists. The United States has a population of about 318 million, so when you really look at the numbers, artists make up a very small percentage of the population. Perhaps creativity is something that many people have inside of them, but it’s something that many have difficulty unlocking…
In any case, out of the 2 million people in 2001 that identified as artists, only 84% were actually employed as artists. The numbers 15 years later are probably lower, as funding for arts and arts education has been cut dramatically in schools. People don’t seem to see the value in art much nowadays, which is a complete shame.
If you’re an artist type who is looking for ways to make art your business, here are 3 tips for doing that. With a little determination and research, you could be doing something creative and artistic and making money doing it at the same time:
Be An Art Auctioneer
If you adore everything about art and you love traveling, meeting new people, and talking a lot, you should consider becoming an art auctioneer. If you sign on with Park West Gallery, you could be sailing around the world on cruise lines, meeting new people every single day, talking about all things art and creativity, and you’d be challenged to learn something new every day. It’s a great place to be if you love adventure and art, but you don’t want to be a starving artist type.
Develop Your Art into A Recognizable Brand
Successful artists are successful because they’ve developed a recognizable name for themselves. They pushed and pushed to get work done, they networked, they worked on their skills, and people come and buy their art because they both like it and they feel a connection with the artist. If you want to make your art your business, you have work to make a name for yourself. Know marketing, make yourself distinct…build your brand and it will happen for you over time.
Give Yourself Goals
There are dreams, which are goals in life that aren’t really set in a time frame, and there are goals to work towards those dreams. Don’t be the person who dreams and dreams and never acts out on a plan to realize those dreams. If you want to make your art your business, set up a step by step plan for getting where you want to be. It might take some hard pressed thought, but you’ll feel much better about your life if you can check off goal by goal and watch yourself getting closer to that long-term dream.