Let’s help starving artists
Even a few extra dollars is a step above working for free
The experience of working for no profit is inextricable from every artist’s life story. Whether our art forms are visual, linguistic, musical, dramatic, or conceptual, much of our time and effort is invested in products that won’t see a financial return for a long time, if ever.
I wrote previously about the starving artist being a dying breed due to the high cost of living in any Canadian arts hub, including Hamilton, and how we often must choose day jobs over career development to survive in the very places we migrate to for arts career opportunities. There are ways to get paid to make art, but they aren’t easy to come by for those at the “emerging” stage. Applying for government grants requires proof of professional status in one’s career area, which might be demonstrated with previous gallery shows, or published books. This is tricky for an artist who doesn’t already have another source of funding or support to get a foot in the door.
And, of course, simply finding a customer to pay for a straight purchase of a work of art can be like trying to sell an oxygen tank to a fish.
Art is often seen as so irrelevant to daily life that it doesn’t even warrant consideration as something to shell out cash for. This, of course, is bull. The degree to which we are surrounded by and involved in the consumption of art in our day-to-day lives is so extensive that many people are blind to the necessity. To consider a world without art is to imagine living without our five senses — a shuddersome thought.
Of course, there’s another side to the issue. There are certainly people who would pay for art if they could, but it’s just not in their budgets to do so. I, for one, haven’t paid to support every artist whose work I appreciated. I’ve also been the starving artist, after all.
Art Crawl takes place on the second Friday of each month in Hamilton’s unofficial arts neighbourhood along James St N (and a bit of James St S). Many establishments in the area display the work of local artists, in coordination with this cycle.
What if we tipped the artists whose time, dedication, and passion have gone into creating the art that surrounds us every day in Hamilton? What if we installed Artist Appreciation Boxes?
Participating stores, restaurants, and galleries could install locked boxes into which art appreciators could slip money or a note for the artist whose work they’ve enjoyed over coffee or dinner, or during an Art Crawl event. For now, the idea would mostly benefit visual artists, but we could use James Street as an experimental zone, being the focal point of arts in Hamilton, and implement the concept elsewhere in the city if it proves effective. Perhaps we’ll want to expand the project to bars and restaurants that often feature live performances such as music and author readings.
Working to produce art to share publicly is, to my mind, a public service that deserves compensation. Surely not everyone holds the same perspective on supporting the arts as I do, but if this project is carried out, dropping tips will be a voluntary gesture of support.
No artist will be able to base their livelihood on a tip box, but I have to believe that, given an easy way to do so, a significant number of patrons will contribute, at least enough to communicate that the artwork is valued. Even if an artist walks away from a month-long exhibit with a few extra dollars, it’s at least a small step above working for free.
To consider a world without art is to imagine living without our five senses.