Coronavirus & Art #2: Thoughts and recommendations on the implications of a pandemic
My updated thoughts about the implications of the CO-VID 19 (coronavirus) PANDEMIC for art, artists, art organisations (galleries / societies / schools etc), art exhibitions and private views, art fairs and art schools in the short and longer term.

• TIP: This is not over until it's over. I'll be writing much more on this topic. This is because after the coronavirus crisis comes the economic crisis of a cast iron certain recession caused by a drop in economic activity and an awful lot of businesses being able to start up again and hence a rise in unemployment. Demand for art will drop.

NOTE: This has been by far the most popular of the posts by far to date

​COVID-19 and Art #6: Financial support for self-employed artists and freelancers
Announcements about the type of support available to self-employed artists and others with a portfolio of income streams - both employment income and self-employed income. 

• ​TIP: Only those whose earnings are predominantly from self-employment will be eligible for help.

The Best Art Business Books for Artists is the new home for information from another site I developed with the same name. It's a work in progress at present but now has enough content to make it worth highlighting and my other site is about to be closed down.

Initial categories cover:

• Short Art Business Guides - for a quick read
• Starting Out - for those who aspire to an art career
• How to have a career and make money as an artist
• How to sell your art 
• Understanding Art Galleries
• Copyright
• Art in Transit
• The Artists' Resale Right
• Art Legacy Planning

Interestingly most of the books on the new page are EITHER new OR new editions of books that have been around for a while.

So much has changed in the past few years. In particular the emphasis on business online is now much more important. 

I'm finding that I really need to look long and hard at content as I do the transfer - and I'm needing to buy new editions of books I've loved in the past.

Plus I know than a few authors have recognised the need to update and have new editions in the pipeline.

​For example, a couple of days ago I was contacted by Caroll Michels - author of How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist (a book I really rate!) - about the NEW edition of her book which is published later this month. This has got a LOT of new content to reflect the changes in the workings of the art market and the new challenges for all artists - even established ones. For example:

• the use of social media and website development as marketing and publicity tools – what works and what doesn’t work;
• the confusions between the “art-buying public” and the “consumer market”;
• neighbourhood gentrification and the growing challenges of securing a reasonably priced work/live space; and
• the pros and cons of the new business models for artist career development.

So I hope you'll join me in my investigation of what's currently on offer and the best books about the art business for artists which offer both great content and good value for money!

There's a lot more to come and this page will be continuously updated over the next few months - and years!

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I'm also interested to hear about what new art business books you've been buying and getting value from.

If you'd like to share your recommendations with fellow artists just leave a comment on this blog post - or contact me and give me a recommendation.

On the 25th May 2018 - in less than 60 days - The General Data Protection Regulation comes into effect. It affects everyone and every organisation having data transactions with individuals who live/work in the European Union.

This blog post is about resources I've been trying to pull together about GDPR - for artists and art organisations - societies, charities, schools, galleries etc.

This means it INCLUDES:

• ART SUPPLIERS - all those artists / art organisations - wherever they are located - aiming to market art and art-related services to people located in the EU
• SUPPLIES FOR ARTISTS - all those organisations - wherever they are located - aiming to market their goods and services (eg art materials, websites) to artists and art organisations located in the EU.

NEW PAGE Today I'm launching my new resource page about General Data Protection Regulation ​for Artists and Art Organisations. - which is very much a work in progress.  You can find it in the Office Practices section of the website. The art organisations include: art societies, art galleries, art dealers and art schools.

Previously, I've written two long blog posts on Making A Mark: 

• Got the GDPR Jitters? 10 things you need to know as an artist / art society / art gallery
• Is your art organisation or business ready for GDPR - the replacement of the Data Protection Act? ​

The NEW PAGE includes links to useful resources not included in the blog post and builds upon what I've previously written. I'm still looking and still finding new resources which might be helpful - but you may have to do a lot of reading.

RECOMMENDATION: Besides the links to the publications and resources produced by the Information Commission (first section), the section I'd suggest people take a look at is that relating to Issues for Art Organisations. It includes a very useful document written by The Arts Society providing guidance to its branch societies.

I'm also hoping to develop a section for "Artists as Sole Traders".

The one thing I have discovered is that more and more information is being published the closer we get to 25th May - and it's likely that a lot more will emerge as issues are tested in the courts thereafter.

​Bottom line - this is a live issue for anybody who is creating transactions involving the personal data of anybody living in the EU.

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I read a post by Barney Davey on Facebook yesterday which I thought highlighted some really  key issues about selling art that would:

• resonate with quite a few artists who working hard at trying to sell their art. 
• provide a great briefing for those starting out in terms of "need to know" factors.

So I asked Barney whether I could reproduce it on this blog and he said 'Yes' (for which many thanks) - so here is it. Except I added in some bold which you can't do on Facebook to make it a slightly easier read!

How to sell your art in 2018 and beyond? Use galleries or sell directly to patrons? Here are my thoughts.

Galleries come and go. They don't share buyer info. Nothing comes between the relationship of patrons who buy directly from the artist. It might be easier at first to market to galleries, But, doing the work to build direct patronage is the best long-term solution. Own as much of your distribution as possible. Then you are in the cat bird's seat in choosing who and where you let your art get sold by third parties, including galleries. There were never enough galleries to go around in the best of times for galleries. Now, there are fewer with less clout than ever. I don't see a future without galleries. I see a future where smart marketing artists and galleries collaborate. An artist with a list and social media tribe of their own is a much hotter prospect for forward-thinking galleries than one with no following.

Just 50-100 patrons who buy directly from the artist might purchase up to 250 - 500 originals over the course of a career. A devoted direct buying collector base is the most valuable business asset an artist can possess. Those relationships can't be taken away on a whim with no remorse or recourse like deals with a gallery, licensor, publisher, or agent can. When artists market one-to-one with direct mail or email, they have no competition as with a gallery, publisher or licensor for their work. They own the relationship and the pipeline.

REFERENCE:

• You can find Barney Davey and his books and courses on Art Marketing News and on his Facebook Page
• Read about my take on art galleries on A Guide to Art Dealers and Art Galleries
• This is my guide to Open Studios
• This is the website of Henry Hudson who makes paintings out of plasticine (see above image) - hence why my studio visit was so informative! Interestingly this was an event for collectors organised with the help of a magazine that helps promote art to collectors.

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​

I've always maintained that Damien Hirst's real talent lay in marketing and selling. For me he is a classic example of an artist whose ability to work out how to market his art - and to manipulate the art market for his benefit - considerably outweighed his talent as an artist.

This article is a "must read" because it highlights how Hirst has fundamentally challenged the notion of:

• how art is sold
• the role of the art gallery
• the relationship between artist, art gallery and art collector
• how much the artist gets when his or her art is sold to a collector

It also focuses on the fact that by moving art sales to "direct sales" between artist and art collector, a considerable amount of art market data has moved out of the reach of those who purport to know about 'value'. All they know about now is the amounts which are in the public domain because of art sold at auction. That's not always where the important sales are done any more.

Hirst is obviously an artist operating at the very high end of the market. He's ripped up the rule book and started to reinvent the art market.

After partnering with an auction house in 2008 to create a gigantic sale of his work, in 2017 he partnered with a Francois Pinault (the French luxury goods billionaire) and took over two museums to create an enormous thematic show and made the Venice Biennale an explicit commercial venue for buying art.

One has to ask to what extent artists operating further down the food chain can do the same thing:

• make what they want,
  
• sell it where they want - and
  
• dictate their own prices?
  

To my mind it's perfectly possible - but only if artists hone their marketing and selling skills as well as those related to creating art and partner with the right people and platforms.

We've already seen it to some extent with the achievements of those who have created a credible art business by selling direct to collectors online.

Now we need to see whether artists start partnering with venues to sell their art in new ways - just like Damien Hirst...

Like I said - it's a recommended read for those who acknowledge that marketing has a lot to do with how value is created in the art market.