The ArtStars* Guide to Getting Your Sh*t Together


Book Description

Your essential guide to publicity, finance and career management with advice from the top. Including everything you didn't get in art school, and even more. • Are you making art but nobody seems to notice? • Do you find it difficult to make money or develop your network? • Need to add some skills to make your career worthwhile? Look no further. The ArtStars* Guide to Getting Your Shit together is the go-to ebook for any art student, art school grad or professional artist in or entering the contemporary art world with a goal of cashing in and making a splash in the public eye. Beginning from the core basics, this tell-all inspiration ebook covers every aspect of working as an individual artist – beyond the studio practice. Every successful, professional artist knows they must put in the extra effort to get noticed, and that means more than just sitting in your studio making your work in the dark. Since interviewing thousands of artists since 2003, the internationally-acclaimed arts journalist and celebrity interviewer, Nadja Sayej has written this book to help artists succeed with career management, publicity and finance. With a focus on recovering from your biggest mistakes, this must-have guide is built for visual artists who want to thrive, not just survive, in an increasingly visual-based society. There is No Business in BFA Art schools don’t train artists for media interviews, how-to price their work, or even ways to profit as self-made entrepreneurs. That’s why there’s an ebook to get you caught up on the homework you never got (and it’s cheaper than a MFA). Reality Check In the real world, there are many artists who get press but no sales. Hence, people in their 30s and 40s are totally well-known in their industry, but have nothing to show financially. This is totally unfair but totally possible to change. In fact, it’s never too late to change that. Career Advice from the Top Getting your shit together is about finding your own voice and managing your career in a time when you can’t expect other people to do everything for you. You can have a gallerist, an agent, a PR team and a studio, but if you’re not in control of your own life, you will not get results. The advice in this ebook comes from interviews with: • Marina Abramovic • James Franco • Yoko Ono • Genesis P-Orridge • Olafur Eliasson • Peaches • Hercules & Love Affair • Chilly Gonzales • … curators, artists, collectors, and more! What you’ll get in this must-have ebook: • How-to think beyond the artist statement and create a compelling vision • How to put together a press kit and the five necessary elements you need to succeed • How to get press from newspapers, magazines and blogs • How-to stay quotable and notable in a media interview • What to do if you get a bad review – or if they get all the facts wrong • The do’s and don’ts of an artist’s website • Where to put in the extra effort • Selling without selling out • Taxes, business tips and how-to create an effective sales plan • How-to gain a unique edge over competitors • Results-driven strategies for business networking • How-to make more money and how-to ask for more Ebook Facts • Over 42,000 words, 76 pages • Available in pdf, epub and kindle • This ebook is divided into five sections: Vision, Perfecting your Presence, Press & Publicity, Art & Finance and Networking Your Way to the Top • This third edition including never-seen-before material with new interviews, quotes and hot tips • Covers the breadth of publicity, finance and career management with advice from the top Once you take a thorough read of this ebook, you'll be on your way to a clear-thinking, focused art career with all your bases covered. Get your copy today!




The Artstars


Book Description

These stories about struggling artists are “a fierce and funny exploration of creation and its discontents” (Steve Almond, author of My Life in Heavy Metal). Set in various creative communities—an art school, an illegal loft studio, a guerrilla street performance troupe—where teamwork and professional jealousy mix, these interconnected short stories by prizewinning author Anne Elliot follow artists as they grapple with economic realities and evolving expectations. A middle-aged poet, reeling from 9/11, fights homesickness, writer’s block, and ladybugs at an artist’s colony. A new empty-nester finds a creative outlet in her community garden, but gets tangled up in garden politics. As the characters pass through each other’s stories, making messes and helping mop them up, some find inspiration in accidents and others are ready to quit art completely. Together, they stumble through the creative process, struggling to make art and find the spark of something new and original within themselves. In a world where the odds of becoming a star are nearly impossible, The Artstars tells the darkly humorous yet moving stories of those who dare to dream.







Seven Days in the Art World


Book Description

A fly-on-the-wall account of the smart and strange subcultures that make, trade, curate, collect, and hype contemporary art. The art market has been booming. Museum attendance is surging. More people than ever call themselves artists. Contemporary art has become a mass entertainment, a luxury good, a job description, and, for some, a kind of alternative religion. In a series of beautifully paced narratives, Sarah Thornton investigates the drama of a Christie's auction, the workings in Takashi Murakami's studios, the elite at the Basel Art Fair, the eccentricities of Artforum magazine, the competition behind an important art prize, life in a notorious art-school seminar, and the wonderland of the Venice Biennale. She reveals the new dynamics of creativity, taste, status, money, and the search for meaning in life. A judicious and juicy account of the institutions that have the power to shape art history, based on hundreds of interviews with high-profile players, Thornton's entertaining ethnography will change the way you look at contemporary culture.




Photography 4.0: A Teaching Guide for the 21st Century


Book Description

An invaluable resource for photography educators, this volume is a survey of photographic education in the first decade of the 21st Century. Drawing upon her 25 years of teaching experience and her professional network, Michelle Bogre spoke with 47 photo educators from all over the world to compile this diverse set of interviews. The themes of these conversations explore: Why students should study photography The value of a formal photography degree Teaching philosophies Whether video and multimedia should be an essential part of a photographic curricula The challenges of teaching photography today Changes in photographic education overall The second half of the book shares 70 photography assignments of varying level of difficulty from these educators, some paired with examples of how students completed them. This book will inspire and invigorate any photography educator’s curriculum.




Getting Your Sh*t Together


Book Description

This comprehensive book is informed by decades of experience and years of research into how to perform as a professional artist in the 21st century art world (or worlds). This book is filled with easy-to-follow instructions that will help you teach everything -- archiving work, start a mailing list, write a grant, and everything else you can think of. This straightforward book even addresses topics you may not think artists need to know about now! Consider this a handbook for teaching the business aspects of an art career. This book is written and designed to empower you to help artists understand the wild world of art careers. Syllabus and handouts included. Far too often artists find themselves having to compromise their art and their life because they were not taught accurate up-to-date methods for dealing with business situations. Because of this lack of preparedness artists miss out on valuable opportunities, financial rewards, and access to receptive audiences. This book aims to help teachers teach professional practices to artists everywhere, helping to avoid these pitfalls and get on the track to success on their own terms. Whether you are a gallery-bound artist, a public artist, an emerging artist, a hobbyist, a crafts-person, a student, or a seasoned artist in need of a tune up, this manual will help you train artists.




The Intrepid Art Collector


Book Description

Ready to upgrade your artwork from framed Monet posters but intimidated by what you see in galleries? In The Intrepid Art Collector, Lisa Hunter shows you how to start a fine art collection without spending a fortune. This accessible, jargon-free resource contains up-to-date information on the most popular original art—everything from photography and posters to African art and animation—including where to find it and how to buy it at a fair price. Easy-to-use checklists help you evaluate original art and steer clear of clever fakes. In addition, Hunter has interviewed top dealers, curators, arts lawyers, and appraisers to bring you the best advice on: • Advantages to buying real art instead of reproductions • Determining if a piece of art is fairly priced • Predicting if an artist’s work will go up in value • Techniques for negotiating a price with a dealer • Developing your artistic taste, so you’ll know if you’ll still love your purchase ten years down the road • How to preserve art in your home • Resources, websites, and magazines that will help you learn more about the market and where to find different types of art




The Rough Guide to Tokyo


Book Description

The Rough Guide to Tokyo is the ultimate insider's guide to Japan's hyperactive capital. All major and many off-the-beaten-tracks sights are covered in detail - from the soaring Tokyo Sky Tree, the city's newest, highest viewpoint, to the exciting new contemporary art complex 3331 Arts Chiyoda and the reborn architectural treasure Mitsubishi Ichigokan. It cuts through the hype to reveal the metropolis's best places to sleep, eat, drink and shop, with a new chapter highlighting what a fantastic destination Tokyo is to take the kids. There's all you need to know for great day-trips to, among other places, the onsens of Hakone, the tranquil temples of Kamakura, and Yokohama's Chinatown. Full-colour sections introduce Tokyo's highlights, its delicious array of cuisines (and the best places to find them) and the world leading design role the city has in everything from architecture to fashion. Easy-to-read maps are provided throughout the guide, plus there's handy colour subway map.




The Artist's Guide


Book Description

Gallery director, artist, and lecturer Jackie Battenfield offers expert advice on how to develop a sustained and rewarding career as a visual artist.




TinkerLab Art Starts


Book Description

Get inspired with hands-on creative prompts for children ages 3-8 featuring simple materials you can find at home from an experienced art teacher. Open-ended art prompts that give children opportunities to think creatively rather than follow directions are essential to raising learners who are comfortable with the unknown and eager to tackle it with problem solving skills, self-efficacy, and critical thinking. From drawing, painting, and paper cutting to making three-dimensional art with clay and recycled materials, these 52 fun and engaging ideas for creative art play use everyday household materials to get kids engaged in their own explorations. These activities are led primarily by the environment. The set up itself is the teacher and will encourage children to think of creative ways to use the provided materials. With foundational information at the start of the book, parents will understand the power of art prompts to foster children's creativity and will be given a variety of ideas for creating a makering space and encouraging self-directed play.