![[ RSS ]](http://blogs.openforum.com/wp-content/themes/amex2.0/images/icon_rss_12_fff.gif){kind=icon}
Subscribe to this page
Previous
Artists: Take Business Classes With That Art Training
Steve King | August 20th, 2008 - 05:22 AM
(27) found this useful. Do you? 
From jazz musicians to painters, a growing number of artists are choosing to become entrepreneurs. Artists do this so they can pursue their artistic passion and pay the bills. And while making a living as an artist continues to be difficult, 3 broad trends are combining to create new opportunities for artist entrepreneurs:
1. Consumer interest in unique, one-of-a-kind or handcrafted products is growing, broadening the market for works of art.
2. The Internet is creating new and effective methods for tech savvy artists to find an audience - and for art buyers to easily find art that interests them.
3. Technology is reducing the costs of producing many types of art, allowing artists to price at levels that attract new buyers and expand the art market. Technology also gives artist entrepreneurs the ability to create and manage small businesses with multiple revenue streams. This greatly increases the likelihood they will generate enough revenue to succeed.
Collage artist and illustrator Claudine Hellmuth is a good example.
She creates unique and customized collage art which she sells on her own website and on her Etsy online store. Because high quality printing costs have declined, she can profitably sell her customized prints for less $200. An avid user of social media, she communicates with her audience via her blog, podcasts and Twitter.
Like many entrepreneurial artists, Hellmuth has multiple revenue streams. In addition to her collage art she gives workshops, has written two books, sells DVDs on collage making and has a line of greeting cards. Digital tools allow her to easily re-purpose content for different uses and office automation tools help her manage her complex personal business.
Even artists without business skills or interests are able to take advantage of these trends. The online art gallery 20X200 is one of a growing number of online art middlemen who connect artists with buyers. Gallery 20X200 introduces two new art pieces each week, with each piece limited to 200 prints. The smallest prints sell for $20. Artists effectively outsource their sales and marketing to Gallery 20X200, which uses low prices and the reach of the Internet to get their artists exposure and tap new buyers.
The result of these trends is a growing number of self-employed artists and creative professionals. Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade items, claims that over 200,000 artists and crafts people make a living selling on their site.
According to the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, there are over 22,000 self-employed creative professionals in Brooklyn alone. Their numbers increased by over 35% between 2000 and 2005.
We expect the trends driving the growth of artist entrepreneurs to continue to gain strength over the next decade, resulting in many more entrepreneurial artists. While many artists resist the call of entrepreneurship, others are embracing it. According to Yury Gitman, an artist entrepreneur and the creator of My Beating Heart, it’s not about money alone. It’s about being able to pursue his passion, distribute his work to a broader audience and provide for his family.
* * * * *
About the Author: Steve King is a partner at Emergent Research, a research affiliate at the Institute for the Future, and senior fellow at the Society for New Communications Research. He is a co-author of the Intuit Future of Small Business report series, and he blogs at Small Biz Labs.
Steve is a member of the Small Business Trends Expert Network.
Enjoy this post? Discover more like it when you Subscribe to the OPEN Forum Blog RSS feed.
Discussion Boards
Beth Barany | August 20th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the insightful and helpful article. As an artist entrepreneur myself, I use my writing talents to teach and guide writers and help people self-produce books and e-books.
Technology supports and underpins my marketing and help other’s bring their art to the world. Print-on-demand, and self-publishing have become much cheaper and easier for almost author to afford. Technology has also allowed me to teach online, and to reach a global audience. This is a very exciting time to be an artist entrepreneur.
Thanks again for keeping on eye on the trends. Much appreciated.
Best,
Beth
----------
claudine hellmuth | August 20th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
hi there! thanks for the wonderful mention in your article! I just found it via google alerts
----------
Beth Barany | August 20th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Hi Steve, I found your through google alerts too!
Beth
----------
Bianca Aquino | August 21st, 2008 at 12:44 am
Hi.
Thanks for that inspiring article. It is really good to attend business classes and some sort of seminars and training.
----------
Steve | August 21st, 2008 at 6:50 am
Beth: Wrtiting is a great example. Online publishing tools have made it so easy. There is no way I would have people reading my writing without blogs.
Bianca: I’m meeting with a college president today to discuss how they are going to provide business skills training to their art majors and artists in their broader community.
Almost every day I hear something new on this topic. It is an exciting time to be artist.
Steve
----------
Bianca Aquino | August 21st, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Hi Steve,
Wow. That sounds great. I would be very grateful if you share it here more often. Thanks in advance.
----------
Beth Barany | August 21st, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Steve,
Yes, please share more on this topic. Many writers I help shy away from anything business, mostly due to ignorance.
Beth
----------
Artists: Take Business Classes With That Art Training : South Florida Artist Entrepreneurs | August 22nd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
[…] Artists: Take Business Classes With That Art Training: “From jazz musicians to painters, a growing number of artists are choosing to become entrepreneurs. Artists do this so they can pursue their artistic passion and pay the bills. And while making a living as an artist continues to be difficult, 3 broad trends are combining to create new opportunities for artist entrepreneurs: […]
----------
Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends | August 27th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Steve, I’m glad you wrote about this key trend.
Just thought I would point out that COSE.org, the 17,000-member small biz Chamber in Northeast Ohio (I’m on the Board of their Tech arm), has an “Arts Network.”
The purpose of the Arts Network is serve the specific needs of artist entrepreneurs who are members of COSE. They do networking mixers, educational programs and other events specifically for artist-entrepreneurs.
– Anita
----------
Paula | August 27th, 2008 at 8:45 am
I think the best part about the internet is that artists like Claudine can reach potential customers across the country and even the world who would otherwise know nothing about her art. She is very smart to use that to her advantage. I love visiting Etsy for the simple fact that they support the arts by only letting handmade items be sold on the site.
----------
Steve | August 27th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Anita: Any idea how many artists are members of the COSE artist network??
Steve
----------
Matthew Charboneau of COSE Arts Network | August 29th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Steve,
The COSE Arts Network currently has 521 members throughout Northeast Ohio. If anyone would like additional information about the Network, please visit http://www.cosearts.org/ .
Thanks,
Matthew
----------
Steve | August 29th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Matthew: Thanks for the info and the link. 521 is an impressive number.
Steve
----------