Together we can do anything
There is a voice in the art world that would have you believe that artists are intended to fight in constant competition with each other – for sales, galleries, for everything. This is simply not true.
Today, with the continual rise of social media, online platforms and a change in the traditional gallery and selling structure it is clear that artists need to be working together and collaboratively to achieve their goals. Trust us, you will achieve your goals a lot faster with collaborative working, over going it alone.
Art collaborations -
Fuel creative exploration
Links audiences
Spreads the word
Promotes each artist
Can lead to further art projects
Digitally:
Take Instagram for example. You could be posting 5 beautiful artworks a week to your followers, which is great. But how do you get more people to follow you on Instagram? Sure, you can do paid promotions, hope hashtags work out for you… but a quicker way is through collaboration with your fellow artists and art world colleagues.
So, if you were to share an artist’s work to your story, tag them and they share yours, you are each opening up your artwork and portfolio to a brand-new audience that the other has cultivated! It’s simple really.
And have you noticed the rise in “takeovers”; Artists and galleries handing over their Instagram feed for a specific period. This is a great collaboration technique that benefits all involved and generates interesting new content for established followers at the same time.
Who could you collaborate with and how?
How does this translate to ‘real life’?
This premise on Instagram can be moved into real life exhibitions. For example, are you sitting on a new body of work, but galleries aren’t being receptive at the moment? Why not reach out to fellow artists and put together your own exhibition? A group artist show can have far reaching and unexpected benefits: at the very least, it will double the audience, half the costs and the stress plus much more!
A great example is PURE ART360 Artist Hannah Buchanan teaming up with artist Scarlett Woodman to produce their joint show at Red Door Gallery in Rye. https://www.artrabbit.com/events/nature-refocused
‘In early October 2020 Scarlett and I were showing in Rye with our exhibition ’Nature Refocused’. The exhibition explored our reconnection with our surroundings during lockdown, as we both felt our practices had changed since the pandemic pushed us to stay at home. This was such an exciting project and only the beginning of what I expect to be a much longer lasting collaboration and friendship. Working with someone with a similar passion for the surrounding landscape but with a different curatorial perspective was so refreshing, and I think our work really complimented each other’s in the gallery. Personally, I think working together has been a great confidence booster and if you are thinking of finding your own 'partner in crime' I would definitely recommend it!’
Artist duos and groups have shaped art history since it’s inception. Think Marina Absramovic and Ulay collaborating in the 70s and 80s; the Dada power couple Jean Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp; think of Judy Chicago and her 2020 collaboration with Dior!
When artist’s work together, they not only promote each other’s work organically, the possibilities become endless…
