Thoughts on Art and Money

Callings are different from career dreams—they suggest sustained action, rather than black-and-white achievement. All a calling requires is that you listen to it.

I wish that I had more examples or more people telling me sobering truths in my life, that these two things aren’t opposed. That you can work on a vocation and develop a career and also lead a very fulfilling artistic life simultaneously. One doesn’t have to be sacrificed for the other. And now I think that I’m trying to set that balance for myself... See more

That specific goal is so prioritized by young people. There’s this idea of, “I just want to be able to not have a job and live off my work.” But that mindset can be detrimental to your work, you know? That’s why having a job can be helpful. You don’t want to be scrambling to get some anointed status of “artist living off their work.”

“Follow your passion, but embrace the sacrifices that are required to make it viable.”

that art and business isn’t supposed to be as separable as church and state. That if you combine them in a way that fully aligns with your values, what you end up with can be a beautiful art form in itself.

It also means being collaborative, not competitive, with peers and sharing research where appropriate. If there’s one throughline in all of these conversations, it’s the power of abundance mentality.

When he received a Creative Capital grant as an artist, Gottesman said, he was struck by “the sense of community that’s built when a foundation trusts... See more

What artists really need, writes Amy Whitaker in Art Thinking, “is not to be paid to make the things they already know how to make, but to somehow find space inside their financials to play and take risks to develop the next thing.”

Some artists tend to think making money is either a system you sell out to or something to be avoided altogether. But in reality, it’s neither. If you don’t make money, you won’t have any art to make. We must seek to better understand the business of being an artist. Ignoring this reality is the fastest route to stop creating altogether. To be an a

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