Clearly defining where your talents lie and where you need to leave yourself time to grow can be part of how you can build a creative business over time.
Guest Viewpoints
What Makes a Whitney Biennial Artist?
The 2019 Whitney Biennial has 68 living artists—and they have more in common than you might think. Take a look at what helped set these creatives apart.
Say Goodbye to the Fantasy of Being Discovered
Think you need the approval of industry gatekeepers to have a thriving art career? Think again. Seize control of your art business today and follow your own unique path to success.
Mo’ Money, Mo’ Artists
You can’t control if your art is bought, or if the piece you’re working on now will be the one that makes a grant application successful. But you can control your goals and what you’re doing to make them happen.
The Revenge of the Working Artist
They say living well is the best revenge. The world tells you that artists are doomed to starve, but Carolyn Edlund breaks down this insidious lie and encourages working artists to flip the script.
White Supremacy in the Art World (and How to Fight It)
White supremacy is affecting many artists’ abilities to compete in the fine arts world. Here’s how we can combat it from the business side.
Artists Boost the GDP and Drive Economic Growth
Artists bring beauty to our world, call our attention to the issues of the day, and use their creativity to inspire us and get us to think, but they do a heck of a lot more than that.
How The Art Industry Pits Itself Against Artists
Following a portfolio review, a gallerist told the artist who goes by the Instagram handle Wait What Show that “darn,” despite loving her paintings, “I don’t represent young women because they’re […]
What Media Resource Has Helped Your Business?
There’s a lot of advice out there about how to improve your business, which can make it hard to know where to look for impactful content. In a recent CHF […]
Who Defines the Professional Artist’s Career Trajectory?
Welcome to the world of work As artists enter the workforce, they’re tasked not only with making a living, but with fulfilling the fundamental role of the artist—cultural reflection and […]
The Philanthropic Investor, Philanthropic ROI, and a New Renaissance
It’s axiomatic that when an investor puts money into a business, they want to get that money back out along with some factor of growth. Warren Buffett defines investment as […]
Take Back Your Work: A response to #nosurprise
It is a watershed moment for awareness of workplace sexual harassment and as many working artists know, the art world is no exception. Recently, Artforum’s famed publisher resigned amongst multiple sexual […]
Digital Art Market Innovations: How to Engage Online and Off
Elizabeth Corkery is an installation artist and CHF Business Accelerator Fellow (2015-2016). Elizabeth, in conversation with CHF’s editorial coordinator, discusses the development of online art sales, and strategies that are […]
The Power of Rejection
This month at CHF, we’re talking about failing better—dealing with our failures and rejections in ways that are constructive instead of stagnating. In their blog post Use Rejection as […]
How to Network and Gain Visibility
Art has long been driven by networks—as much so in Renaissance Italy and 19th Century France as in today’s globalized art world. The visibility of a contemporary artist is often […]
Where’s Your Art Been and Where’s It Going?
As I continue to get to know the message and initiatives put forth by CHF, I’m struck by the practicality at the core of the mission. Yes, the Accelerator program […]
A Critical Eye to Decorative Art
Art and Decoration The term ‘decorative’ in relation to art has been central to artistic movements throughout history. Over the course of the 19th century, decoration changed from being a positive […]
And Now, A Word About Motivations
Herein lies a bit of Shakespeare, a reference to Ayn Rand, some Disney-like wishing trampled by a one-off reference to the Health Care debate, and goose noises. Enjoy. It’s easy […]
Let’s Demystify the Pricing of Art
At a recent Sotheby’s auction, an untitled painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat set a record high, going for $110.5 million. A New York Times piece on the sale included information on […]
How Discrimination in the Arts Impacts Your Business
Discrimination—it happens in every field and can take many forms. In the art industry, it’s the curator who leans in and says he really enjoys working with “cute little artist […]
Artist Q & A: Which digital-marketing approaches and outlets have been most effective for you?
When it comes to digital marketing, the “how” and “what” are changing by the day, but the “why” remains constant: you want to attract an audience, engage with them, and drive them to […]
Building an Educational Program Around the Way Adults Learn — Daniel DiGriz
In addition to providing digital strategy to businesses and nonprofits, CHF Educational and Marketing Director Daniel DiGriz has nearly 30 years of global instructional experience and holds an M. Ed. […]
Making Art Accessible – CHF Interviews Kathleen Gilrain
Kathleen Gilrain is the executive director and chief curator of Smack Mellon, a nonprofit arts organization in Brooklyn, New York, that supports emerging, under-represented, mid-career, and female artists in the […]
Expert Q & A: How do artists create and cultivate excellent relationships with collectors?
Like successful entrepreneurs in other fields, artists must work to build and maintain a loyal clientele. This involves reaching out to potential buyers and developing relationships with those who’ve already purchased–or shown interest […]