Marine Costello shares her knowledge on how to build a successful career as an artist in our digital world and talks to Faye Bridgwater about her successes using social media.
Marine is Communications Officer at Parker Harris.
Parker Harris was created by Emma Parker and Penny Harris in 1990 and it is now one of the leading visual arts consultancies in the UK, managing some of the most important art prizes and exhibitions in the UK and mentor artists through all aspects of their careers.
To learn more about their professional development and online marketing coaching programmes, email [email protected]. You can also stay in touch with Parker Harris on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Don't miss the chance to win the Parker Harris Online Mentoring Award in our TALP Open Art Competition 2023
Call for entries closes on April 4, 2023
Building an art career
As an artist you want to spend most of your time doing what you love: making art. But to build a successful career, you also have to become your own publicist, manager, and marketeer.
Branding and marketing – especially on social media – have become vital tools for today’s artists. Although it might sound foreign at first, viewing yourself as a brand is actually a powerful tool to develop your career and your art, as it requires an awareness of your craft, your values and your goals – in other words, what makes you unique. The following five elements are essential for building your own artistic brand on social media.
Authenticity
It’s part of your practice as an artist to know what you want to share with the world and to grow confident in your own voice.
Creating your visual identity and finding the right words to define it is something that builds over time – but if you haven’t yet given it some thought, take a moment to ask yourself what your brand is. Start by asking yourself the following questions: where are you from? What are you passionate about? What are the main subjects and themes you explore in your work? Which media do you use? What values would you like to convey through your art? This should get you started on a journey towards finding out who you are as an artist and, just as importantly, how you want others to perceive your work.
Down to the Undercliff, mixed media on boxed canvas, (50x50cm) by Faye Bridgwater (see case study below)
Diversification
In the world of Instagram and TikTok, it’s no longer enough to have a website with your CV and portfolio, you have to bring people to it. Think about all the channels that are available to you: social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.), and also your emailing list and the press. Putting your name out there is a multi-layered and circular process, each channel feeding the others. For instance, you can encourage your social media followers to subscribe to your e-newsletter in order to get news from you before everyone else, or share a print article about your latest exhibition on all of your online platforms.
Editing
Imagine you’re preparing a solo exhibition in a physical gallery space. You most likely wouldn’t put anything and everything up on the wall. Instead, you would go through your work, choose the strongest pieces and display them in the best light possible. Channels such as your website and Instagram feed are no different – you can think of them as a solo show for which you are the artist, curator, writer, public relations manager, and gallerist all at once.
You make all the creative decisions! By all means, keep experimenting and creating to your heart’s desire but also make sure to get good pictures of your work, select and edit the best ones, and put some thought into curating what you put out into the world.
Consistency
A crucial part of branding is staying true to yourself and to your art. This means not sharing anything that isn’t true to you or that clashes with your work – it’s important to know what your visual and conceptual identity is and to present that at all times.
As your social media accounts are dedicated to promoting your art, it’s best only to share things that relate to your own work; for instance, unless your work is deeply political, think twice about posting your personal beliefs on issues that could divide your audience and take attention away from your brand.
Every element of your social media profiles should convey who you are as a creative – starting with your profile picture. This is the image that will come up first on your page and that will accompany everything you post, so your followers will identify you with it. The best option is to take a closeup picture of yourself with something that inspires you in the background or, better yet, your own work. You can also use a logo or the piece that you think most representative of your practice as a whole.
Connection
The ultimate goal of social media is to be social (yes, the clue is in the name). In your case, this could mean creating a community of people who love what you create, building a network of artists and art collectors, or finding gallerists and curators who would like to work with you. The important thing here is to build a connection with your audience and to sustain it over time. Put a little bit of energy into using the different platforms and getting familiar with them. This doesn’t need to be overly time-consuming and take you away from your studio – 10 to 15 minutes a day are enough to get you started. Find other users you want to interact with, follow their pages, like their content, and leave insightful comments (something a bit longer and personal than a generic ‘great work!’).
Case study – Faye Bridgwater
Faye Bridgwater
Q. Describe your brand in a few words
A. I describe myself as an artist – not just a painter, sculptor or drawer. My art is very much linked to the city I live in, Brighton. My work is inspired by its coastline, so my brand is all about the sea and the sky – it is positive, vibrant and spontaneous.
Q. How did you refine your brand?
A. It actually came through a lot of hard work! I went to several workshops and talks; I asked a lot of people around me for tips… and I listened. You should pick up insights from the people around you – some of the parents at my children’s school are social media managers, photographers, or copywriters, so I naturally went to them for specialist advice.
Q. Did this process of finding your own brand help you sell your work through social media?
A. It definitely did! After winning the Derwent Art Prize last year, I gained the confidence to put myself out there.
For three months I worked on a full collection of landscapes, I documented my journey on social media and I told my followers to join my emailing list – which subsequently quadrupled. When I released the collection, I gave my email subscribers a preview – two works sold within the first five minutes!
Q. How do you advise artists to find their own brand?
A. Go back to what you did in school. Take a sheet of paper, put your name in the middle, and work around it, writing everything that inspires your work, excites you, and puts fire in your belly.
Ultimately, you’ll focus into some of them and that’ll start defining a clear brand. For me, it’s being outside and by the sea, so that’s what I share on social media – I’m not going to be painting fast cars, but someone else might! Each artist will have their own unique brand.
Q. How do you make sure you stick to your brand?
A. This is down to editing. Don’t put everything out there. You should only post the pictures that inspire you, that are relevant to what you’ve written on that initial sheet of paper. Those are the ones that will have a real impact with your audience.
Q. Any practical tips?
A. Don’t forget to talk about any projects or exhibitions you’re currently involved in. When you post, tag the museum or gallery you’re exhibiting in, or the magazine that wrote an article about it!
They’ll most likely share it to their own feeds, which helps to establish your brand as an artist. Also, when you make a connection, keep it up. You can’t be putting out content all the time, you also have to be engaging with others and reminding people that you’re still creating new things.
Finally, I’d say to just put some work in and learn along the way. Follow people who inspire you and pick up ideas from them – you’ll figure out your own messaging in no time!
Faye also shares her experience of being a wildcard entrant in the 2019 Sky Landscape Artist of the Year competition
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