Art is for Everyone
Art is for Everyone
From personal considerations to a global trend? with roots in history
As I’m working on new art in my studio designated for an “Affordable Art Show” opening in a few days (an online event I’ve created to share new experimental work while offering originals at lower than usual prices - both to hopefully benefit my customers as well as fund my studio), I found myself exploring the larger context of the idea of affordable art and a belief that art is for everyone.
“Original art allows us to be immersed in an experience uniquely human and profoundly intimate. It urges reflection while connecting ideas and communities. Art inspires. When it is accessible to everyone we create a foundation for collective growth and greater human understanding… [With this Affordable Art Show] I hope to provide access to art for all levels of collectors…. [and] to make my art accessible to as many people as possible while still maintaining a professional quality of work.
… I believe everyone should have an opportunity to own original art.”
(Excerpt from my October 2022 Show Catalog)
Pricing Artwork for Sale
As my artwork over this past year has become more process-based - requiring a greater commitment to materials history and development, subject knowledge, thoughtful engagement, and, most especially, time - I finish far fewer pieces in a year than I previously could. As a result, I have to price the new pieces to reflect the effort (while also considering their actual market value1). Unfortunately, that means they are often not affordable to many would-be collectors. Honestly, if they were all I had to offer, I would not be able to keep my studio doors open.
Looking back to earlier in my career, my original paintings were always priced somewhere between a gallery price and a studio price. (Galleries typically retain 35%-50% of the selling price - the lower percentage being reflective of a subsidized gallery, versus the higher percentage more typical of a private gallery.) I like to keep prices consistent between gallery and studio both to not undercut a gallery with lower studio prices but also to sell pieces more quickly in a gallery or retail setting. And since I painted fast, I could easily paint many pieces, large and small - supporting my studio on this income.
I was comfortable with this arrangement as I felt my paintings were fairly affordable and customers were happy to find reasonably priced new art to enjoy. I painted large 6-foot pieces and small 6x6-inch pieces. There was a price range that could accommodate most people, and when there wasn’t, maybe a print or two would do. And when that didn’t work? I would pass an occasional free print to an admiring young fan or offer a magnet or some other small token to let them know their kind words and recognition were appreciated even when art was not in the budget.
And as each year passed, thankfully, my studio stayed open.
Creating art as an exploratory process and not as a commodity
Now, as I slowly keep working on pieces I started several months ago, I recognize the dilemma of artists pursuing passions not easily monetized. It is one of the reasons I started using Patreon this year - to share a more intimate look into my studio practice as an additional means to support my studio. What I didn’t necessarily expect was that committing to the Patreon community helped push me further along a new path - examining my materials further, building more consistent studio habits, following and learning from other Patreon creators, and more fully stepping back to create art as an exploratory process and not as a commodity.
I found myself committed to the art regardless of personal outcome. And from this space of personal growth, I hold onto a faith that new art will emerge that will make connections with people and encourage greater interest and engagement with my art and the art-making process.
In the meantime, if I believe art is for everyone, then I still want to offer art to customers at reasonable prices.
How can we build a thriving community providing support to artists and arts access for all?
At a singular level, I can offer myself a simple solution. I can take a moment to step back and create affordable art providing me with personal support while creating a broader access point for collectors. (Hence, my Affordable Art Show.) At a community level, however, it gets more exciting as I see new trends with more people and organizations realizing the full value of art beyond a monetary transaction. From “social prescribing” to building free community arts resources and greater support for artists and arts communities alike - the idea that art has value and should be accessible to everyone seems to be growing with exciting new trends, such as one I recently saw in the headlines: Social Prescribing.
What is Social Prescribing?2
“Social prescriptions can include a diverse range of non-clinical interventions, such as educational classes, food subsidy, housing navigation, arts and culture engagement, peer-run social groups, and nature-based activities.”
~ Alliance for Healthier Communities
Art is often used as an active therapy tool with its ability to create calm within the making process as well as allow for a freedom of expression that might not otherwise be available to a person. However, we are also beginning to understand the value of art as a passive experience and its potential as part of a social prescription model of healthcare.
The Royal Ontario Museum in Ontario, Canada partnered with their local Health Care Centers in 2018 for an “Art by Prescription”3 program to improve health and wellness in their community via an experience of art and culture at their museum. In 2019 the museum expanded the program, offering 20,000 free visits to its exhibits which could be prescribed by twenty different Health Care Centers as part of a larger experiment to improve personal wellness with activities valuable to the patient. This innovative approach to healthcare is part of a movement known as “Social Prescribing” (which is rooted in the biopsychosocial model4 of healthcare.)
Today, the movement is growing which can be seen with the “Social Prescribing Conference”5 in Canada coming up on October 20, as well as the spread of the concept to more communities and countries (after initially finding its footing in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands). In the US, the discussion seems to just be starting and is limited in its scope. However, the VA (Veterans Affairs) recently announced their “Compassionate Contact Corps” as a part of the Social Prescribing movement. And here on Substack, the “Social Prescribing USA Newsletter” seems to be just kicking off.
And while I'm excited about the formal engagement of programs to pair people with activities to provide a better life experience, I also appreciate the many informal ways in which this is being achieved. Communities are recognizing the benefit of arts for all. As noted by the Lawrence Arts Center of Kansas, “Art should never be out of reach.”6 And, like many other arts organizations around the country who found their resources needed more than ever as the world retreated into a pandemic, they are actively pursuing this goal. From their website:
"During the Covid-10 pandemic we have tailored our programming to be sure that regardless of means or location, every person in our community would have access to performances, classes and exhibitions. We are here to meet you wherever you want to be.”
Today’s Growing Accessibility and Opportunity
I’ve personally noticed these efforts in local organizations, recent travels, and new initiatives. Some were in place pre-COVID (such as free admissions at the National Gallery of Art7 in Washington D.C.), while others have grown or were created in response to the pandemic. All in all, it seems more organizations and communities are recognizing the value of access to art and I’ve personally enjoyed several venues over the last few years with open doors, free of charge.
I enjoyed the “always free admission” to the Tate’s Museums (including the Tate Modern in London) and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London too. (It was actually pre-pandemic and I remember being astounded that so many museums in the UK were free. For a top 10 list, visit Museums.com.uk.)
This summer I visited the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art which “is always free on Saturdays”, and the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History which is “free 7 days a week”.
While “admission is free” at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, I also enjoyed access to the related Corvallis Museum via a low-cost annual membership of $35. (They also offer $5 admission to the general public with free admission offered via the “Museums for All”8 nationwide program.)
And, as I expect in many communities across the country, local heroes have shown up both to provide monetary support as well as an incredible amount of time and energy to commit to arts access. At my local Arts Center of Corvallis, Oregon I’ve seen everything from take-home art kits for families and children to a broad range of free art exhibits available in-person and online to both invite community members to participate as well as to engage, discuss, and enjoy.
And with the obstacles created by COVID, many museums chose to find innovative new ways to share their exhibits by providing access online too. For instance, the 2021 article “18 Free Online Museum Tours To Enjoy Without Leaving Your Couch” by Antonis Chaliakopoulos shares the virtual museum tours available from world-renowned museums such as the Louvre and historical treasures of archeology and art indigenous to Mexico such as The National Museum of Anthropology.
I’ve also noticed more positive arts-related trends: Libraries discontinuing late fees to promote equitable engagement9; performance venues live streaming events (such as the University of Oregon's School of Music and Dance; and “streaming tickets” promoting equitable access such as that of my local city theater in Corvallis, Oregon: The Majestic.
A Look at American History - WPA Artists
But are these actually new ideas? While prescribing art may be an unfamiliar concept, and a movement for free access to arts and culture may recently be growing, the interest in providing accessibility to the arts for the benefit of communities has long been noted, subsidized, and supported in a myriad of ways. Arguably none greater than during The Great Depression. During that difficult time, artists found critical support in government programs not only intended to provide for their needs using their unique skillsets but to also provide art to the public as a reflection of shared experience. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt once stated:10
“Art in America has always belonged to the people and has never been the property of an academy or a class. . . . The Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration* is a practical relief project which also emphasizes the best tradition of the democratic spirit. The WPA artist, in rendering his own impression of things, speaks also for the spirit of his fellow countrymen everywhere. I think the WPA artist exemplifies with great force the essential place which the arts have in a democratic society such as ours.”
*Works Progress Administration (WPA) is an umbrella agency for the many programs created to help Americans during the Depression, including infrastructure projects, jobs programs, and social services.
From the National Gallery of Art Educational Resources Guide:
Through the WPA, artists also participated in government employment programs in every state and county in the nation. In 1935, Roosevelt created the Federal Art Project (FAP) as the agency that would administer artist employment projects, federal art commissions, and community art centers. Roosevelt saw the arts and access to them as fundamental to American life and democracy. He believed the arts fostered resilience and pride in American culture and history. The art created under the WPA offers a unique snapshot of the country, its people, and art practices of the period. There were no government-mandated requirements about the subject of the art or its style. The expectation was that the art would relate to the times, reflect the place in which it was created, and be accessible to a broad public.11
At its height, Federal One (a component of FAP) employed 5,300 visual artists and related professionals.12
Artists such as Jackson Pollock, who worked as a mural assistant and later an easel painter… [before becoming] a major figure in the abstract expressionism movement.
Artists such as Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and (my personal favorite) Lee Krasner (about whom I read a fascinating biography by Gail Levin detailing much of her time in the WPA).
I often think about the inclusion of artists as a part of this program from nearly 90 years ago. I wonder why it seems like most of my life artists have been missing from conversations and opportunities about how best to shape, build, and serve our communities despite this apparent support and recognition of modern-day artists as professionals - before my parents were even born. More recently, however, maybe due to the impact of the COVID crisis as events shut down and access to the arts evaporated, I’m seeing a return of artists to the forefront of community engagement as we make our way in the “new normal”.
This leads me to want to find ways to support this trend - from something as simple as offering an affordable art show, to thinking more broadly about how to support arts organizations, promote arts-focused legislation, and lift up artists and their profession.
At this moment, I don’t have many answers, just these simple (yet hopeful) observations and a desire to engage more with the arts community at large.
In the meantime, I will continue to prepare for my little online art show in hopes I can give my supporters a little love in the form of art.
Artfully yours,
Jennifer
One further note: discounting artwork is a difficult decision for a professional artist. It affects not only the artist’s studio by potentially devaluing their work - but can affect other artists too by devaluing the broader category of art as well. (The latter being a bigger issue at group shows and events.) I try to educate new artists and hobbyists about the importance of valuing one’s work as a part of a larger arts marketplace. This is especially an issue with charities holding events that undervalue an artist’s work by either expecting a donation of free art or by undercutting the value of an artist’s work with low prices. I even wrote an essay in 2017 “The Art of Giving” about the issue of charity auction art HERE. By devaluing the art we risk the broader implication that it is not worth a professional artist’s time, expertise, and commitment - thereby devaluing the art profession.
All that to say - although I want to make artwork that is affordable, I do not make the decision to discount my prices lightly. I recommend to any artist and arts organization to think carefully about how art is priced and what is appropriate for their particular circumstance.
I consider the “market value” of my art by researching the price points of art in galleries and online that is similar to my own art in style and being produced by an artist of a similar art world exposure and experience level. I do not use price-per-inch methods (unless it’s for determining commission rates - it’s just easier that way), nor do I price artwork by the hour. If I’m offering art for sale, I expect the price needs to reflect what I believe a motivated buyer is willing to spend on it. My personal model may differ from other artists, and each artist must consider their own goals and needs.
Definition of “Social Prescribing” provided by Alliance for Healthier Communities: https://www.allianceon.org/Social-Prescribing
Art-By-Prescription Trend Grows in Canada, article by Leah Sandals https://canadianart.ca/news/art-by-prescription-trend-grows-in-canada/
Social Prescribing Conference information: https://www.allianceon.org/event/Social-Prescribing-Conference-Current-Practices-Community-Conversations
Lawrence Arts Center of Kansas: https://lawrenceartscenter.org/art-is-for-everyone/
From the National Gallery of Art website about page: “The National Gallery of Art, founded as a gift to the nation, serves as a center of visual art, education, and culture. Our collection of more than 150,000 paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photographs, prints, and drawings spans the history of Western art and showcases some of the triumphs of human creativity. Across 363 days a year, the National Gallery offers a full spectrum of special exhibitions and public programs free of charge.”
Launched in 2015, the Museums for All program states:
“Museums for All is a national, branded access program that encourages individuals of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum habits. It is open to participation by any type of museum — including art, history, natural history/anthropology, and general museums, children’s museums, science centers, planetariums, nature centers, historic houses/sites, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and arboretums.
The cost of museum admission can be a barrier for many low-income families. Participating museums provide reduced admission, ranging from free to $3.00, to visitors presenting their EBT card. This reduced rate is available during all normal operating hours to up to four individuals per EBT card. With a year-round open door policy, Museums for All invites low-income visitors to feel welcome at cultural institutions.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's quote provided by the National Gallery of Art art at: https://www.nga.gov/learn/teachers/lessons-activities/uncovering-america/great-depression.html
The National Gallery of Art, “Art and the Great Depression”: https://www.nga.gov/learn/teachers/lessons-activities/uncovering-america/great-depression.html