I would love to work on public and private art commissions, but I have no idea how to enter that world. Can you offer advice? – lost but hopeful
The simple answer to how you can get art commissions is to apply for them. Or meet a wealthy person or an interior designer. Or meet an artist who might let you apprentice. Or screw the system completely and take over an abandoned building or a bus stop.
The truth is, there are so many ways to get commissions, but so few shared resources on how to get them, that many artists never venture into the field. Additionally, many artists assume that the work they are doing will not translate well into another medium, thereby cutting themselves off from opportunities that might otherwise be available to them.
To answer your question, I decided to get some advice from the horse’s mouth – the animators, curators, and artists who make public art.
“There are all kinds of opportunities,” Sally Kraus, director of member services at CODAworx, told me, adding, “I think it’s a growing industry.” Kraus describes CODAworx as a bit like LinkedIn for the art commissioning community. The Madison, Wis.-based company helps artists, creative teams and contractors connect through its memberships, magazine and events. Unlike social media sites such as Instagram, where soliciting opportunities via DM can delay contacts as easily as it connects, messaging inside the CODAworx is welcome. “Anyone can write to consultants,” Kraus said. And they can build a team using the databases.
Kraus and Cortney Lane Stell, executive director of the Denver-based Nomadic Art Museum black cube, told me that understanding the different ways to engage commissioned art is critical to an artist’s success. Permanent public works of art tend to go through municipal agencies through a competitive bidding process, in which granting agencies support artists working in the public domain. independently. But organizations like Black Cube take a more curatorial approach. “That awareness is a little more opaque and a lot more social,” Stell confessed. She selects the artists she works with through research and studio visits.
Rebecca Rothman, artist and public art officer for the city of Tempe, Arizona, believes that artists seeking public art commissions most often struggle with the application process itself.
“I tell artists that [writing] ‘Imagine if you will’ doesn’t work with panelists,’ she said Hyperallergic. Stakeholders involved in the decision-making process may be dentists or school principals who have no visual training. You have to show them exactly what they will see.
The bigger issue, however, could be the shift from creating works meant to be seen in controlled spaces such as museums, to a public space where the public will be much more diverse and not necessarily choose to view the work. Your job is to sell what you are going to do to this audience. “A lot of artists confuse a public art request with a grant request,” Rothman said. “It’s a change of mindset. You are applying for a job.
Thomas Evans, a Denver-based artist, shares how he got his recent Denver airport commission the same way someone might apply for a job. “You have to gain experience first,” he said. Hyperallergic.
But how do you gain experience when you don’t have any? Evans is best known as a muralist, but he is now making his first sculpture. The piece will hang from the ceiling – a giant loop made from recycled luggage that he assembled and painted in a rainbow gradient.
“I got the commission by working with other artists,” Evans explained. “The committees know the people I team up with, so it’s not as worrying to choose me. They want someone who is able to complete the project.
It’s not the only way to get an early commission: you can also apprentice with another artist to help them complete their project and gain experience. And some localities, like Aurora, Colorado, have issued open calls to artists who haven’t done public projects.
To secure the airport commission, which he says is a three-to-four-year project with a budget of $450,000, Evans worked with project manager Mary Valdez, who until recently worked in the division. Denver Arts & Venues from the Denver Public Art program. . Valdez now works directly with artists. She found artist calls for Evans and helped him apply.
Valdez holds a position that most artists would love in a partner: she acts as an advisor and manager, researching projects that fit well with the artists she works with, writing applications, and managing projects. She selects the artists she works with, and charges an hourly rate for the work, and a percentage of the project if it is secured.
She told me that the launch of her solo exhibition last year gave her an idea of the bravery needed to be an artist. “Putting your foot forward takes a lot of courage,” she said. “When I work with artists, I’m honest about where I think they are and where I think they can be. Success doesn’t happen overnight and you have to be tough. We will apply for 20 projects and you will get one or two.
Unlike creating a painting in a studio, public art commissions often include a lot of paperwork that artists don’t want to do. Having the support of someone like Valdez is important, but the artist will have to learn how to manage teams of people, payroll, not to mention navigating building codes, longevity and maintenance considerations, and more. Again. But Evans says he enjoys the job and found it to be a good learning experience.
“I know I need to know that to evolve and grow, and I’m happy to do that at someone else’s expense,” he said. Spoken like a true entrepreneur.
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Editor’s Note: If you have an issue you would like advice on, send your questions to paddy@vvrkshop.art. Include your name and location, or a request to remain anonymous. Letters can be changed.
