Jason Andrew writes at hyperallergic this week about the dilemma facing artist when giving artworks to arts organizations for fundraisers and questions the process. A bunch have weighed in, including myself – but I thought I’d post the response here as well.
Jason’s article is here (you should probably read it first)
I’ve spent a bit of time wrestling with this issue as an artist, it’s hard to have much sympathy for these organizations when past actions have delivered so little to the artists involved while only delivering any real value to the organizations and their donor base.
I’m not looking for a quid quo pro situation, but I am looking to be treated as an equal and potentially as a donor. Instead what I often get is a promise of “exposure” (along with 100 other artists hung chock-a-block on the walls) and an indifference when dropping off the work, and rarely a thank you note. Really it’s the last two that irritate me the most.
The only real solution that I have found (for me – and please understand I speak only for myself here) is not to participate in these kinds of events. I will not participate until the organizations start acting in a way that is in partnership with the artists that it claims to assist. It surprises me that artists are willing to assist with fundraising that does nothing for the artist but everything for the donor and organization.
This is where William Powhida makes sense – artists are so crazy to get exposure they are willing to be treated like second hand citizens by the very community that claims to hold the arts in such high regard. This system is broken and needs to be critically re-thought.
Postscript: as a New York and Washington DC based artist, I will say that the auction at Transformer in DC is the best one I’ve ever done and would do again without hesitation. You are thanked, put on the invite, given the name of the artworks buyer and even paid if the work sells – it’s a great model and I’d love to see this model duplicated. It truly is a win-win.
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