This weekend, my YouTube playlist suggested a video by Big Think titled “The Fascinating Science of Who Succeeds in Art” a research study by Network Scientist Albert-László Barabási and Art Market Consultant Magnus Resch’s PhD Thesis, claiming they are able to predict an artist’s success based on the first 5-10 exhibits they were in. Now I was curious.
In this video Barabási says “The most interesting aspect of this network was that it allowed us to predict artistic success. That is, if you give me an artist and their first five exhibits, I put them on the map, and we could fast forward their career, where they gonna be 10, 20 years from now. And the predictions were incredibly accurate.”
“We ended up finding about, roughly, 250 artists who really started from the bottom, from the periphery, from unknown institutions, and made it all the way to the top. And what the data indicated is that they did not follow the traditional advice of how you succeed as an artist: which is get a gallery, and work with them.”
Sources article link; youtube video; research paper; Book: How to become a successful artist
“Your (Art) Business will be built at the speed of relationships” said my friend Jessica Jordan. As a coach, Jessica knew that a person’s network is really important when looking for ways to collaborate, be connected and be the first person someone thinks of when a new opportunity presents itself. This is a core aspect of all of our consulting work with visual artists who want to grow their art business.
You may like this article: Transform Your Art Business With These 7 Steps
While the 579+ Billion Dollar art market is a complex world to navigate, there is a rise of visual artists who are not taking the ‘traditional’ art school advice.
Visual Artists who think like entrepreneurs and act like marketers can create a successful studio practice, pairing a hybrid approach to selling works directly from their studio, at indoor art fairs, collectives and as well as working with galleries, museums and art-specific online market places. The internet has made building relationships with like-minded people around the world so accessible.
Everything art school won’t teach you: To make it as a full-time artist, you will need to learn about business, marketing and sales. It is about pairing your creative talent and aspirations, financial goals and relational equity — the ability to connect with other artists, art professionals and art lovers to position yourself for success. Over half of artists showing at top-tier galleries, art fairs and or museums gain access and visibility, because they were referred by another artist they know.
