PROJECT: ART FOR MY RENT
Project Duration: May 2011 to May 2012

In 2011 I quit my job at an ad agency to pursue a career as a visual artist. Without a backup plan and a little out of desperation, I wrote a single blog post aiming to sell one painting for the exact cost of my rent. This painting sold instantly so I decided to try and sell one every week to cover rent, and out of this simple idea was born the project Art For My Rent.

I developed a website, sent out an email and next thing I knew the project had gone viral. It seems that there are plenty of people out there who want to quit their job and make art. Next thing I knew I was being featured on national news, National publications and receiving all kinds of emails both positive and negative. On the backend of the GFC, the project started to be a catalyst for conversations surrounding the role of money and art, raising many issues. One of the main grudges against Art For My Rent stemmed from the belief that art and money don’t mix, and therefore artists who are trying to make a living must be less of an artist than those doing it for the ‘love’. Projects such as this one test that ideology and push artists to empower themselves and inspire others to choose arts as a viable option.

I began to document some of these discussions, turning them into blog posts. The blog covered everything about my experience, from inspiration and process to ongoing frustrations. I talked openly about how difficult it is to make it as an artist, and wrote about my ups and downs. One of my vlogs (video blog) was a skit on gallery rejection letters, which any artist can relate to.

Some explorations from Art For My Rent included: 

  • Why is it frowned upon in the art community to be a self-represented artist?
  • Why don’t art and money mix?
  • How much of the art world is a game of smoke and mirrors?
  • Why isn’t art business & marketing taught at school?
  • Where is it okay for artists to showcase art, and why do we frown upon certain ways of showcasing? For example, having an exhibition at a shopping centre.
  • What’s the difference between having an auction on Ebay as opposed to Sotheby’s?
  • What is the purpose of art? (not what is art, but why do we make it?)
  • Why do people buy art? What kind of people buy art?
  • What is the benefit of art in a community?
  • When does a hobby artist become a professional artist?
  • What is social media art?
  • How does social media democratize art?
  • Social media changes everything: how will it change art?
  • What kinds of ways can we involve communities in the arts through social media art?
  • Art and money
  • Social media art
  • The imbalanced proportions of incomes in the arts industry
  • Art’s place in community
  • Art Branding
  • Art Marketing 
  • Art Business 101
  • Weekly pep talks
  • The 1% Artists 
  • Alternative Venues

Before I had a chance to blog about most of these topics, I pulled the plug on the project. Or better yet it came to its natural conclusion. In promoting that artists become more comfortable discussing art and money, I became increasingly less comfortable with it. I found myself needing a more spiritual connection to my work, and saw that treating art as a business was in opposition to this. In some ways I’m like the preacher who lost faith and I could no longer continue a project that I didn’t believe in. 

In retrospect the project was as farcical as it was sincere. I became a caricature of an artist and at some point I even began to make art like one. I felt like a cross between Bob Ross and Mark Kostabi, and in some ways like I’d made a deal with the devil.

I retreated into a more contemplative practice that was art-centred. I took time to develop my relationship with my work, treating painting as a friend. Talking to other painters in the studio. I fostered internal motivation and love for my vocation. I made peace with working alone. This has led me to a new project, one which is still in its infancy, and which I call MOHA.