Honest writing about stuff I’ve learnt.

Chaotic thoughts

I am an artist. Not a neat, tidy, organised artist but a messy, non-structured one. I headed off to University aged 30, to begin my art life. I became a Mum, and two young(ish) kids later, I’ve swallowed the fact that I’ll never outgrow my sometimes depressed, anxious, shy and over-sensitive nature as I expected to when I ‘grew-up’ and started any one of my dozen niche business ideas which never stuck.

I want to be one defined type of person! I absolutely yearn for it. But things stay the same, stuck in a rut.

Challenged

Then I met someone who challenged everything that I thought was true. In the early days, we had frequent, exasperated exchanges about ethics, art, business and community, and often we did not agree. Mainly because he has a marketing background and I’m less pragmatic and more idealistic, but…

Then Converted

As we spent more time together, I saw exactly how much belief, determination and careful thought he poured into his own business concept and it struck me that it takes moral fibre to create a business from scratch. At that point, I definitely softened to think that perhaps, there is a happy place, where creative marketing is not secondary to making art. Neither is better than the other, and each is valuable.

Not Charity.

Ethical marketing genuinely helps people. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. You know those de-clutter and organise your life TV shows? Imagine that for a business. Instead of physical clutter, it’s outdated software and routines being binned in favour of new ones designed to streamline and refine. The business owner can breathe, see a path forward and have peace of mind knowing they’re not missing a trick. It takes a lot of thought to develop a sound strategy, and that’s a service that you need to pay for, or it’d be charity.

Time’s change,

This whole radical honesty buzz shows me that we are all part of a cycle of change. Thinking about art like I did fifteen years ago — wishing there was a career path, hoping it could be more than a recreation — is pointless for me. I’ll go further: it’s pointless for anyone now. It doesn’t reflect where the world is, and it doesn’t help. I became a reluctant marketer, held back by the reasons I’ve shared. I’m now proud of what I’ve achieved working in this field, and here’s why…

Overlooking the truth,

Everyone has the ability to make art, and if you do, share it. Art is amazing! It can take us on a journey or reflect our own and the collective ‘soul’ -yes, some artworks are created to be owned, but a lot more are a personal process of making meaning, and that taps into something universal.

but, there’s a pressing matter being overlooked. We’re cooked.

Conclusion

Well, artists, it’s a new era, ‘artwork’ now is at grassroots, working creatives can improve communities and everyday life through ethical marketing — helping themselves and training others to make a living.

That’s a real-time, interactive, art-installation with sustainable, social cohesion at its centre, it’s timely. It’s not government-backed. It’s people-powered and we’ll create our own change.

What do you think?