This has to have been one of the most stressful years for artists ever - and yet within that we have seen some remarkable achievements by artists.
In this post I'm going to try and highlight some of what I saw and heard about in 2020 which helped artists keep going....
- Artists Support Pledge
- Portraits for NHS Heroes
- The Art Teachers who learned fast how to deliver art lessons online
- Art Marketing and Website Makeovers
- The Virtual Online Art Exhibitions and Tours
- The Virtual / Online Conferences for Artists
- Online Resources
- My Contribution
Let's all remember going forward that we are not at the end - even with approved vaccines - and it's going to be a long time before things get back to normal.
So we need even more innovation and endeavour and hard work in 2021 - but if what I've seen in 2020 is anything to go by, there's lots of artists who are up for that!
Artist Support Pledge #artistsupportpledge
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| Artist Support Pledge - the gifted keep giving |
I wrote about it in The Artist Support Pledge in May 2020. Some artists have been regularly selling small works
online all through the pandemic. More than a few professional artists have
told me they've had more sales and generated more income this year than in
some 'normal' years in the past.
- an MBE in the Queen’s 2020 Birthday Honours List - for services to the arts during the Covid-19 response
The online selling platform helping artists make a living now has more than 69,000 followers, has produced 447,000 posts and generated around £70m in sales. Burrows, Apollo’s Personality of the Year, was subsequently made an MBE in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours – and his no-frills initiative has been hailed as a lifeline for artists struggling in the wake of Covid-19. Personality of the Year | Apollo Magazine (19 November 2020)In 2021 I'm going to pledge to do one post a week which will highlight the artwork of at least five artists whose work is posted for sale for £200 or less with the #artistsupportpledge.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all used other platforms to highlight the works of art that we liked - and continue to help those whose incomes have been decimated due to the lack of exhibitions.
