Vincent Van Gogh, whose works are now worth millions of dollars, never made a cent from his art while he lived—simply because he sold not a single painting. He survived out of the kindness of his brother, an art gallery assistant, who gave him regular dole-outs.
Paul Gauguin fared no better. He once wrote he was so poor he feared he might starve to death. Would he be amused to know that today, one of his paintings could easily fetch half a million dollars?
In the Philippines, Levi Celerio, National Artist for Music and Literature, wrote more than 4,000 songs in his lifetime—many of which became Philippine musical classics. But in 2002, he died so poor he couldn’t even pay for his hospital bills.
Van Gogh, Gauguin and Celerio reinforce the time-worn stereotype of the artist as “starving genius.”
Could it be that society has unintentionally niched artists and designers to a corner, shielded from the opportunities of commerce and trade? Most artists I know work in their homes and wait for someone—a patron, a collector, a philanthropist to discover that their work exists. True, some of them are more pro-active. They would cast pride aside and bring their works to an art gallery or dealer who would take these in on consignment. Meanwhile, the artists wait, often an agonizingly long time, to get paid.
No business sense
An art gallery owner recounts his appalling experience with artists: “Many did not have practical business skills—and a surprising number lacked even basic organizational skills. They’d move and leave no forwarding addresses so that it was impossible to send them payments for consigned work. Some would go weeks or months without returning phone calls or answering letters or e-mails—even though you were trying to buy more of their work. They’d take months to cash checks!
“A large percentage of artists had no record-keeping system or accounting system—NOTHING, not even pencil and paper. Some artists would completely forget which artworks they had delivered to you and their prices.”
Some Filipino visual artists, though able to sell their works, are deemed to “starve” because of lack of awareness of their economic rights.
One of these is the right, by visual artists, to collect at least five per cent of the subsequent sale of their work all through their lifetime, and 50 years thereafter, which can be collected by their next of kin.
“Most artists are not aware of their rights. Artists can, as individuals ask for this share. Better yet, artists can band together to form a collecting society to implement this right,” says Precious Leaño, consultant for Intellectual Property Philippines, speaking at an artists’ forum held in Cebu City three years ago.
In the Philippines, the Filipinas Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is the first and oldest collecting society, which collects for its members in the music industry.
Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society and the Performers Rights Society of the Philippines were recently organized for writers and performers, respectively.
However, a collecting society for the visual arts has yet to be organized, adds Leano.
Beyond knowing their rights, collecting faster and more efficiently, and getting more royalties, artists can step out of economic rut they have boxed themselves in and look at themselves as entrepreneurs—well able to promote, market, and make money out of their creative output.
Combine business with art
Steve King, a member of our Small Business Trends Expert network, notes the trend toward artists combining entrepreneurship with art. He points out how people are choosing art as their life’s passion and learning how to make a business of it, too, to support themselves and their families.
He notes three trends that open income opportunities for artists, designers and craftsmen:
One, there is growing consumer interest in unique, one-of-a-kind or handcrafted products and is growing, broadening the market for works of art.
For another, the Internet is creating new and effective methods for tech savvy artists to find an audience—and for art buyers to easily find art that interests them. Indeed, some artists have put up virtual galleries of their own by simply having their online sites which exhibit their work and provide information on their prices and other terms.
Third, technology is reducing the costs of producing many types of art, allowing artists to price at levels that attract new buyers and expand the art market. Technology also gives artist entrepreneurs the ability to create and manage small businesses with multiple revenue streams.
This greatly increases the likelihood they will generate enough revenue to succeed.
The concept of entrepreneurship in the arts has been evolving in recent years, and finding its way to the curriculum of a growing number of business and management programs in higher education. Engineering colleges, food and clothing technology institutes, and culinary schools have also begun to teach entrepreneurship to their students.
The challenge now is for institutes of higher learning to introduce entrepreneurship concepts and values into their academic programs in visual arts, architecture, interior design, music, communication, and others.
Teaching artists
Another approach is to offer short-term certificate programs that will open the eyes of artists and creative professionals to the commercial opportunities in their field so that they can make full economic use of their artistic talents.
This is already being addressed in other countries. A quick review of academic programs abroad reveals courses like: Artistic Entrepreneurship; Culture and Development; Artistic Entrepreneurship and Technology; Art and Business of Movies; Performing Arts entrepreneurship; Business of Music; and many others.
The Philippines needs to have more entrepreneurs in its bid for economic self-reliance which has eluded the country for decades. Why shouldn’t these productive entrepreneurs come from the ranks of its most creative and talented citizens? Starving artists need not get hungry anymore—nor do their families.
The Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation (SERDEF) and the UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI) have assisted colleges of business and engineering in developing their entrepreneurship-enriched programs. They should be able to do no less for higher institutes of learning in the arts and related fields.
(The author is with the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation. She is a member of the UN Women Philippine National Committee and SERDEF, a resource hub for micro, small and medium enterprises in the Philippines. In partnership with the UP ISSI, it conducts training, research, extension and advocacy programs to promote small-scale entrepreneneurship in the country. Check out its website at www.serdef.org.)