Laura Williams, 21, Fremantle
I am an artist living in Fremantle, Western Australia. I like to work in a range of mediums - filmmaking, drawing, painting, mixed media and often a combination of all of these. So far I've been involved in markets, exhibitions and competitions - I figure the more I do the better.
The hardest thing I've found so far is that making work and trying to get it out there requires not only a lot of time spent by yourself but also a lot of self-motivation. Without someone telling me what to do and how to do it, it took me a long time to realise that often you just have to throw yourself into things (even when you don't really know what you're doing). Its a situation where every event i've been involved in has been a major learning curve and provided me with a greater understanding of not only how to approach things but also of my own strengths and weaknesses.
I studied Fine Arts, graduating in 2006 and while I loved my experience at University and learnt so much, I think you can encounter a lot of negativity about trying to be an artist often imposed by people not involved in Fine Arts ie. its not realistic, your never going to make any money out of it etc. There were also a lot of practical gaps - how to apply for grants, how to write an exhibition proposal, where to look for employment. At first I found it really easy to give up, thinking it was all too hard and it was only through going to the Hatched Symposium (very much reccomended) and listening to the possibilities as well as the challenges facing practicing artists that I actually realised it could be possible.
I'm certainly not a full-time artist but I've managed to make a bit of money with my work and have definitely sold a lot more than I thought possible 12 months ago. I've also found that if you believe in what you do and really be open to whatever comes your way you can have some pretty amazing experiences and opportunities and aside from the general consensus (of artists having to go over east), people in Perth are really interested in local work.
Something I think that would really benefit young artists in WA is the formation of a group of emerging artists/makers/creative people - to exchange ideas and information, get events happening, act as a support network and as a way of really helping each other get off the ground and creating a really optimistic and encouraging environment to work in.
There is still so much to learn and so many things on my to do list but the most important thing I've realised is that if you want things to happen, no one is going to do it for you but when you start reaping the benefits, the hard work is definitely worth it.
The hardest thing I've found so far is that making work and trying to get it out there requires not only a lot of time spent by yourself but also a lot of self-motivation. Without someone telling me what to do and how to do it, it took me a long time to realise that often you just have to throw yourself into things (even when you don't really know what you're doing). Its a situation where every event i've been involved in has been a major learning curve and provided me with a greater understanding of not only how to approach things but also of my own strengths and weaknesses.
I studied Fine Arts, graduating in 2006 and while I loved my experience at University and learnt so much, I think you can encounter a lot of negativity about trying to be an artist often imposed by people not involved in Fine Arts ie. its not realistic, your never going to make any money out of it etc. There were also a lot of practical gaps - how to apply for grants, how to write an exhibition proposal, where to look for employment. At first I found it really easy to give up, thinking it was all too hard and it was only through going to the Hatched Symposium (very much reccomended) and listening to the possibilities as well as the challenges facing practicing artists that I actually realised it could be possible.
I'm certainly not a full-time artist but I've managed to make a bit of money with my work and have definitely sold a lot more than I thought possible 12 months ago. I've also found that if you believe in what you do and really be open to whatever comes your way you can have some pretty amazing experiences and opportunities and aside from the general consensus (of artists having to go over east), people in Perth are really interested in local work.
Something I think that would really benefit young artists in WA is the formation of a group of emerging artists/makers/creative people - to exchange ideas and information, get events happening, act as a support network and as a way of really helping each other get off the ground and creating a really optimistic and encouraging environment to work in.
There is still so much to learn and so many things on my to do list but the most important thing I've realised is that if you want things to happen, no one is going to do it for you but when you start reaping the benefits, the hard work is definitely worth it.
posted by ArtsMAP Collective at
12:22 AM
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