The Importance of Art Competitions, Magazines, and Social Networks for Artists in 2024
Becoming a professional artist today requires much more than just talent and creativity.
In 2024, a successful artistic career also depends on how well you manage your image and communication. Even the most experienced artists sometimes struggle to present themselves and their work in the best possible way. It’s not about money; it’s about building healthy, constructive relationships and stepping away from the narcissistic trap of believing
you’re the only genius in the world.
Being an artist today means trying, experimenting, figuring out who to trust, and yes, investing money. If you don’t have it, you need to earn it, because money is essential energy.
Just like you buy brushes and paint, you need to invest in education and communication. In this column, we’ll help artists understand how to find funding, how to ask for it, and how to move forward to become professionals.
In this issue, we’ll start with applications and the importance of regaining self-confidence.
Faith and determination are essential, as is being visible. If you don’t take action, do you really think that someone in this hyper-connected world will notice you by chance?
The answer, as harsh as it sounds, is NO. Yet very few artists know how to approach the world that could give them visibility. I want to start by addressing the distrust artists have towards art professionals.
This stems from unrealistic expectations and old myths about what it means to be an artist in the Web 4.0 era. Sometimes, it’s just pure narcissism, fed by stories of artists who expected to become famous and sell all their works (often just a few)
immediately after entering a competition.
To be clear: not participating in competitions, online selections, magazines, or calls for artists is damaging to your career. If you have money, invest it. If you have little, find competitions within your reach. And if you have none, write to the organizers, explain your situation, and see if they’ll let you participate. Never give up. Once you’ve found the money, invest time in finding the right competition for you. It sounds simple, but we reject many applications because they are sent to the wrong competitions: videos for painting competitions, paintings for photography contests.
When you find the right competition, read carefully what the organizers are asking for. Don’t do it in a rush. Don’t send low-quality images or incomplete texts. Your CV should be tailored for the art world, not the one you use for IT or bartender jobs. Why should a competition believe in you if you don’t show you believe in your work? If you don’t take care of the details, perhaps you’re not really an artist.
Practical Tips:
Photos: they must be well-made. There are tons of freeprograms available today to edit and enhance images. Don’t send bad or low-resolution photos (we require at least 150 dpi).
Captions: always include the title of the work, the year of production, the dimensions, and the technique.
Artistic CV: don’t send the CV you use for non-art jobs. In the art world, readers want to know your experience in the field of art.
In 2023, we rejected 1,307 applications, had to recontact 706 artists for missing information or high-quality images, and replied to 6,403 emails because many hadn’t carefully read the instructions.
This is the time we lose because you don’t want to lose any of yours.
Think about that, people!
Vittoria
This article is featured in our magazine Vol. 11. Read and purchase here. This publication serves to showcase our work as art advisors and talent scouts within the contemporary art field. Interested in joining our project? Entry is exclusively through our challenge selection process. Apply here.
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