Research Report: Who is a professional artist?

25th February 2021
So, today I was part of a really interesting discussion that was set up by a group of students that were from the Erasmus University. The discussion was based on their research for the art and cultural sector as a part of their studies and the question was, what is it to be a professional artist? There was a group of us, a filmmaker student, a musician student, a performance artist, an individual that runs a cultural performance and theatre festival in Utrecht and me as a student teacher artist and social entrepreneur. (The names were meant to be kept anonymous during this discussion so I will respect that here.) So immediately the thing that was, was the word professional that was uncomfortable for one person. She said “I don’t like that term. Something sits wrong with me as an artist as a performer, it doesn’t feel like it’s right. Is it a professional or considered a professional when you start making money?” Then the musician said, “well I don’t consider, when you start making money, but you’re a professional because, isn’t it when you're completely consumed by what you’re doing, when it becomes something that you work for all of the time, passionately. Then that’s being a professional. Something you spend a lot of time doing.”

(I’m going to be paraphrasing a lot in order to encapsulate the essence of what I got out of the discussion.)

This conversation on being a professional jumped too and in so many ways and so many levels. The fact that the term professional comes from an economic background and has a more linear structured field, where you're trained to do something specific. But the fact that as an artist you don’t have one box, you don’t fit into one box. You have or should have the freedom to constantly expand your skills, adapt change over time. And that it’s also over time and experiences that evolves. So, it’s hard to put it in a cookie cutter way, where you have X amount of experience or where you have worked or who you’ve worked with and the X number of big names or gotten so many grants and projects. And how that can actually make other artist feel left out, unworthy and actually one of the students there said that they wouldn’t be able to continue being a filmmaker because maybe they just weren’t going to get all those acclaims to fame, or that because there was so much competition it didn’t seem realistic for them to make a living from it. So, the talent or the skill wasn’t realistic enough to make enough money off of, so why do it, why not drop it and look for something that you can actually make money off of? Which is a shame because, well it shouldn't be about the money, it’s about the fact that you have creative talent, and you have this innate need to make or create something and then… Well actually that’s what was brought up next is that well actually your more of a professional artist when you have an audience. When you make something and then its other people that are able to partake in it. And then of course the question was, well how many people should that be? What about when art is very personal something that you, maybe you're just stuck in your studio, how many people is an audience? Is one person and their feedback enough or do you need a certain amount to say ok, for their recognition and their approval of what you’re doing. Does that then make you, when, when is that enough? Like how many people need to say, ya you’ve arrived or what you’re doing is good?

Speaking of terminology, the question came up about a CV. Do you need a CV when you’re an artist? The conversation of, when does someone’s experience in this written for that is meant to categorise you and put you in boxes. How can you as an artist be able to explain or encompass all of the things that you have to do to be an artist? The varying skills that you, that it takes and that you have to acquire to be an artist. And yet a CV only captures the physical work that you’ve done for someone else. It takes away the personal aspect and the personal element from, when you get the chance to meet someone you might be able to know that they are competent and capable of doing something that is brand new and unique or perfect for that job or that assignment because of their drive their vision, the way they think of something and their work ethic their driver and their passion. Rather than what is on that paper and the fact also that CVs can exclude people from other countries or that their experience from other countries and cultures is not seen as relevant. It’s actually quite the opposite in India, where your experience abroad is appreciated and considered valuable a way to learn something new from another perspective. So, the CV is made to kind of have a hierarchy and to categorise people. But at the same time, it’s a system that is still there and so you're still forced to use it as an artist. Well again it's seen as being a professional and to be a professional you must have this, and it has to be long and layered and well worked into the work system in a way that people can understand. So that was another element that was brought up.

Afterwards, I was talking to an architect that we’re currently working with at The Creative Playground, she is from South Africa. We were chatting about workflows and ways of doing things and how in South Africa and in India, from my perspective, things are a little more open and easier going. Whereas here in The Netherlands you have to really pre-plan and have everything well, you have to show and prove that you are super skilled and super knowable, and everything has to be super clean and cut out and there’s not really room for things to happen, for things to evolve. The fact that especially when you’re working circular and sustainable you have to be able to respond at the moment. Maybe you find materials, or you have a connection with someone that comes along at that time or an opening or a new part of what you do creatively opens up because of or the circumstances change. Then there needs to be an allowance for flexibility because maybe if you are able to incorporate that then it becomes even stronger or well rounded. There is of course sometimes a limit to this but at the same time if you want to be relevant, current and you want to be able to add a deeper value to things, you also have to be attuned to the movement at that time. And it’s the same also with being an artist you have to have this fluidity and you have to be un-stagnated.

Actually, that’s where the art education question from the research discussion also comes in. They asked do you think that art education is valued, is it needed? And of course, that’s a very loaded question, that you cannot answer in just an hour or less discussion with a few people. But at the same time, you’re talking about a system, the education system which is big and conglomerate and has its own structure and form and in order for that whole structure and form to shift and change to the current and present time it’s a lot slower. So sometimes what an art student is receiving, also from an individual level, when there’s certain perspectives and certain teachers and ways of critiquing, it’s not always up to date. It’s not always able to be directly in response to what the student is experiencing or expressing or in order to, as an artist, have the freedom to respond immediately and play with that. So sometimes the education system makes it a little more restricted and tighter. However, it’s also possible to see it like a playground, you have to navigate that playground, rather than letting the parameters and the equipment within it navigate you. That was also another thing that came up was, that maybe that’s when you become a “professional artist” it’s when you aren’t floundering anymore. But maybe more navigating and guiding your interests and your passion and your journey yourself, with the tools and the people that are around you and that are available. Another point of view was that the education system is kind of obsolete in that it pitches people against the other and it puts one person above the other. It’s still making people feel like they have to be The All In All talent and all encompassing. As opposed to the fact that you can collaborate, you need to support each other, you need to have mutual support over, I need to be the one to win this prize or I need to be the one that receives the best recognition or the highest score. It’s a skewed way of sending an artist out of the playground and into the “real world”, for example, when actually you can become a lot stronger if you spend time working together with your peers, collaborating and riffing off of the other creative minds that are there. Kind of letting your vision and your skills be enhanced by working with other people. Because they’ll have new perspectives and different points of views to offer.

What was also brought up was that to be an artist it takes vulnerability and the willingness to make mistakes and to be wrong, which isn’t normally incorporated in normal business worlds and structures, they can’t afford failures. Because the difference is that your kind of like, if you have failures and if you're vulnerable as an artist then those failures are part of the process, you need them, they are there and that’s what actually moves you to another understanding and layer to what you’re doing. This failure is not usually or always looked at as a good think all the time, though now there are having more of these Fuck Up Nights that are now being promoted. When you’re working for a company it’s not usually as flexible and they want you to do something that is as fool proof as possible, because again, there’s money involved. Which is a value other than the value of trying and failing so that you can learn and grow. Which is also an essential part of the circular and sustainable world. You have to test and try and fail to see what else comes of it, what issues arise, possibilities, difficulties and realities you’re actually dealing with. Rather than repeating a formula that has been tried and tested and used multiple times, regurgitating versions of the same thing over and over again.

So, at the end of the discussion we were once again asked if we considered ourselves as professional artists and why? Their answers were again a little different and answered from another angle. Of course, the answers are never going to be the same response, everyone has their own narrative.

What does it mean to be a professional artist? Is worth re-thinking, considering the structures that are around you, imposed upon you and what is expected of you. Or what you actually think for yourself, what that entails and means, can be quite intriguing. And for me, I’m sure this answer will change, but um at the end of that discussion I said I felt like my mind was kind of cut in two. One part is yes, indeed I can say it's professional because it does pertain to the very sort of business-like world, where it is all organized and planned and structured and the other side of me is the LA LA LA LA HA…dreaming visioning, envisioning, imagining, pushing and playing. And sometimes the “Professional” side of my brain has too much weight or takes too much precedence then the other side. So, it’s about letting them both work simultaneously to support each other and when that happens my artistry is in balance.