The Sustainability of Art

Society’s lack of support for small artists needs to change before it watches art fade away. Artists in all different mediums are constantly asked what their “real job” or “9-5 job” is. Truth is, being an artist is more than a 9-5 job. Broadway performers have 10 hour rehearsals and two show days; Cake decorators spend 12 hours decorating extravagant wedding cakes; music producers spend countless months preparing albums for release. Yet still, many refuse to acknowledge that there is a lack of support for artists in society.  Society needs to start supporting the people who continuously influence our culture and economy. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a wave of artists unable to sustain themselves as many businesses closed down and professions were prohibited from performing live. Some big music artists- names like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and The Weeknd thrived as smaller musicians and other performers struggled immensely. As many artists fell, turning to gofundme and other fundraising platforms to pay monthly bills, many turned their heads and continued on consuming art. Artists that are well known in many different artistic spaces tend to be glorified by society whereas smaller artists who are just starting out tend to be shamed in many circumstances. 

Everyone has to start somewhere. In regards to the arts, building a following from the ground up and being there to watch artists strive is essential to success. If many societal expectations continue to discourage young, “small” artists and promote the narrative that being a creator isn’t a valid path to follow, art will die off, and the strength of communities will go with it. Every artist, big, small, and in between starts merely with a hope and a dream. All artists that are now glorified in media’s mainstream: Taylor Swift (music), Damien Hirst (visual art), Duff Goldman (cake decoration), Sutton Foster (musical theatre), Annie Leibovitz (photography), and an abundance of others had to start with a small following to get to where they are in mainstream media today. These artists play a large role in culture, and are easily recognizable for the work they’ve done throughout the years in the spotlight of societies’ eyes. No one seems to question that the jobs these well known artists perform, are jobs. But on the other side of the narrative, society often shames smaller start up artists for chasing their dreams. Children, often from a very young age, are urged to “follow their dreams'' and told that they can do “anything” that they want or wish to do. When asked what they want to do when they’re older, many reply with princess or doctor, but also pop star and actor or painter. When does the “Reach for your Dreams'' narrative end and where does the criticism and discouragement begin? The narrative that art isn't a valid or sustaining job is so prevalent when new artists begin their journeys. This discouragement and constant disbelief in young creators turns many away from the arts and tears down their life long dreams. Without emerging younger generations of artists in all creative spaces, filled with new ideas and experiences, art will never continue throughout time as it always has. The tastes and preferences of art in society are forever changing at a fast rate and the artists who are influential right now will fall out of the public eye and others will rise. Without society backing the rise of new creators, art will fall out of our communities. Without art, our communities will crumble. Art is a way to share the experiences of a wide variety of people through one person’s eye. Art brings people together in many ways by finding words, melodies, pictures, and countless mediums that encapsulate emotions, memories, and other shared community experiences. Often during times of crisis, such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, people struggle with thinking that they’re alone in their personal journeys; but art expresses so many experiences, reminding many that they’re not alone. This shares the narrative: someone has gone through this before and has survived through it, so can I. But, if society doesn’t support up and coming artists from the beginning, no one knows the damage that could occur, especially in growing and changing cultures and traditions.

Many art forms play a large role in culture and traditions. Since the beginning of recorded time, different art forms have been significant to different cultures. Artists bring people together in culture as art can portray shared experiences. Throughout Covid-19 quarantine, many have heard of and experienced firsthand the negative effects of the lack of live art, a very prevalent tradition in many western populations as well as dating back to Roman times. Live theatre and concerts brought so many people in so many different communities joy and a sense of connectivity to others in the space. Each individual artist who shares their craft can never recreate the exact experience of one performance more than once with the specific audience and energies that were present. Live performances create a moment of human history that can never be erased or altered. In Western culture-especially in the United States-music festivals, live concerts, and other live performances play a substantial role in the culture of the country. Music festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza are annual traditions in the US. As the US is a very celebrity run country, famous music artists from all over are invited to perform and entertain (in 2017) over 125,000 guests (Expanded Ramblings). During the many extensive lockdowns of 2020 and early 2021, artists of all professions, often those with other jobs outside of art as well, have taken a hard hit. As an artist, finding the motivation and energy to do what I love during the chronic trauma of a pandemic has been immensely difficult. The Covid-19 pandemic has both brought out the creation of many pieces of art centering on the struggle of quarantine and losing loved ones, but also a lull in artistic spaces- such as the historic shut down of Broadway on March 12, 2020 (NY Daily News). Without the space to create and perform with and for others, my mental health, and others’ has struggled. Without the guarantee of the next paycheck as businesses like Broadway, art galleries, and other exhibitions closed for months at a time. Without a connection with other artists, simple day-to-day routines have been mentally demanding to complete. Yet, many sat back and enjoyed days filled with limited responsibilities, endless hours of tv series and movies, and blasting music while many of the artists in these spaces struggled to make rent for months. During the pandemic shut downs, 95% of “arts workers'' across the US have lost income and 62% are now completely “out of work” (WSWS). Even before the pandemic, nearly 40 percent of arts workers earned a measly $35,000 or less in a year, and 37% earned from $35,000-75,000; with a very high cost of living in some of the most artist populated areas such as New York and Los Angeles, many artists already struggled to make do. On top of an already low salary, the significant wage loss in 2020 sent many artists into financial disasters. So what is society doing? Why are many consuming the arts in different mediums at an all time high and ignoring the struggle of the very artists they see on their screens? An article by Mashable says that between the hours of eleven am to noon, the rate of television streaming has raised 43%. Virtual tours, concerts, and art exhibitions have begun to pop up everywhere. But society still refuses to support artists in one of the simplest ways.

Many may argue that being an artist in many capacities: actor, painter, graphic designer, and an exhaustive list of other professions aren’t a “real job” due to the high rate of artists that need more than one daily job to sustain themselves. The United States Census says that in 2019, around 13 million US workers have more than one job. The reasons range from financial needs, gaining experience, or pure interest. Many families cannot survive with only the income of one job and a cost of living in the United States that just keeps moving upwards. For example, a mother may work one full time job at the grocery store and another part time at the gas station to support their two kids and partner, but this individual doesn’t receive the criticism that many artists do when working a second, and in some circumstances, a third job. One is not told that working at the grocery store isn’t a valid job or just a hobby because it isn’t enough income to financially support a family, or even just one person. So why is an artist told this? The narrative that art isn’t a dependable income is a complicated one. Financially, many jobs aren’t what one may call “sustainable”, there is always the possibility that one will be out of work or with a lack of income in all professions. But the arts do more than just create income, art will fill someone’s heart with love, someone’s mind with creativity and imagination, someone’s body with movement, spark change; and arguably, this is more valuable than any large amounts of money on a weekly paycheck. 

So, again: change the narrative. Society needs to shut down the idea that being an artist isn’t a job, because without the growth of the art community and up and coming young artists, many populations and cultures will crumble and society will struggle, just like it has in the past year during the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns. Art will always be a force of change and a catalyst for connections. Why would society risk losing these beautiful experiences by not supporting artists? Supporting a creator can be as simple as sharing a post, mentioning a name, double tapping a screen. Support is simple, but what society is doing now is not sufficient. If society doesn’t change the way that they treat and recognize artists of all walks of fame, art will fall, and those people themselves will also struggle from the loss. Change the narrative.

-Finley Rose Hadel, MCI Team Member