The Value of Art
Kiwi artists are often scared of asking for money, but art has value.
We’re very fortunate to have organisations like the New Zealand Film Commission and Creative New Zealand.
Their existence allows us to finance our creative endeavours and tell our stories, but unfortunately not all projects can be funded, and some just won’t fit the guidelines for funding.
So, like many international artists who don’t rely on government handouts, we either get a job that pays in currency, or we raise funds through private or corporate donations to create work.
Crowd-funding is the platform to make this process easier and accessible, but to explain “how to ask”, you must first consider why you are asking for money.
Why does your project have to be made?
Answering this question will help identify the audience that want your project to be made and may support your campaign.
Tip: If you can’t answer why your project should be made, then perhaps it’s a good time to pull the plug.
When I crowdfunded my Loading Docs project “Blood Sugar” on Boosted, we reached out to communities who could relate to our message.
The reason WHY I wanted to make this project, was to raise awareness of Paediatric Type One Diabetes - a medical condition my four year old daughter has - which I knew nothing about until her diagnosis.
For my own creative interest and to make it a more fun process, I filmed the entire story through her childish perspective; making it more accessible and sharable.
The answer to HOW we asked for donor support came from the WHY.
I joined online groups that exist specifically for raising awareness of Type One Diabetes, and followed social media accounts to reach out to other parents of children with diabetes. With their support and a shared goal in ‘why’, we quickly smashed our crowd funding target and had magazine and newspaper coverage before we’d even shot the film. When the project launched months later, our Boosted support network helped us reach well over 100k views in our first month online.
The reason you are making the project may also identify a potential corporate partner to be a match donor. Refer: What is a Match Donor?
Increasingly, the privileged are taking over the arts but it doesn’t have to be this way. For some artists, crowd-funding may be the first time you put a value on your work, but supporting an artist is different than paying for a product, it just requires a little confidence and a clear explanation of why your art needs to be made.
This blog post was written by Joe Hitchcock, Boosted Ambassador for Film. To read more about Joe and the Boosted ambassadors, visit our website.