#jan harrison

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Jan Harrison 1924-2014

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Jan Harrison, The Corridor Series Primate #31 (2009)

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Business of Art | Making it Work Outside of New York City

How to cultivate your creative practice and career where you live and beyond.

New York City has a wealth of resources for artists and creative consumers alike, yet there are also challenges associated with being a working artist here, including a high cost of living and limited opportunities for affordable workspace. As much as we love our city (New York Foundation for the Arts’ office is in Brooklyn, after all), for the purposes of this post, we’re focusing our lens outside of city limits to examine how you can best cultivate your creative practice and career.

Develop your goals as an artist.

We talked to three artists who have exhibited widely both within their local communities as well as internationally: Jan Harrison (Recharge Foundation Fellow ’19), who after living in Cincinnati for many years settled in Kingston, NY, two and a half hours away from Manhattan, and Kim Bishop (IAP Mentor ’19) and Luis Valderas (IAP Mentor ’19), who in addition to being artists, co-founded the 3rd Space Art Gallery in San Antonio, TX.

Bishop and Valderas emphasized that it is important for working artists to “have a clear vision of your goal as an artist, then be ready, and be professional.” Artist-centered professional development and entrepreneurial training programs can help you define your artistic vision as well as short and long term goals. In addition to reaching out to your regional or state arts councils for opportunities, several national organizations offer both in-person or remote learning options, including NYFA Learning and the nonprofit organization Creative Capital. Harrison also echoed the need for artists to be proactive about finding opportunities and cultivating their careers, “Find your own way; don’t just try and fit within an established art world. Be creative about how you are going to exhibit your work.”

Be involved in your local arts community.

As a working artist, be involved in your local arts community where you can find like-minded artists and creative professionals to share resources, exhibit work, and learn about new opportunities. Outside of New York City, arts communities tend to be smaller and tight-knit, yet they are often more accessible to new artists. Harrison suggested that artists “go to local openings and studio visits as much as possible, and find connections that aren’t necessarily in the arts, but that have shared passions.” As you discover artists and organizations nearby that you respect, sign up for their mailing lists, follow them on social media, and participate in their programming as much as possible.

“Be prepared to share your knowledge through mentorship or teaching because you have to show how art is valuable to your community,” emphasized Bishop and Valderas, “Be active in the development of art policy in your city.” Search Americans for the Arts’ Arts Service Directory to find your local arts agencies; Americans for the Arts also lists an advocacy toolkit for individuals and information about current legislation affecting the arts on their website.

Be part of the broader arts community, too.

Arts writers and collectors tend to be clustered around international arts centers, such as New York City and Los Angeles, so seek out opportunities to develop connections in those places while still living and being active in your local arts community. Stay up-to-date with industry-related news in your discipline, including reading local and international arts and culture publications and following artists you admire on social media. Develop a strong digital presence, including a website with professional-quality images of current work and previous projects, and maintain active social media accounts. Harrison explained that some of her exhibition opportunities in the United States and in Europe came from relationships that started through various forms of communication, including global environmental and animal activism, as well as social media. She also maintains many personal and professional relationships in New York City and beyond.

In addition to a strong digital presence, Bishop and Valderas recommended that artists develop relationships with academic institutions, join professional associations and participate in their conferences, and apply for residencies to make connections outside of their geographic region. They also advised that artists can “develop your network outside of the community by traveling as well as hosting.”

Find open calls online on NYFA’s Opportunities & Services page, NYFA Source, the Alliance for Artist Communities Residency Directory, and discipline-specific resources such as Common Field, Poets & Writers, and Theatre Communications Group. National visual, performing, and literary conferences that artists and industry professionals both attend include convenings by the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), and the College Art Association (CAA).

As an artist, find opportunities to channel your creative energy both within and outside your local arts community to raise your visibility, learn from peers and mentors, and build lasting relationships across the diverse populations of arts enthusiasts in this country and abroad. “Think locally, regionally, and globally,” said Harrison, “You can do all three.”

- Maria Villafranca, NYFA Coach

You can find more articles on arts career topics by visiting the Business of Art section of NYFA’s website. Sign up for NYFA News and receive artist resources and upcoming events straight to your inbox.

Image: Jan Harrison (Recharge Foundation Fellow ’19), FOUNDLING, 2015, Photo Credit: Nancy Donskoj

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Jan Harrison

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Life After the Storm: God Will Carry You Through by Jan Harrison

Life After the Storm: God Will Carry You Through by Jan Harrison

Are winds of change, doubt, or grief swirling around you? Engaging author and teacher Jan Harrison shares how, when storms strike, you can depend on God’s spiritual supplies— His promises, His Spirit, His ever-present help, and the treasures of His Word.

After a storm of loss forever changed the landscape of Jan’s life, her faith and years of Bible study were tested. In that journey, she…

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In The Making: Creative Options For Contemporary Art

Response to Sourcing Inspiration: Internal Sources

In this chapter the ideas of where inspiration comes from and how different artists tap into their inspiration is discussed. The introduction explains how there are endless paths to inspiration. I would like to focus this response more heavily on the breakdown of the three artist I was presented with though, and how they source internal inspiration in very different manners.

Jan Harrison:

Harrison approaches inspiration as a destination, and not a necessity for her to begin her work. I found that to really resonate, because so many times as an artist I strive to be inspired before even touching my pencil to paper or building my piece. She draws upon the concept of monsters and begins each of her pieces with a self-portrait that she then transforms into fantastical creatures. Her work returns to natural instinct, as she allows whatever is to come without question, and admits openly that she has no knowledge of ancient myth to base her work on. Her work dabbles in fields of consciousness, and she claims she addresses three main concerns; the abandonment of the ego, all-encompassing love, and freedom from the fear of death. Overall, she dabbles with the contrast between the human and animal soul, and how the animal soul is so desirable and simplistic. Her process is extremely internal and she seems to not often allow outside sources to influence her work. I felt the primal elements she addresses were fascinating, and she lets her inspiration become a free-flowing form. 

Pipilotti Rist:

Rist was by far, my favorite of the three artist I studied. She draws her inspirations from emotional turmoil and failed romances. It's frustrating being a modern woman, because I feel almost forced to abandon my feminine qualities for the sake of taking down the patriarchy or whatever it is feminism today strives for. In the book they term this "grrrl power"; and don't get me wrong I love the independence and opportunities I have been given from such movements, but like Rist, I still connect to (and bury deep inside) the love-starved maiden archetype. Rist puts her romantic idealizations and failures on display for the world to see. She screams out to the world that she is still female, and vulnerable, tormented by her romantic fantasies and the disappointments they bring. Most of her works are very sensual video installations, that reference pop culture more-so historical art contexts. For her first solo exhibition in New York she transformed the gallery into a domestic interior that contained contents of the wounded female psych. I also transformed the gallery into a domestic space, and although not for the same reasons, can connect with her intentions of that action and how you get a fingerprint of a persons life without their presence. I think even if romance isn't my main concern, I really dig her exploration and exhibition of human emotions and the complexities they present. I also really admire her realistic approach to feminism and not being another one of the ruthless man-eaters I so often see representing feminism today. 

Julian LaVerdiere:

The final artist I studied in this chapter draws his inspiration from the external sources of science and history, but he chooses topics that may not have all the pieces and have obvious blanks in their historical context. What LaVerdiere does is he takes little-known historical milestones, mainly those made in technology, and displays them in completely new lights. His focus is in imagination and curiosity, because he adds his own twist on these historical bases. He adds dramatic propaganda to events as a way for viewers to connect or spark interest in an otherwise mundane topic. He is probably best known for his collaborative piece with Paul Myoda, which was two lightbeams shooting up into the manhattan sky where the twin towers once stood, a mere six months after the 9/11 attacks. His piece originally started as a plan to have a massive beacon of light radiating from the top of the north tower created by plankton. Although interesting, I think what really displays his constant state of inspiration (as opposed to it coming in sparks or waves) was his ability to adapt the project after the collapse of the towers and create an equally powerful and provocative piece that continued his message; perseverance, despite obstacles and tragedy, is critical to developing a bright future.