Is it still worth painting and trying to sell art in the current economic crises? Most artists don’t believe that it has become completely impossible to sell art, but some have given up the brush and the hope of ever selling anything.
Many feel that the art market is less vibrant than it used to be and that it’s harder to sell than it was in the past. They may feel that the Great Recession hasn’t ever ended for the art market and that efforts to sell art are in vain…
Well…you can’t sell art if you don’t make art!
If art isn’t being seen, it’s less likely to sell, which then confirms the perception that sales are slow. You have to be seen! Social media has become the norm in this generation. Even grannies are using Facebook, Instagramming their family photos and commenting on knitting in Twitter.
I don’t mean to say that social media is the solution to your problems. Think of your local grocery store: Do the advertise? Yes. Do the print poster, brochures, send you email, messages etc…Yes. The same goes for Art. It is a product. Unless you showcase the product, no one will know that it even exist.
In the past the galleries used to do the social media angle through media and special advertising strategies.
As an artists, surely you must also do the best you can to get your art out there.
Art is still selling.
The art market works like a pyramid. Lets devide that pyramid into 4 levels. The lower your level on the pyramid, the easier it is to sell your art. The lowest level (level one) would generally fall within a R0 – R5000.00. The second level of the pyramid goes from R5000.00 – R15000-00. The market of people that have that type of money available becomes a lot smaller. They are generally people (in South Africa), that would rather see the actually work before purchasing the work. The overseas market is more used to online sales and therefore would still be willing to buy art online, sight unseen. Level three, becomes even small. This is the most difficult level to sell art in. Pricing varies from R15000.00 to R50000.00. (Just like the housing market there is “dead” level. In the housing market houses between R3-5 million is the most difficult to sell. Everything below R3 million and above R5 million sells much easier, because the market is so different.)
The top level would then run from R50000.00 to millions. That is the point of the pyramid. very exclusive buyers with lots of money wanting to buy investment art.
You have to look at yourself and see where you fit into that market. What do you have to do to make your art more visible. Visibility means sales.
So go get your grand son and let him help you to tweet, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest…and have some laughs and fun while doing it.
