Supporting Artists, Supporting Communities

“The Space In Between,” Anna Brones, 2024

Hello friends,

I spent this week packaging lots of calendars to prepare for my shop update and calendar launch.

I always forget how much work this entails. How many photos need to be taken, how many times descriptions need to be read and re-read for errors, or simply to see if what you’ve written actually makes something sound nice enough for someone to purchase it.

And then you hit “publish” and you hope for the best. There’s an element of faith involved in this kind of work, and in many other forms of creative work. It is hard to plan with any kind of certitude, and you must trust that some future person down the line will want to buy your work.

And then of course, there are the truly unexpected moments. The times when your entire world goes into upheaval, your entirely livelihood pulled from beneath you. I looked at photos this week of the River Arts District in Asheville, NC, flooded and destroyed by Hurricane Helene, with a pit in my stomach. "I'm numb right now," Karen Maugans, a 61-year-old photographer told Reuters. "It's unreal. This doesn't happen here. Every single thing I had was underwater."

That comes at a personal cost to all the artists impacted, but it also comes at a cost to the city: the arts district generated $1 billion in sales and supported 8,500 jobs. “There is nothing like the River Arts District in the United States and maybe even the world,” said Jeffrey Burroughs, president of River Arts District Artists told The New York Times. “It’s spaces where artists are in control of their businesses, their lives.” For anyone who works as an artist, you know how amazing, how radical, that is. And you can imagine what it would feel like to have that ripped out from underneath you.

I’ve never been to Asheville, but its identity as a cultural force has always made me want to go there. Even if I’ve never been there, reading through the artist accounts this week really hit me. I thought about what I would do if all of my work and supplies were destroyed. What kind of trust would one need to make it through that? What kind of community would be required?

It reminded me of

Nic Antoinette

’s conversation with Della Duncan about everyday alternatives to capitalism that I listened to earlier this week. One of the points that stuck with me: you can work at cultivating community now, or you will have to cultivate community in the face of disaster.

That’s a reality that we all face. An excellent argument for investing in the systems, the communities, the connections and yes, the creativity, that we know bind us together. Doing so in the easier, more joyful times, so that we have the connections in the darker ones.

Here is one thing that I do know: artists will continue to make art.

And that’s something we should all consider supporting.

-Anna

If you want to help support artists in the Asheville area, you can donate to the River Arts District Flood Recovery Fund, and here is a fundraiser to help support the local space Curve Studios. 10% of paid subscriptions this month will go to supporting these efforts.

If any of you readers know of other ones, please share in the comments.

October Creative Fuel Prompts

Have any of you been working your way through the October prompts? I have given myself a 5-minute constraint on them. Some days I’ve kept going for a little longer after that, but only if I feel like it. If you’re taking part, share how it’s going.

Holiday Season Financial Realities for Artists: Your Input Wanted

For most people, it’s fall. For anyone who sells things during the holiday season, I am going to guess that you’re already in a bit of holiday mode. I am working on a piece about what holiday season looks like for artists who make and sell things during the holiday season. Is this you? I’d love some input on the financial realities of this upcoming season. If you’re willing, please fill out this form. And feel free to pass it along to other artists you know!

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UPCOMING CREATIVE FUEL WORKSHOPS

Wednesday October 16, 5-6:30pm PT: Create+Engage October Session

We’ll be announcing guest artists next week! Sign up here. 

DIVE Writing Group: October - December 2024

The Fall 2024 session of DIVE writing group kicks off this month! Gather together with facilitator

Kerri Anne

and make fall a season of writing. More info + sign up.

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