Galleries may claim to be the experts in building audiences for the visual arts, but more and more artists are doing it for themselves.
Although relatively new to the UK, crowdfunding’s been working well in the US for many years through platforms including Kickstarter.
As artist Emily Speed says in the a-n Practical guide: “Crowdfunding uses the same principles as crowd-sourcing, where information or knowledge is sourced from a large group of people. In the case of crowdfunding, information is replaced by cash. Sponsume.com calls it ‘Small stakes in big ideas’, with that many small donations adding up to a lot. This is a different form of patronage that takes the focus away from a central organisation and appeals to a wider audience of people keen to support great new ideas”.
Crowdfunding has proved invaluable to artist-led ventures such as architecture conservationist Rosemarie Shaw and artist Anna Ilsley’s expedition to the Arctic Circle and MA collective FilmCoLab’s project that took art out of the gallery and onto the streets of Brighton.
Because crowdfunding is nothing like traditional fundraising – writing grant applications to funders and crossing your fingers whilst they decide – a-n and Wedidthis founder Hen Norton decided last spring to get together to develop specialist workshops, for artists to learn and try out crowdfunding techniques for themselves. Following sessions in Manchester, Milton Keynes and London, next up is some “taster” sessions for artists and makers attending the Making it conference on 12 October in Winchester.
Suki Chan, a participant at a-n’s London Crowdfunding session, went on to successfully raise funds through We fund for Still Point, a film exploring sacred spaces across the world.
As Hen Norton says: “We’re really keen that more artists get to learn first hand about how to pitch ideas and attract new collaborators into their networks, as these are the people who will help make their new arts projects happen. We know that social media has a key part to play – we talk about what should go into a crowdfunding video and how to use Facebook and twitter to keep a campaign live whilst donations come in.”
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Watch the Making and funding work: Crowdfunding promo
Contact [email protected] to host a crowdfunding session where you are.
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