Setting Mindful and Strategic Professional Goals

Episode Transcript:

Alex Farkas  00:00

I think the first step is having your goal in mind of what you're trying to accomplish. If you're looking to attract gallery representation, physical gallery representation, that's probably going to look a little bit different than if you're trying to just sell your art online, yourself or even through an online gallery first having some goals in line for what you're trying to accomplish. And then once you have that in mind, no matter what having at least a good simple, clean website goes a long way.

Isotta Page  00:31

This is Art Is… a podcast for artists, where we brainstorm the future of the art world and the creative industries.

Alex Farkas  00:46

My name is Alex Farkas and I'm the founder and gallery director of you gallery.com. I grew up in a small arts town is 400 people up in the mountains. I mentioned my mom was an artist and had her little gallery space. So I grew up around the artists and I saw the importance of the interactions they had. I remember being small and going to art get together shows that they had for each other and also just being there. I'd go to my uncle's studio and other artists would stop by to ask questions, borrow tools get a critique about something they were working on. I grew up in a world of openness, there wasn't too much competition, I think everyone was trying to succeed and help each other. And so that's always been my perspective about art seems like a very solitary environment, mostly to be an artist. So it's good to have that kind of community support. And that's really what we've tried to foster. When we were first starting new gallery, our whole goal was openness. We wanted to help artists get the support they needed, have a launchpad to get started. And also to connect people with art. In the early days, I think we're talking about our customer avatar, I think my first thought was as a early 20, something I was starting this business to help people my age by art and get their first start. And it turned out later on most people when they're my age, at that point graduating from school, they were more worried about getting a couch or dishes to eat off of. So we kind of learned that over the years, the natural evolution, the joke I've been told is that people typically start buying art after their last kid goes to college and before their first sports car. And that kind of plays true, I think with our customers a little bit too, they're a bit older, and a little more seasoned. So I think there is a certain pretense that does exist in the art world. But finding that most of these people who are interested in the art, they really just want to have connections, like we talked about emotional connections with the artists. And it didn't ever make sense to us to try and close that down. We wanted to find ways to help people connect with each other. And actually, I think a lot of the art world is that way, there is a certain reputation, obviously, about the traditional spaces being closed off. But I think there are a lot of mom and pop galleries out there that want to see artists succeed, and they want to succeed themselves. So I believe in that. And I do think you're right, the last couple of years have been a game changer too. As technology has evolved, and more people have had to turn online to connect, I think that's opened and new bridge for people to meet each other. I know even at your gallery, we've had artists over the years, who live very far apart. And we'll hear through side stories, that they've become good friends through our Facebook group or any other form of social media where they say, Oh, I saw your work on you gallery, I also show my art. And I just want to reach out and say I'm a fan. And then before you know it, they've got a friendship, some of them have even gone to visit each other. And I believe that the Internet doesn't open the doors to make more of those connections. And our goal is really to just keep fostering that on our side. And we'll keep speaking to it as well. So hopefully that helps with the people who are a little bit more closed off about it.

Isotta Page  03:48

That's so cool. I'm always interested to hear about how organic community is growing online. And I think especially with something that's been so purposely designed to work online, that happening easier, I guess in the last few years seeing so many exhibitions and even exhibitions that I've been a part of, or like events transition from being designed to be in person to then being online. There was this weird mismatch where people were trying to pretend we were in person instead of recognizing that. No, we're on Zoom. And this is just a CAD image that has a painting on the wall next to a chair. And I think it's cool that you guys don't try to do I think you guys are recognizing that. It is an online space. There's restrictions there but there's also really exciting new parts that make it more accessible and open and people can connect and build community from large distances. So I was wondering, how do you feel now as a 16 year old online gallery, looking at all of these weird hybrid recreations of physical digital happening around you and do you have any advice to share on one whether or not to pursue that, because I, myself graduated in 2020. And my degree show exhibition, which I had been looking forward to, for five years, went to a photo montage online, and I make physical sculpture. So I really struggled with that. And now through my exploration of crypto and NF T's, unlike new excitement for web three, I've realized that there's a whole new realm to explore. But at the time, that was not where I was at. And I was wondering if you had any expertise to share on that

Alex Farkas  05:31

I come from a pretty traditional place. It's funny, I've been running this online gallery for a long time. But I do believe there is a place for both the physical and the digital, but realizing what the limitations are both, it's really interesting to see new ideas come about, and you never know what's going to take off, it's so hard to know what technology will be like in a couple of years, or 10 years. And so I'm supportive of seeing people try new things. And again, if it's in the name of reaching out to more people to expose them to art, or give them away to see art, then I'm all for that. And I think it's great people are trying different ways to present art. And wherever we can, it's great to see art in person, it's really sad to hear about your thesis show, I'm sure it would have been wonderful to have it in person, but who knows what opportunities will come about from the digital realm in the next couple of years for how people can view those things. And just striking the balance. Again, I think humans are very similar as they've been for a long time, what 1000s of years, you're from Italy, things don't change that much, you see all these old ruins. And it's still the same way we do things. I've been to Pompeii a couple of times, and I'm always struck by how similar the city is to the city I live in today. There's this kind of enduring quality of what it means to be human. And we do the same things and like the same things. But there's also a good way to embrace technology too. And that stuff also becomes part of who we are over time as well. The opportunity to talk to more people and connect, I loved growing up in a small town and you just stop and talk to people on the street back. Sometimes it's hard to get very far. If you want to go someplace, you gotta find the fastest path. Otherwise, you're gonna talk to every stranger on the street, all the people you know, but that's what the internet does, too, right? And social media gives the opportunity for people to just stop and chat with each other. And especially with arts, it's great because you can get this feedback or guidance, like what we're talking about today. How do you apply to a physical gallery? How do you apply to an online gallery? What did you do here or there, and there's this huge network of people to share their interests and support. I think that's wonderful.

Isotta Page  07:36

Speaking about social media, more specifically for a moment, and one of the recurring themes throughout my conversations with lots of creatives from all walks of life was recognizing the negative impact that social media can have as well on creativity, mostly because of the impetus to compare one's work to another's or how many followers someone has how many likes how many comments someone has engagement on their profile? And that kind of comparison. And negative thinking can lead to this like scar city mindset that there's only so many opportunities out there and everyone else seems to be succeeding except me. How do you feel that we can, as creatives artists, and our professionals alike work towards deconstructing that really negative attitude and recognizing that there is so much abundance in the art world, and that when more artists succeed, that means more artists will continue to succeed.

Alex Farkas  08:29

I think that's such a human quality, it doesn't matter if it's art, or business or anything else, we all have this tendency to want to compare ourselves. And certainly social media makes it really easy to do that. I think back to the same thing of focus with whatever you're doing, having focus and purpose for how you use social media to. It's true, there's things like likes, and all of that, which that's more on the side of the social media business to get people addicted to it. But if you can be really focused on why you're using these platforms, then that's a good step in the right direction. And you're telling me about your business about being specifically focused on connecting artists, I think there's a huge opportunity for more niche spaces and social platforms. So people go to it for a specific reason, and then making connections and forming those communities. And like I mentioned, we had a Facebook group for you gallery artists. So that was a specific place to go there was gated it was only artists who are on the site. And I think those kinds of tools make it a little bit easier to stay focused and not get caught up in the other aspects of it. Social media is so addictive, it's so easy to just scroll and look at things forever. But if you know what you're going there for think that makes a huge difference. That's such

Isotta Page  09:42

a good way of putting it that just focus on the end goal or focus on what you're trying to say. Because I think for so many of us who've grown up with social media and grown up with sharing our personal life alongside our creative work, and then maybe diverging them into different accounts or whatever. It just gets so blurry. And you're not really able to compartmentalize and recognize also when you have to be wearing like your business hat, and be like, Okay, this is part of my professional narrative. And this is how I'm building my business. Because most artists are a business of one. It's hard to recognize when to wear which hat and how to stay focused.

Alex Farkas  10:20

Yeah, I think for us, too, it's taken us years as a company to understand how we should use social media as well, to connect with people who's on social media, what's the story we're trying to tell? Because it is so vast, and it's easy to get caught up in number of followers and who's paying attention. But yeah, once you have focused and you know, what your end goal is, I know becomes a lot easier. And that setting a time limit, like you say, compartmentalize, saying, Okay, I'm going to use this for an hour a week or something like that. It's really important to hold yourself accountable on that level, I think.

Isotta Page  10:54

Yeah, totally. So I was wondering, do you have any advice on how to present yourself as an emerging professional artist online, and I know that, at least across Europe, graduations will be starting so soon. And there'll be many 1000s of new graduate artists joining the ranks of people who are afraid of presenting themselves online and unsure of how to proceed, especially because of the lack of honest and open conversations, how to build a professional practice in art school, could you share some advice on really creating the professional image that you want to put forward, or if you have any tips on what to share what not to share?

Alex Farkas  11:38

I think the first step is having your goal in mind of what you're trying to accomplish. So if you're looking to attract gallery representation, physical gallery representation, that's probably going to look a little bit different than if you're trying to just sell your art online, yourself, or even through an online gallery. So first, having some goals in line for what you're trying to accomplish. And then once you have that in mind, no matter what having at least a good simple, clean website goes a long way. I always suggest don't go overboard white backgrounds, show your art on white backgrounds, do the storytelling stuff that we've talked about in this conversation. So write an artist bio about yourself and an artist statement. And get help. Ask other artists, friends, or read it or family and friends, see if it makes sense. And if they're pulled in and understand it, and then lay out your work on the pages, I'd say divide things up by different series, show as much of your work as you can with good pictures and include descriptions write a little bit about each piece you show have good titles, that kind of stuff. That's the basis, any gallery online physical gallery is going to look at your website. So having a good presentation, start there. And then I say just reach out to people start talking to them. One of the big things that we always make sure we do is talk with artists, and you want to find galleries, physical and online that are willing to chat with you help you figure out again, whatever your goal is that they help you work towards that. And then being strategic about it set aside time every week to work on your professional side of your business as well as the art you're making. And that's as you said, artists are businesses of one. So you're holding all the hats, and you just have to figure out how to say, Okay, I'm gonna make art this many hours a week, and I'm gonna work on my marketing this many hours a week, I'm gonna work on my outreach this many hours a week. It's not easy, but really no businesses. So it's just about figuring out what your goals and priorities are. And working from there.

Isotta Page  13:34

It's something that I always am really excited to ask guests to come on the podcast is what changes do you see happening in the art industry right now? What's coming? And what can we look forward to, from my

Alex Farkas  13:47

perspective, the art world does kind of move at a glacial pace. That's probably like most industries. For my perspective, what I'm excited about is how the online world is changing. I think we're starting to see more of a rise of what I've always hoped for, which is galleries that are super focused, curated galleries, there's plenty of marketplaces that exist already where everyone can show their art. And their vast, and it's hard for artists to get recognized. And there's just it's a little bit of everything. So it's not really focused. And I believe that the internet will evolve into somewhat of how the physical gallery world operates, where you have galleries that represent a collection of artists or it's focused, whether he on a particular style or medium. And then that gives the clients who are shopping for are a little bit more focus of knowing where to go, the storytelling is better, there's more connection. And so that's what I think is happening. And I look forward to how that evolves over the next decade because that will just be more interesting experience for the kind of clients we have are looking to search for art online and they want to have some curation some focus around what they're looking at and just gives more clarity to the artists better opportunities for artists and I think gets better for the businesses too. With more of a focus, I don't think they have to throw quite everything at the wall to see what sticks. And that's a hard way to do business. It's an expensive way to do business,

Isotta Page  15:09

just out of curiosity, because I know you said that you're not that familiar with NF T's. But has any of that interested you

Alex Farkas  15:17

personally, I'm not so interested in it from a sales or speculative position. I like the concept of blockchain as being another way for artists to authenticate their work. So I think that aspect of it is really interesting in terms of selling them. For me, it strikes me as one of those things like the print business of a decade ago, when we first launched the company, there were a few big players that kind of rose to prominence in the limited edition print space. And it was this huge frenzy of get these prints, they're going to be worth a fortune. And people spend a lot of money on limited edition prints and prints of 100 or 1000, or whatever. And then the more there were, the less they were worth, so that market fizzled out, and they were great to just hang up on your wall and have art, I totally support that aspect of it. But I don't think they played out to being highly valuable for people. And so for me, when I see the NFT space, I think it's in terms of selling them, I think it's somewhat similar, which is there just becomes a lot more all the time, which makes them less valuable. But in terms of using it as a way to digital record of artwork, I think that's super cool. provenance is fascinating. I love studying art history and old art and how people can track or a painting went through the ages. So it's interesting to think about it from that perspective of how ownership can be marked that way. And just another evolution for how art will travel through private hands and galleries, and then museums, and we can look back and see that record. I mean, I really liked that aspect of this certificate of authenticity. In terms of the funding aspect. It's not something I really looked that much into, it's not a thing our clients have asked about much. And so I don't think it really speaks to who our client Mary is about what she's doing in her art collecting. But maybe to this next younger generation, as you were mentioning, digital natives, this might be something that's more important to them. And I had a friend recently was telling me about how he's been figuring out how to display the NFT art he's been buying. And he was really excited about that. So I guess it probably just depends on who your target client is, and if it's something that they're interested in, because again, who knows what the technology will be like, in a few years, I don't really think paintings will change much. I think for millennia, we've had paintings and it'll continue that way. But But this next generation, maybe they'll have more digital screens when they display their art in their house, which is cool. Please visit us at you gallery.com You can go to ucla.com/apply If you're interested in exhibiting your work, and you can reach out to us if you have questions. If you email artists@ucla.com We can talk to you and answer your questions.

Isotta Page  17:59

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