Establishing your creative niche in a crowded marketplace: why the world still needs you

We’ve all been there.  Watching wistfully from the sidelines at our competitors’ online followings, high-profile customers and sales, or all-round enviable lifestyles as we mildly indulge in cyberstalking them (social media reflects reality, right?).  Then it hits: retreating into a cloud of paralytic inferiority, we wonder why we ever believed in achieving something similar. Surely, there can’t be space for us in a crowded marketplace already served so well?

The good news is that we are not alone in feeling this way – but what will define our careers is whether we stay in this place, or choose to move through it.  The bad news: in case we were hoping to copycat our way along, true and lasting success is all about authenticity, and will require us to dig a little deeper. It’s time we challenged ourselves to release the need to seek attention or to ‘stand out’ in preference of pursuing something more meaningful and lasting – after which, the rest will follow more easily.

Some reasons why you can have confidence to proceed with a genuinely valid product or service, even when the market seems saturated:

• It’s a big world out there, with plenty of potential customers;

• If others are succeeding in your sphere, it proves that there is an audience for it;

• Popular products will always need more than one supplier to keep up with demand;

• Variety is the spice of life! Just because someone (or many others) are doing very similar things, doesn’t mean your product or service isn’t valid.  After all, don’t you listen to music by a variety of musicians, buy clothing from different stores, and drink coffee from many cafés?

Next steps - where should you begin when cultivating a unique identity (ie. branding) for yourself as part of establishing your niche?

1. Know yourself better! Successful creatives have a strong sense of identity and purpose, and truly understand what makes them tick.  Customers and audiences intuitively gravitate to them. What motivates you in this sphere? Far beyond the token ‘finding fame and fortune’ is where the truth lies.  Does your work make you feel incredibly alive, or perhaps express a deep conviction for social justice? Does it allow you to invest in your community, or support working parents? Whatever it is, be brutally honest and know that this purpose must shine through;

2. Allow the most authentic version of yourself to be seen – loud and proud! It’s completely terrifying, but this is where the magic happens. As the saying goes, ‘if you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.’ It is so important to properly establish the groundwork for a distinct branding that people can engage with, believe in and share with others.  Many of us tend to draw the line at this level of public vulnerability and only pursue goals until we can cover our tracks if/when it doesn’t work out. This is one situation, however, where it’s all or nothing;

3. Deeply consider the role of your audience: who they are, what they value, and how you can serve them in a way that aligns with your fundamental purpose.  Authentically honouring the needs of your audience also gives them permission to be the best versions of themselves – and you will see the results.

In consideration of your audience’s needs, can you add value (before they are even your customers)?

You could try:

• offering regular professional insights via email newsletters, a podcast or social media;

• delivering pop-up events or workshops;

• building a community of like-minded people to champion a cause strongly aligned with your product or service;

• situating yourself as a leader in your sphere by inviting colleagues to come together, sharing common concerns and driving initiatives to support your industry or region.

Delivering this level of consistent connection is the key to building your core tribe, and steadily accelerating your career. Treat this relationship with the utmost respect: if customers can get similar products or services elsewhere, they will choose to support you because of the bond you have built and what you continue to offer them. Ensure that potential collaborations or changes in direction remain aligned with this audience (unless you are trying to build a new one). 

As a final note on the true nature of competition with colleagues, I think it’s time we left behind notions of ‘us versus them’. We are all in this together, and innovation within the creative industries is hindered by our fragmented communities and general insecurities. This is particularly evident in Australia, where we are also relatively isolated from the rest of the world. Time spent glancing sideways or undermining each other is time taken from developing the best versions of ourselves and succeeding – which ultimately benefits everyone.

Drawing from diverse backgrounds in health, science and the public art gallery sector, Liesl Harvey’s passion lies where the creative industries intersect with business and audience development. She explores a variety of relevant topics and shares inspiration from around the globe via her Instagram account, @thedailyculturepreneur.

Expressing your ‘why’ in words: a case for better artist statements

Image via Unsplash

Do you ever feel squirmish when it comes to discussing your work? If so, you are not alone.  Even the most articulate creatives among us struggle to translate creative processes into digestible formats.  It is undeniably challenging to encapsulate the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of complex artistic practice in ways that sit comfortably with us.

Some of our discomfort is due to lack of writing practice and subjective over-familiarity with our chosen medium – whether it be paint, fabric or design software. Shouldn’t your excellent products simply speak for themselves? Besides, you may argue, words aren’t really your thing. Perhaps you also have an underlying suspicion that personal statements remove the mystique of your creations, or that condensing the lot into 200 words may reveal inadequacies rather than showcase strengths.  How complex or meaningful can your products and services be, you ask, if they are so easily captured in one simple assertion?

Yet the basic truth remains: the ability to clarify one’s motivation (or even distill an entire career) into concrete statements can connect you with your target audiences and propel your career into new territory. With the increasing value of online promotion and marketplaces, your words must also represent you in your physical absence.  Still, despite the number of accessible how-to blog posts out there, the standard of written output is generally mismatched against the higher quality of work offered by creatives, limiting the potential for prospective partnerships with galleries, commercial enterprises and other collaborators.

Liesl Harvey at work. Photo by John Yeats Photography

Why not consider it an opportunity?  Writing well about your work can prove that you truly have a handle on what you are doing, and why.  In a tangential way, it also confers confidence that the clarity of your words will translate to a level of professionalism and focus in your practice, in addition to quality of output.

Indeed, as you expand your creative practice you will also be required to provide more than the obligatory three-sentence artist statements. The gift of expanded commentary is in the chance for you to draw together multiple (and even seemingly unrelated) threads of your work in a coherent way, as well as linking to personal experience. Here, things get interesting: because audiences respond to authentic storytelling. They truly want to experience you, being you, expressed in a way that reflects the real you. They genuinely seek to engage with your creative journey, your unexpected discoveries along the way, and even your disasters-before-the-triumphs. This is what makes you relatable, and breathes life into your work from the audience’s perspective.

Surprisingly, then, the writing process evolves to become more about honesty and less about complicated jargon or verbal acrobatics. Paradoxically, it also offers the opportunity to admit that you may not know exactly what you are doing, or why you are doing it. Making art is, after all, a largely intuitive process guided by trust in the creative unknown. And that’s okay! Audiences don’t expect you to understand and articulate every aspect of your process or motivation – but they will disconnect if you try and bluff them.  Owning the truth about imperfections in your processes or understanding keeps the ball firmly in your court.

Some additional thoughts on avoiding familiar pitfalls in developing your writing practice?

• Limit the use of artsy-yet-ambiguous expressions. Nobody really understands them, even though we all pretend that we do. This simply creates distance between your work and a confused reader or viewer who, like the artist, may be too afraid to admit that they don’t understand what’s happening. Creativity is for thinkers, but deliberately overcomplicating things will do you a disservice.
  

• Trying too hard to describe your work. Your statements should be more about your motivation and process, and less about subjective descriptions. Interpretations and appraisals should respectfully be left to audiences.
  

• Minimise time travel! Your work is in the here and now, so it’s better to stick with the present tense. Any statements you create needn’t pigeonhole you moving forward, either – they are always open to change, and can evolve alongside your creative practice.

At the risk of glossing over the challenge of developing new skills, I do believe that we are capable of raising the bar and expressing ourselves better in words. In turn, this pays dividends by cultivating authentic connections with colleagues and audiences who genuinely wish to understand us better. 

The world truly needs what we have to offer, which sometimes requires stepping outside our comfort zones and summoning up bravery to demand only the best from ourselves. What have we got to lose?

---

Drawing from diverse backgrounds in health, science and the public art gallery sector, Liesl’s passion lies where the creative industries intersect with business and audience development. She explores a variety of relevant topics and shares inspiration from around the globe via her Instagram account, @thedailyculturepreneur.

Show off your work: Why your local art gallery needs you

Do you regularly visit your local public art gallery? Studies of the past decade indicate that women are more likely than men to visit art galleries and have formal art training, yet less likely to have their work exhibited or acquired for a public art gallery’s permanent collection. The gender pay gap happens to be larger in the arts than in other industries, too.

Not that I raise such a topic to criticize our male counterparts or create division within our community — quite the opposite, in fact! We are all part of the solution, and the legacies of the past offer us a baseline for launching into new directions.

To be sure, the art gallery arena is certainly changing. These spaces are no longer the domain of gilt-edged oil paintings, marble statues and awkward whispers. Instead, they are evolving into vibrant and inclusive community hubs, particularly in regional areas where they are more likely to meet an even broader variety of the community’s creative and cultural needs.

It’s an exciting time, as renewed interest in the arts and crafts has fostered a growing appreciation for the creative contributions of women, both past and present. More than ever, you will find art galleries filled with textiles, ceramics and fashion sitting comfortably alongside newer media such as digital works and graphic arts — all by an increasingly diverse mix of artists. There is an expanded vision for what a public art gallery can (and should) display.

So, why not get involved and show the world what you make? You do not need to be a full-time professional artist working in traditional media. While opportunities for exhibitions by emerging artists may be greater in regional public art galleries, larger metropolitan institutions should also offer options. This may include display cabinets within the art gallery or CBD areas, opportunities for pop-up creative events and partnership projects with library gallery spaces and community centres. Most public galleries are happy to chat about what they are looking for, the likely timelines and what you’d need you to provide for them.

Some reasons you should consider submitting an exhibition proposal?

• It’s in the interest of public art galleries to exhibit works from broad cross-sections of their communities, and gender balance is important. It’s about more than just what’s being made; it’s also about who is making it and why.

• Visibility is a key factor in career growth.

• It will challenge you to create (or gather) a body of works suitable for display.

• It offers the potential to expand your audience base.

Chaos (detail) 2017, by Liz Payne

If the idea of a dedicated solo exhibition or display in an art gallery doesn’t seem to be a good fit for you, why not try one of these ideas instead?

• Pitch a themed group exhibition to the gallery with like-minded colleagues, or offer an inventive concept of your own choosing, such as a pop-up event within the gallery spaces in conjunction with creative theme days (for example, ‘World Wide Knit in Public Day’).

• Offer to run some talks or workshops that complement their programming.

• Enquire at gallery gift shops about stocking your work for sale.

• Approach a local café or business to exhibit your work.

• Contact councils, shopping centres or commercial real estate agents about ‘borrowing’ space temporarily for curated displays in vacant window frontages (not always possible, but worth enquiring about and great fun).

• Collaborate with another creative to deliver a project that is visual and public-facing, such as a painted mural in a local community garden or other urban area. There may even be grants available to cover material costs.

Always remember: the world needs to see what you have to offer, and you need to be your own biggest fan in promoting it. There are plenty of traditional and unusual opportunities to get yourself out there, meet new people and have some fun along the way. So…what are you waiting for?

Drawing from diverse backgrounds in health, science and the public art gallery sector, Liesl Harvey’s passion lies where the creative industries intersect with business and audience development. She explores a variety of relevant topics and shares inspiration from around the globe via her Instagram account, @thedailyculturepreneur.

Opening image: "Mutual Abstraction" exhibition works by Hannah Fox and Bec Smith. Photo by Martina Gemmola.