Space - The Final Frontier

by Clayton Windatt Artist space is both the venture of exhibition and the refuge for creation. Space is the luxury to those that can find it as resources are dwindling across the country. Many artists utilize their living quarters or their work places as studio spaces, as a cost saving measure and a way to bring creativity to the mediocrity of their day jobs. Too few of us are able to find/afford real studio space, and as a result we use whatever spaces we can find, be it old warehouses, kitchen tables, or apartment basements. The struggle to find appropriate and professional creation space seems to be an integral part of the artist experience. Starving Artist is not a term that invented itself, as many of us literally buy art supplies to the detriment of our nutritional welfare. There are some that romanticize this lifestyle - living in a tiny apartment working from month to month while barely being able to feed oneself. This has the us vs. the world mentality. We all find ways of rationalizing existences to ourselves, but the realities of poverty are far from attractive. Creating in the places that we live and work have benefits though, considering the time saved by creating on your lunch break or in your own kitchen. Although you probably cant work in mediums such as oil painting or other materials that produce fumes while working at your office or around your family. There are few job positions that would allow for much time to be spent on your own art practice, but perhaps making your art practice into your day-job is the only real solution to this problem. Working from home would definitely be the most cost effective way to start working towards your art practice as your career especially if you are not independently wealthy. Having a dedicated studio to your practice is the obvious ideal scenario for anyone looking at creating art professionally. Even those artists that work in nonconventional methodologies would agree that their studio is a base of operations in which they develop plans and strategies for their art form. The level of funds available may also determine our ability to either have space to ourselves, or having to share it with other artists. A well-ventilated space for painting or having a kiln makes things a lot easier for your chosen practice even if you are renting space as a collective of artists. There can be benefits to both chosen paths as solitude during art creation and artistic collaboration can both be valuable to an artist. It all depends on the process for the artist as well as their ability to work with others. It also depends on whether or not there are affordable studios in your neighborhood. Depending on your financial ability, the choice to have studio-mates may not actually be a choice. Residencies can provide a viable solution to the problem of finding creative space, but they have their own set of challenges and rewards. There is no standardized method of operating residencies either inside Canada or globally, and the expectations of what an artist contributes or receives through a residency program can be confusing. This is not

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to say that there are no good programs out there, but make sure to read the fine print before signing up. Many charge a significant amount in rent or fees to participate, as well as expecting some sort of supplementary benefit from the artist to the program such as workshops, lectures, artist-talks, or donating works created during the residency. Other programs give you their creation space for free, but do not offer anything towards your cost of living or materials. These types of residencies rely on the artists to have sufficient funds that they can afford the costs of participation and take unpaid time away from their everyday lives to create. It creates a tiered system where impoverished artists are not able to easily engage. It is a rare thing to find a set up where you go to a residency and get paid a fee for your own art creation. Obviously this system relies on grants from governments or the privilege of wealth, but most things in Canadian society also follow that same model making it very difficult to excel outside of existing channels. Artists who find the resources needed to create then have to sell their work for enough profit to be able to cover living costs and buy new supplies. The hope is that the work is good enough to make more than the minimal amount as giving away our work just to be able to make more kinda sucks but so does using a small window to vent paint fumes away

from a newborn child. It sounds terrifying but what alternatives do some artists have? Stop being an artist? In the end an argument that states Do More with More / Do Less with Less also implies Do Nothing with Nothing. This is not an option to almost any artist that practices, as art is both a choice and a compulsion. We cant stop. It is a reality that artists have something even when they have no money. There is a massive amount of talent and enthusiasm that count towards our concept of worth, and asking any artists to stop being an artist is like asking us to stop being ourselves. Its not a job; its a way of life. So where does the artist stand when dealing with space as an issue? Are measures for the effective standards of professional creation space being addressed by any arts service organization or government agencies? Perhaps its time that the arts community of Canada make demands for more Satisfactory Progress for Arts Creation Environments (S.P.A.C.E.), or maybe we need to be more dynamic as an industry and find our own ways of getting better standards in place. Either way, the issue of finding cost effective creation venues is a constant that will not be resolved any time soon. Dont forget that I didnt even get into the whole exhibition space issue. I am saving that rant for another day

Publications:
Information for Artists, Artists Contracts, The Visual Artists Guide to Estate Planning ; all of your favourite CARFAC Ontario publications have been revamped! They now have new covers and continuous page numbers so that it is no longer necessary to dig through the entire book in order to find relevant chapters. Also, The Visual Artists Guide to Estate Planning will soon be available in French! Another exciting addition is that an electronic version of Artists Contracts is now available. Have you ever dreamed of simply filling in the blanks on these contracts electronically? Well, thats exactly what we have done in the electronic versionthe entire Artists Contracts is available in a fillable pdf form format. You can even choose to purchase only the contracts that you need, as opposed to the complete collection. These electronic versions are now available for purchase online.

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A Practical Guide for Visual and Media Artists

T h e Vi s ual Art ist Guide s' to state P lanning

By Kar ilyn n Ming Ho for CARFA C Ontari o

Published by CARFAC Ontario

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