Hacking Success: Art Talks Brings Artists Together

Being able to live off the creation of art is a goal of most artists, but the path is not always clear. Art Talks, a speaker series hosted by Art Vancouver and Project Her, brought established artists to share their journeys with those still aspiring.

The Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre provided an excellent venue for the event. The audience participated with their own questions for the speakers.

This was the debut presentation of Art Talks, bringing four unique voices, including artists and business professionals, to talk about what it takes to live as a working artist.

Art Vancouver Director Lisa Wolfin credited the entire Art Vancouver team from coming together to create such a unique event.

“Throughout the years, many people had expressed interest in hearing more from the artists themselves,” Wolfin said. “So, finally this year we decided to host our first.”

The speakers included artists Jan Kasparec and Marlene Vermeulen. Patricia Lapena from Legal Shield Canada spoke about the legal side of being a professional artist and Agnes Nkunabagenzi introduced how to make art a business.

Each speaker was given the opportunity to speak to the audience before all four were brought together as a panel for the audience to ask questions.

In speaking before the event, Vermeulen said the balance between making art for the passion of it and making art for money can be difficult to navigate.

“We make it about money, since we need it to pay our bills,” she said. “We lose our joy in the process of trying to obtain it. We lose our inspiration and get completely side-tracked.”

And that was the message the audience received from every speaker—that art can be a profession, but should not come at the expense of the creative sparks that drives artists in the first place.

BY: NATHAN DUREC