Artists Supporting Artists

Last night I had a dream where I was a college professor in the 1950s or 1960s.

I think I’m watching too much of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. (It’s amazing, check it out on Prime, warning: strong language and some nudity)

Anyway, in my dream, I had just gotten a new job at a college working with Master of Arts students. At this college, the MA program was a joke, people just took it to get an easy master’s degree. Like, science students were going through to get their masters to fast-track their way to a doctorate (yes, I know this doesn’t make sense and getting an MA would not help getting a doctorate in anything else). I decided to change things up, make the MA worth something and of course I got push-back from everybody who didn’t want the MA program to be hard.

One of the programs I tried starting was Artists Supporting Artists. The basis of the program was to encourage art students to step out of their own area of expertise and support other artists. I woke up with the ASA program still dancing around in my head and the more I think about it, the more important I think it is.

I have always loved going to see plays/musicals, concerts, art shows, author/poetry readings, craft/makers shows, etc but this became more important to me when I became a writer.  I got first-hand experience with the struggles of an artist and I try to do whatever I can to help others who are going through the same things.

One thing I love about the writing community that I am a part of (and a lot of artist communities that I’ve come in contact with) is that it is very supportive. There’s not a ton of competition because if one of us succeeds, it doesn’t reduce other people's chances of also succeeding. 

It increases them. 

As societal focus shifts towards more STEM-based studies or the ever-present sports ball, it becomes more important for artists to support other artists. If you’re a writer, go to an art show. If you’re a sculptor, go to a play. If you’re a musician, volunteer to be a beta reader. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment or cost what few spare pennies we have. Simply taking a few minutes out of your day to leave an amazon review, sending the creator a quick note on your social media platform of choice, or telling a friend about the awesome art you experienced will mean the world to the artist.