The question is this: the dog wants to catch the car. How do we help them catch it?
To you,
There’s a host of creatives out being creative and singing for their suppers; except, maybe more often it’s a “lite” snack with the full meal being left on the menu, and access even to that menu being behind a pricey paywall.
And should there be such a barrier between knowing what you want and access to it? Of course not. It remains, unfortunately, to be the situation of most artists and talents I’ve come to know over the years. (In fairness, I have gravitated more toward early-career artists and creatives; mid-careers typically have laid eyes on the menu and occasioned a purchase, while established-careers have ordered plenty of times and dine frequently or maybe opened their own restaurant. That’s enough food service metaphors.) And in fairness to me, I’ve come to know many individuals, leaders, organizations, and corporate groups in the industry.
The inception of this publication came about—like many of my endeavors—in communicating ideas between those much more creative than I; specifically, the desired purpose of this publication came about in this space. We’ll get to that.*
I was thinking about the state and presentation of artist interviews. Most interviews are a back-and-forth, typical conversation. The interviews usually cover a current or upcoming project or go in depth about a past work. I wondered if an interview that generated work would succeed? The interview itself is the vehicle to create new work.
* When discussing this idea with an artist friend, he offered some helpful thinking about the needs of the arts community, chiefly the individual artist. Essentially, we’re back to the paywalled menu: grant funding for individuals, which then could supply—or at least assist in—access and exposure to the larger public.
So, how do we turn an interview into potential work opportunities or partnerships? I’d like to hold conversations with creatives, sure; these conversations then serve as prompts for—or generate—an original piece. Then, it’s up to me/us/a network I’ve curated to get the interviewed to where they want to go. As my friend put it, “The question is this: the dog wants to catch the car. How do we help them catch it?”
Thanks for joining me;
we’re Catching the Car.
Michael
