Passion, and Practice

A non-prescriptive map of possible movements through a contemporary visual artist’s practice.

Artistic practiceProfessional relationsPublic / critical receptionEconomic relationsSupport structuresConditions of practiceBreaks, returns and exits

Scroll sideways or jump toFormationEmergingMid-careerEstablished

Artistic
practiceMaking, researching, experimenting, questioning.Professional
relationsOpportunities, collaborations, representation, commissions.Public / critical
receptionAudiences, visibility, recognition.Economic
relationsIncome, livelihood, financial sustainability.Support
structuresPeople, institutions, resources, opportunities.Conditions of
practiceMaterial, social and personal circumstances that shape what is possible.

The map as text

• Artistic practice. Making, researching, experimenting, questioning. From earliest to latest: curiosity, exploration, experimentation, doubt, break, articulation, doubt, break, refinement, repetition, doubt, break, reorientation, doubt, break, art historical.
• Professional relations. Opportunities, collaborations, representation, commissions. From earliest to latest: learning, artist led initiatives, return, early collaborations, gallery representation, early institutional exhibitions, return, major exhibitions, return, expanded representation, institutional commissions, return, self-directed projects, retrospective exhibition.
• Public / critical reception. Audiences, visibility, recognition. From earliest to latest: peers, small audiences, curatorial attention, art-world narratives, critical attention, broader publics, monographic publications, public rediscovery, national recognition, international attention, historical attention.
• Economic relations. Income, livelihood, financial sustainability. From earliest to latest: self-funding, scholarship and bursaries, project grants, patron support, artwork sales, revenue diversification, supplementary income.
• Support structures. People, institutions, resources, opportunities. From earliest to latest: education, mentors, peer networks, shared studios, residency programmes, gallerists, art fairs, private patrons, public institutions, private studio, private patronage, institutional networks, private foundations and platforms.
• Conditions of practice. Material, social and personal circumstances that shape what is possible. From earliest to latest: time, money, space, family, political conditions, relationships, legal frameworks, health, geography, social context, mobility, technology, luck.
• Breaks, returns and exits. Four breaks in artistic practice, each followed by a return to professional relations or an exit.