Connecting with other artists is fundamental to your career as well as for ourselves. It can create art opportunities, friendships, and as well as jobs. Here’s how to get started.
The first option in starting connections is to join a local art group or organization. For example, in my hometown is the Oxford Arts Alliance. An art school as well as a place for artists to display their work in exhibitions. It’s a great opportunity to get recognized by others visiting the gallery. They have group projects or you can even start one there. When creating one, use social media to spread the word to get people interested. It could even be tied to a local charity. Get your community involved!You can go broader and join a larger organization. Look into your field of art, for Animation and Game Art, there’s Siggraph for example. Siggraph is filled with talented people who are willing to learn more about their field of art or technology. There’s plenty of opportunities to connect with people. You can search on their website for their groups known as “chapters” nearest to you. They hold annual events every year throughout the world.
By joining a group, it can thus create long lasting friendships. It all comes down to the most human part of connection. Creating friendships can be hard when you’re introverted. For me especially, but it makes it so much easier when you’re with people who have a shared passion for what you do. Through friendships, we can become much more prepared for art critique. Friends can also help suggest much needed ideas, like when coming up with a solution to a problem. And of course, they will be there to support you when things don’t go so well for you in the art or business world.Friendships don’t even have to be right near you. It can also be much broader. Using social media such as Tumblr, you can start a group with online friends. Search for fanart of a show, game, or movie that you really like online and go from there.
Doing most or all of the above can in the end create opportunities for jobs. You may have a friend who has a mutual friend working at a job that you really want to get into. Ask them about the job! You never know who they may be associated with until you ask. You can also get more inside information of what actually happens while working there.
Check out the app called, Linkedin, and start making some mutual connections on there. Start from family to friends and see how large your connections can grow. There’s also the option to sell your art at local events. It gets your name out there and you get the experience of doing business transactions.
Now go forth and start making some connections!
