A few years back I began to notice a new trend. A number of prospective clients began contacting us not for themselves, but for someone they cared for, admired, or championed. They were calling to give a PR campaign as a holiday gift.
I was speaking to someone about Cuban Artist Julio Larraz the other day who described him as a Titan in the art world. I echo that sentiment. Larraz has been called one of most important contemporary Latin American artists of our time. I’d go so far to say he is the most important.
I prepare for this whenever discussing marketing with fine artists. I toss the word “brand” out intentionally, as one would a grenade. I generally wait until the artist is fully engaged in the conversation excited about where her (In this case she was female, but I’ve had the same reaction from males) art could go, how we could promote her work, the various creative ways we could build bridges between her and the public, and how we could utilize the media to get her art in front of collectors, investors, gallery owners and the public at large. She was excited as we reviewed the possibilities.
When we offer our PR for Artists seminars to musicians, filmmakers or authors, we jump right into the whats and hows of PR and marketing, but when we’re addressing visual artists we’ve found that it’s important to start with the whys.
We recently offered a PR for Artists seminar at the Brewery Art Colony and were amazed by the range, breath and variety of art and artists which the campus offered. The Brewery is a unique creative ecosystem where painters, sculptors, writers, musicians and mixed media artists live work, and create. It is a small city unto itself complete with its own restaurant and an unexpected gym complete with rock climbing walls.