MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The arrival of social media changed several things. Changes in marketing strategies or modes of communication are often talked about, but social media has also changed entire industries. For instance, we rarely talk about the impact of social media on the world of art, but its impact has been significant in that it has provided several opportunities for artists to showcase their art and improve it.
Not only artists but people who love art search through social media in order to look for art or paintings that they might like. From helping out artists showcase their art directly to the audience to making sales easier, here are some ways social media has changed the art world:
Artists can reach out directly to their audience
Before social media, no artist had the power to reach out directly to his audience and get in touch with them. Nowadays, social media has provided a platform that has allowed artists to directly reach out to their audience, face-to-face like never before. On any social platform, whether it is Facebook, Chatroulette, or Instagram, artists have the power to get into a conversation with their audience and this power won’t be going anywhere, anytime soon.
Thanks to social media, artists can make a career out of their artwork. Through social media, customers can inquire about artworks; and before you know it, it is already sold. There are various examples available of artists who were able to make a promising career in art just because they were able to showcase their artwork on social media and get directly in touch with their audience.
Artists no longer have to rely on art galleries to showcase their art
The power of social media is such that artists no longer have to rely on galleries and the elites of the art world to even showcase and validate their art. Social media completely eliminates the middleman between the artist and their audience, allowing the artist to showcase their artwork directly. For many artists, their social media accounts are their galleries where they can showcase their art to huge masses of people.
Many artists of today like to use their Instagram accounts as their virtual art galleries where they can showcase their products without getting validation from any gallery. While some people in the audience may prefer gallery presentations because of their prestigiousness, it is no longer a necessity for artists to go through galleries in order to showcase their products.
No gallery or art dealer commissions
Social media also allows artists to dodge gallery and art dealers’ commissions by using social media to showcase their products and directly deal with their customers. This means that artists won’t have to pay hefty fees in the form of gallery or art dealer commissions. Artists can use social media platforms like Instagram as their art gallery and directly sell their artwork or go to Omegle’s live stream and showcase their skills to people from around the world.
Artists can get funding for their art projects
Social media has also made it possible for artists to finance their art projects by getting help from their audience. Artists no longer have to be worried about getting finance and funding to start their art projects. Through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc, an artist can directly raise funds for their art project by sharing his/her GoFundMe or Kickstarter page where can directly donate without the need of any middlemen or help from anyone else other than the audience.
Less control and privacy issues
While there are multiple beneficial ways in which social media has affected the art world, there is also a problem that artists have less control over their content. Many artists are concerned about the privacy of their images because their work is not entirely safe and even a screenshot can pass around the internet so many times that the original author doesn’t get credit for the work. Like everything else, there are some disadvantages but this shouldn’t stop you from using social media to showcase your artwork or art skills.
