Sharing Your Art on Your Own Terms
You may be a regular poster on Instagram, sharing your art while it’s in progress as well as finished works. But what about work that you feel tender and vulnerable about—like a new series that is a real departure for you, or a subject matter that you’ve never worked with before?
For a number of reasons, sometimes we want to shelter our work from the public eye. And yet we thrive with having an audience! The key is to find the right audience to support your work. I have a few ideas about how to go about this, based on my own experience.
Ways to Manage Instagram
Keep in mind that when you create an Instagram post, it doesn’t need to stay in your feed forever. Take the pressure off yourself by creating posts with the idea that you can remove it any time.
Create a “close friends” group on Instagram! These are followers who opt in to be your close friends—they are very likely to be a supportive audience! You can create stories that are only seen by your close friend group. What a great way to get feedback and support from a select group of people!
If you’re exploring a new style or subject matter, you could create a separate Instagram account for that. This will rid you of concerns about disrupting your current branded feed.
Try following zero accounts. I unfollowed all accounts for six months, and it helped me avoid the firehose of input that is meant to inspire but ends up taking up time and inviting comparisons.
I also take intentional breaks from Instagram, sharing my work in other ways and clearing my head of the Instagram mindset for a while.
Share Your Work in Other Ways
Keep in mind that there are plenty of ways to share your work without using Instagram. Do you have—or can you create—a supportive group of fellow artists? Whether you find this community in person or online, this is a great way to share your work and get support without feeling exposed to the wide world.
You could invest in an art coach or mentor who will respectfully view your work and provide constructive feedback.
Newsletter marketing is another way you could share new work with a group of people who have expressed an interest in your art. Wouldn’t they love to get a sneak peek at your newest creations and learn more about your new direction?
Find Your Audience
I hope that these ideas have given you food for thought. You have lots of agency when choosing how to share your work and with whom.
How do you prefer to share your work, particularly the work that makes you feel vulnerable? I’d love to hear how you balance the need for protection and the need for an audience, whether online or IRL, email me!
I get asked all the time “how can I make a living from my art? There are so many career paths for artists - which one do I choose?” Click the video for a laser fast training session to help you choose where to focus!
