Artist Collaboration

Hey!Hey!

I hope everyone is doing well and is SAFE! I live at the tippy top of Florida and my city has been put on curfew due to protest! I’m doing my part in whatever way that I can as safely as possible, and I hope that everyone who is protesting is doing the same. These issues run deep for my family, and it’s not something I plan to be silent about.

Since we need to be united on various topics I thought I’d thought I’d talk about collaboration!

‍

(Collaborative Installation“Rainbows and Rain” )

A lot of us are striving to become artist on our own and be the best among everybody else but what a lot of artists don’t realize is that it’s really, REALLY important to collaborate, support, and work with other artists! I’ll be discussing the benefits of collaboration since the majority of my spring semester delt with art in collaborative ways.

The first key thing that collaboration teaches is working well with others. Individuals attempting to get into the art industry need to understand that these companies are made up of teams. While you are being hired for your skills, being able to work in harmony with others over long periods of time is crucial. So building up good working relationships with your peers will benefit you in any working situation.

‍

The next big thing is being able to take feedback. When you work on a team you’re going to be receiving feedback from every angle, even when you don’t want it. My favorite part about our group project this semester, was that despite the original proposal for “Rainbows and Rain” being my idea, we all came together as a team to make it something that we were all satisfied with. What was really amazing was constantly talking to my teammates and bouncing ideas off of each other. So it’s imperative to take criticism and suggestions from others to actually help improve your final product.

‍

Finally, the biggest part about collaborating with other artists is showing that you can articulate your artistic ideas with others. This is something that they hammer into you in art school, because you need to be able to talk about your ideas and design choices along the way. For this project, I was in the position of being the Art Director, and my teammates being able to present their ideas effectively helped immensely when figuring out the best path forward. Better material choices were made, functionality improvements, visuals, project title and so on were all elements changed in the brainstorming process. Depending on the project, working in teams could give you the opportunity to share your ideas and you should if you can.

‍

I encourage anybody who has the opportunity as an artist to collaborate (whether it’s with one artist or with a whole group) definitely give it a try. Collaboration is something that’s going to take you out of your comfort zone, but it’s going to take you to better places as an artist overall!

‍

I hope this gives some insight on collaboration for anyone who’s interested in trying it! If you have any questions or thoughts you would like to add please feel free!

Until next week stay tuned!

‍