Your Art Will Save Your Life
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A candid guidebook about art-making in the midst of oppression--"a slim, necessary revelation" (Maggie Nelson, The Argonauts).
Visiting the Andy Warhol Museum as a teenager, Beth Pickens realized that art was imperative for reflecting--and thus remaking--the world. As an adult, she has dedicated her life to arts nonprofits and consulting, helping marginalized artists traverse the world of MFAs, residences, and institutional funding.
Writing in the aftermath of the 2016 election, Pickens reminds emerging artists that their art is more important than ever. She gives advice on fostering creativity and sustaining an innovative practice as conversations about grants, public programming, and arts funding in schools grow ever-more heated. Part political manifesto, part practical manual, this resource reminds us that art has always been a tool of resistance.
About this Author
Beth Pickens is a Los Angeles-based consultant for artists and arts organizations. She provides career consultation, grant writing, fundraising, and financial, project, and strategic planning services for clients across the US. She earned her M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Before relocating to Los Angeles in 2014, Pickens was based in San Francisco and served as Senior Program Manager at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Managing Director of both RADAR Productions and the Queer Cultural Center.
Reviews
"Your Art Will Save Your Life is the artist's guidebook to create, thrive, and survive amid any political shitstorm." --BUST Magazine
"Offers modest and straightforward suggestions for surviving and thriving in creative endeavors." --Publishers Weekly
"Every artist should have this on their bookshelf." --Book Riot
"A dense, power-punch of info." --The Portland Mercury
"A slim, necessary revelation." --Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts
"If you are a person who needs to make art in order to function, this book is from your best, smartest, coolest, most insightful, wise, learned, practical, savvy, no-bullshit friend who knows you and loves you anyway." --Lucy Corin, author of One Hundred Apocalypses and Other Apocalypses
"A survival guide for the creatives among us." --Nicole Georges, author of Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home
"I'm so grateful for this book! I'm buying it for every single creative person in my life." --Ann Friedman, cohost of Call Your Girlfriend
"An electrically inspiring, politically fresh, and class-conscious guide for artists who wish to engage more deeply with their process, their careers, and their lives." --Michelle Tea, author of Modern Tarot
"The self-help book every artist needs! Wish I'd had this book my entire life." --Ali Liebegott, author of Cha-Ching!
"This funny, tender, totally usable guide provides a bundle of simple methods that will allow you to focus on creative projects, reenergize, grow joy, and take risks. Included here are reminders of how to practice generosity, overcome fear, build community, stay politically engaged, and most importantly, to start the important work of making some stuff." --Harry Dodge, Artist
"Your Art Will Save Your Life is a big-hearted path forward for artists grappling with how to make art in our current climate." --Karolina Waclawiak, author of The Invaders
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