How The Creator Economy Is Now Changing The Art World
The Creator Economy is clearly one of the “things” of 2022, and its effects will have a major twist on the dynamics of who can be considered << the first of the creators >>: fine artists. Amid NFTs and new models coming up, we are basically living in a new era of democratization of art. But how did we get here?
It was already in the 1830s that the first museums were open to the public, giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy art masterpieces in the flesh. In the second half of the XX century, It was Galleries that took a major role in bringing contemporary art to society; artists such as Andy Warhol or Jean-Michel Basquiat became downright celebrities in the big art social spectacles of the 1980s and 1990s. Then with the advent of the internet, the game changed completely: in the 2010s Social Media gave artists themselves direct channels to reach the audience.
After a decade of this, we’re at the bottom of a new era. Nowadays the real topic is the curation of the enormous flux of information we’re bombarded with on a daily basis. And this is one of the key pillars of the Creator Economy, when people bypass social media platforms to build deeper connections with their favorite creators, gaining access to exclusive content or products.
From Attention To Creator Economy
As The Information recently put it, ‘there’s a paradigm shift away from ‘selling eyeballs at scale’ to the platforms ‘taking a cut of what the creators on the platform are getting paid directly.’’. If at the beginning of the Social Media Age, creators needed platforms in order to access the audience, it’s now the other way around: platforms extremely need creators in order to attract the audience, as a result of the competition among them.
Platforms like Patreon or Only Fans are perfect examples of this shift, as they leverage on the audience creators have respectively on Youtube and Instagram, giving them the tools to create a deeper connection with their audience. As a consequence of this, major platforms like Youtube and Twitter have integrated subscription paid features to help creators to manage exclusively the relationship with their most engaged followers. For its part, Instagram has already launched Instagram Shopping in 2020 and has just launched the subscription paid feature for creators.
But this is just a part of the galaxy of platforms operating in the Creator Economy.
There is a broad spectrum of industries touched by this phenomenon both in the online and offline sector. This is based on the willingness of people to monetize their passions, whether they are professionals or amateurs. Only NFT Art platforms gained relevance in the meanders of the Art World, which hosts also, among others, entertainment celebrities and influencers. But this is just the starting point of the twists this trend will have on the Art World.
Connecting with <<the first of creators>>: fine artists
Who hasn’t experienced a gallery opening or an art fair, feeling a bit out of context, not sure of what to talk about, walking around the boots and/or the artworks without really getting into it?
Don’t get me wrong, collective art experience can be a wonderful experience, but there is something fascinating in the old-fashion private art experience that the lockdown has revived. As Philip Kennicott recently defined it in the Washington Post — “the pleasure of experiencing the arts in ‘solitary communion’ that helps us anticipate the final solitary experience of life — death — and so makes us better citizens of the world,”.
I was fortunate to meet artists, and It was only then, when they went through their journey with me, that art began talking to me.
Thomas Aquinas taught that it is the ‘person’ that emanates the energy to produce with the material a specific form, which is the artifact carrying in itself the imprint of the ‘mind’ and ‘heart’ shaped by the hand in the beauty.
As they spend most of their time in the studio and it is often difficult to find room for a meaningful conversation at an art show or on Instagram, it is not that easy to really connect with them.
The Creator Economy aims to change the Game In The Art World
The art world we all know is based on the relation with the artwork, which is beautiful. We can all experience art right now just by scrolling our Instagram feed or going on any art platform online, and we can eventually buy a work or two, and if we’re wealthy enough we might start a collection with the help of an art advisor, going to an auction or gallery. We might also visit a private collection or public museum, and collectively experience old or modern masterpieces in spaces open to the public.
When it comes to appreciating art for its significance and aesthetic value though, there is nothing more fulfilling than connecting with the person of the artist, while experiencing their art and cultivating a healthy passion for art — and life.
There is no art background or hidden knowledge that interferes with it.
The Creator Economy creates space for a new era of the art world, where we can create deeper relations directly with the artists that speak to us the most and experience their art to the fullest.
In this regard, the new platform Mæcenarte aims to facilitate art lovers to create meaningful relations with the artists that speak to them the most, empowering greater access and understanding of art.
About Pasquale Marino:
I am the Founder & CEO of Mæcenarte — we are building a platform where artists and art lovers can connect in mutually beneficial relations, aiming to shape a better society where not only the word Art and World are close to each other.
If you want to be notified of our launch first and see how you can test Maecenarte even sooner visit: www.maecenarte.com
