“The artist's struggle for his integrity must be considered as a kind of metaphor for the struggle, which is universal and daily, of all human beings on the face of this globe to get to become human beings.” —James Baldwin
I was recently invited by a talented ceramic artist and educator to visit his professional practices class and talk about, well, that. It got me thinking about how I’ve presented on this topic before—usually chatting about my own circuitous route to the art world to lend some context for not only how (and perhaps also why) I do what I do, but the way I do what I do, and what I’m tuned into when I work with artists.
I founded Young Space ten years ago next month (!!). Before then, I was pretty oblivious to what we think of as the art world. I grew up in a small blue collar city in the Upper Midwest in an artistic family. I was grateful for the creative spirit in our household, but there weren’t too many opportunities to see or experience art locally. I thought I’d go to school to study art. I didn’t really know how to pursue any kind of career in the field, though, so I bounced around to numerous universities during undergrad, just trying to find somewhere that I fit in and that could maybe give me a hint about how to move forward.
I graduated in 2008 amid the financial crisis, so the art history degree I earned didn’t hold much water when it came to finding work. I got a job as a bookseller, where I worked for several years, then decided to go to the University of Edinburgh for a Masters, continuing my art history studies.
It was there that I learned about curating and gallery models often more prevalent in Europe than in the U.S., like experimental, research-oriented artist-run spaces or the nonprofit public art gallery model like Fruitmarket or Whitechapel Gallery. I slowly realized that, while up to that point I hadn’t felt like I “belonged” in the art world, there were actually many entry points into it. And I felt like I could do something different, or at least on my own terms. And I felt inspired, when I moved back to the U.S., to try something new.
One thing I come back to again and again is the transformation of digital tools over the past ten years and how, though fractious, social media changed everything, including what kind of careers were available. In 2014, I had gotten my first iPhone and used Instagram pretty regularly, but like most folks, not for much more than posting pictures of my cat or trips I took. But I started to use it to find art, and when I realized more and more artists were using it to share their work, it just seemed like the natural place to start sharing work that I also liked. It became part of my practice, just scrolling and learning and sometimes messaging other artists. It still is.
Eventually, artists started messaging me. Young Space grew organically, and I credit the platform with facilitating a connectedness—and let’s be honest, a career—that I never could have dreamed of had I been living outside of a major cultural hub without it. Prior to Instagram’s popularity, I would have absolutely had to move to New York or Los Angeles to pursue what I have been fortunate enough to work on from the comfort of, well, just about anywhere. So I’ve been considering how this has changed over the past few years. In terms of professional practices, what does online presence mean these days? How do we find work? Who are the arbiters of the new, the good, the interesting?
Infuriating as it can be these days with its mood-swingy algorithms and emphasis on memes and entertainment, Instagram is still where the art world is. I, along with so many people I know, still use it every day and research artists. (I have a very closely managed search history so that when I’m scrolling through Young Space’s “explore” section, I see art, art, and more art.) And it seems as important as ever to maintain even the most basic website—a landing place where portfolios can be built and the artist has control over its layout and content, algorithm-free. In my own work, can’t emphasize how much I rely on artists’ websites. Instagram is great, but for me, it’s like an introduction. The website is an opportunity to virtually invite me to your studio.
Email has also made a comeback, and I’ve been getting more artist newsletters than ever before. I love these! They don’t have to be super frequent, but they can be full of information and meaningful for those who have expressed support or interest in the past. I think that’s why I pivoted Young Space to email last autumn—it felt more direct, more intentional… more wanted.
From the perspective of a solo endeavor, that’s the best one can really hope for: getting your message out to those who really want to see it. And as a curator/publisher/editor, it’s a prospective collaborator/colleague’s integrity and genuine interest in building relationships that will almost always be the thing to tip the scales toward any successful outcome.
I could wax on about this for ages, but Substack warned me four paragraphs ago that I was nearing its inbox length limit. ;) No matter what online platform you choose to share your work on or who you choose to share it with, one thing that fortunately hasn’t changed is that relationships are what carries every project or collaboration. And one of the best lessons I learned was that not everyone is going to like/get along with/want to work with everyone. It doesn’t pay to spend energy on anything that just isn’t meant to be, even if it may feel frustrating. Make room for connections that do work, because when things gel, the outcome is often so beyond anything you initially conceived of.
See you next week!
—Kate
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What you’ll find below:
Featured artist: Nuria Maria
Four exhibitions to see in New York City, Potsdam, Sao Paolo, and Tokyo
Thirteen opportunities for artists with deadlines coming up soon
Featured Artist: Nuria Maria
Nuria Maria’s atmospheric abstract paintings always get my attention, partly because the photos she often shares on Instagram are shown in meditative interiors where the paintings seem to simultaneously exude and absorb a quiet, rich energy. “Nature, time, memory, and love. In Granite Spring, these subjects move in a windy palette of compositions. These are themes that always seem to come back in my work as leading motifs,” she says.
Maria’s solo exhibition Granite Spring opens at Alzueta Gallery in Barcelona from September 5 to October 8. See more on the artist’s website.
Exhibitions
TOKYO | AISHO
Acrobats
Digging this small group show, primarily focused on painting, featuring Wataro Ozu, Katelyn Ledford (pictured), and Akos Ezer.
Runs through September 28
SAO PAOLO | TOMIE OHTAKE AND CHU MING SILVEIRA HOUSES
ABERTO/03
For the third year, ABERTO marries art, design, and architecture in an exhibition inside two architect-designed homes in Sao Paolo. The combination of location and art makes this look incredible! Pictured above is work by Sophia Loeb.
Runs through October 10
NEW YORK CITY | SIKKEMA JENKINS & CO.
Erin Shirreff: Sunset Palace
Erin Shirreff’s large-scale, photo-based collages and freestanding geometric sculptures call attention to material and malleability, toying with perception of flatness and space.
Runs September 6 to October 19
POTSDAM | DAS MINSK
Noah Davis
A retrospective of the late Noah Davis (1983-2015) showcases more than 50 of his atmospheric pieces portraying Black experience. The show then travels to the Barbican in London and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
Runs September 7 to January 5
Artist Opportunities
Young Space emphasizes fully-funded opportunities with low or no entry fees and programs that focus on creative and professional development for visual artists. Deadlines are coming up soon to apply for these grants, fellowships, residencies, and more.
FEATURED LISTING
NYC Crit Club 2024 Fall Courses
Deadline: September 19
NYC Crit Club is a radical alternative program offering community, connection, and critique to artists, whether post-BFA/MFA or self-taught. Courses taught by a faculty comprising artists, curators, and gallerists encourage learning and growth individually—and in the way that works best for you. Fall courses start on September 24th!
Submission fee: none (registration varies by class)
MacDowell Residency Fellowship
Deadline: September 10
MacDowell's spring and summer residency offers a studio, accommodations, and three meals a day for up to six weeks. There are no residency fees, and financial assistance is offered to reimburse the costs of travel, rent, lost income, and childcare. The residency is open to artists of all backgrounds and all countries in the following disciplines: architecture, film/video arts, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theater, and visual arts.
Submission fee: none
Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellowship
Deadline: September 12
A fellowship at Radcliffe is an opportunity to step away from usual routines and dive deeply into a project. The Radcliffe Fellowship Program awards 50 fellowships each academic year. Applicants may apply as individuals or in a group of two people working on the same project. The fellowship runs from September 2025 to May 2026. Fellows receive a stipend of $78,000 plus an additional $5,000 to cover project expenses. Harvard Radcliffe Fellows may also be eligible to receive relocation, housing, and childcare funds to aid them in making a smooth transition to Radcliffe.
Submission fee: none
Djerassi Resident Artist Program
Deadline: September 12
Djerassi Resident Artists Program is located in a spectacular rural setting in the Santa Cruz Mountains over-looking the Pacific Ocean, yet is within easy driving distance of San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area. Residencies are awarded competitively, at no cost, to national and international artists in the disciplines of choreography, literature, music composition, visual arts, media arts, technology and science. Three sessions are four weeks long. The fourth, the Leonardo@Djerassi session exploring the intersection of art and science, is 5 weeks long and includes an Open House/Open Studios.
Submission fee: none
Hambidge Center Spring 2025 Residencies
Deadline: September 15
The oldest residency program in the Southeast, Hambidge provides a self-directed program that honors the creative process and trusts individuals to know what they need to cultivate their talent. Each resident is given their own private studio which provides work and living space with a bathroom and full kitchen. The studios are designed to protect residents’ time, space, and solitude. The residency fee is $250 per week (of the $1500/wk actual cost). Hambidge offers several merit-based Distinguished Fellowships which remove the fees for a two-week residency and provide a $700 stipend. Available Distinguished Fellowships vary from session to session. Unless otherwise noted, they are reserved for first-time residents.
Submission fee: $30 (waivers may be available on a case-by-case basis)
ARTNOIR Jar of Love Fund - London
Deadline: September 15
ARTNOIR, Sotheby’s and SR_A are thrilled to partner on the inaugural UK edition of the Jar of Love Fund and expansion of the Black British Artist Grants Programme. During this special grant cycle, the Jar of Love Fund and SR_A's Black British Artist Grants Programme will offer unrestricted grants of $5,000 to Black British and POC creatives in London. Grantees are selected by an esteemed committee including leading British academic and historic art institutions with the 2024 London cohort set to be announced during Frieze London (October 9 to 13, 2024).
Submission fee: none
MacDowell Residency Fellowship
Deadline: September 10
MacDowell's spring and summer residency offers a studio, accommodations, and three meals a day for up to six weeks. There are no residency fees, and financial assistance is offered to reimburse the costs of travel, rent, lost income, and childcare. The residency is open to artists of all backgrounds and all countries in the following disciplines: architecture, film/video arts, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theater, and visual arts.
Submission fee: none
Artadia Awards: Boston
Deadline: September 15
The Artadia Awards provide financial support, exposure, and recognition to artists. The awards are unrestricted, allowing artists to use the funds in any way they choose. Three Awardees receive unrestricted funds of $15,000, as well as access to the Artadia Network. Awardees are determined based on the sole discretion of the jury. Marciano Artadia Awardee receives unrestricted funds of $25,000. Applications in additional program cities open on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Submission fee: none
The Arts Family Emerging Artist Award - South Asia
Deadline: September 15
The award is open to artists from the age of 25 to 45 years and under of South Asian origin i.e. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka and the diaspora. Our aim is to support talented emerging artists from these regions and assist them in building their careers by providing them with exposure and guidance in the international art market. 1st prize is £1,500, 2nd prize is £1,000, and 3rd prize is £500. The award also includes a residency for a month at the prestigious The Borlase Smart John Wells Trust, offering studio space for artist to work in Cornwall, England, and mentorship from the Sotheby's Institute of Art, London.
Submission fee: none
Yaa Asantewaa Art Prize
Deadline: September 16
Gallery 1957 is announces the fourth edition of The Yaa Asantewaa Art Prize, an art prize dedicated to women artists living and working in Ghana and its diaspora. Named after the prominent Ghanaian Queen Mother, the prize aligns with their mission to support and uplift emerging and established artists. The prize is open exclusively to Ghanaian women artists either living in Ghana or across its diaspora. In the future, Gallery 1957 look forward to expanding the prize to include all African and African diaspora identifying artists. The first prize winner will receive an artist residency and exhibition at Gallery 1957, as well as GH₵50,000. First runner up will be awarded GH₵30,000 and second runner-up will receive GH₵20,000.
Submission fee: none
2024 Peter Capell Award for Midwestern Creativity & Entrepreneurship
Deadline: September 16
The Peter Capell Award for Midwestern Creativity & Entrepreneurship was established in 2022. Each year, the award recognizes an individual located in one of Arts Midwest’s nine member states. This year, Arts Midwest is celebrating a member of the Iowa arts community with the award. If you’ve been working in Iowa’s creative or cultural field for at least 10 years, this award might be for you! Recipients receive total of $5,000 in awarded funds, comprised of one unrestricted $2,500 award from Arts Midwest, accompanied by another $2,500 matching grant award from the Iowa Arts Council. Arts Midwest accepts nominations and self-nominations for this award.
Submission fee: none
New England Foundation for the Arts Public Art Learning Fund
Deadline: September 16
The Public Art Learning Fund provides grants of $500 to $2,000 to support professional development opportunities for New England artists to strengthen their public art practices. Through the Public Art Learning Fund, NEFA intends to foster the continued development of more equitable, inclusive, and vibrant public spaces and public life throughout New England.
Submission fee: none
2025 Guggenheim Fellowships
Deadline: September 17
Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for mid-career individuals who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts and exhibit great promise for their future endeavors. Fellowships are awarded through an annual competition open to citizens and permanent residents of the United States and Canada. Candidates must apply to the Guggenheim Foundation in order to be considered.
Submission fee: none
See all opportunities
Paid subscribers can access a full list of all current opportunities anytime—updated at least a couple of times each week.
Whether you’re a free or paid subscriber, you can also browse through listings in earlier digests in the archive.
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