The beautiful Central Coast of NSW is where I live. It is also home to hundreds of talented creatives: artists, photographers, sculptors, ceramicists, potters, jewelers, writers, textile artists, and more.
Almost a year ago, I fell into the orbit of a small group of these committed artists, based primarily in Copacabana, the hottest spot north of Havana. No, not really…Copa is one of the wonderful “villages” that make up the Central Coast, each of which has its own character, not to mention loyal locals. I was an "outsider" from over the headland, yet I was graciously welcomed into, and accepted, as part of their little community. And I was seemingly only the second photographer to penetrate the Wall of Paint, so I was doubly honoured.
Since then I have participated in a number of art shows with them, and in doing so I have witnessed the depth of their talent and passion for their craft. I have also seen, experienced, and written, about the effort required just to be seen and recognised for those talents.
It has been a steep learning curve, and it got me to thinking. There must be a better way, not just for our little group, but for all Central Coast artists - to amplify our presence, stand out, and be discovered amongst not only our local artists in the region, but also the thousands of other talented artists out there. Art shows and art fairs have their place, but they require a day or two of attendance, and involve long hours of waiting and smiling at passers-by who are simply filling in a few hours. This is interspersed with moments of chatting, and hopefully the occasional sale.
Curated art exhibitions and competitions are more time efficient. You deliver your work, somebody hangs it for you, and off you go. If you are keen you can return for the launch, enjoy a glass of wine, and smile a lot, or you can decide to just visit on a day to enjoy the full exhibition. The downside is that you are limited in the number of pieces you can enter, the upside is that you are dealing with a fair number of committed buyers and collectors, so sales are more likely. Then, a few days or weeks later, you return and collect any unsold work.
As for the virtual world, in this age of the internet, anybody can display their work. Not everyone can paint or sculpt, but anyone can take a photo and put it out there for the world to enjoy…and it seems that everyone does. To give some context, at least 95 million photos and videos are posted on Instagram EACH DAY. This makes it hard to cut through the noise.
I believe the solution may be to blend all the above. And as I also believe that we are better together, so I have great pleasure in introducing to you our new Central Coast Creatives Collective. Its aim is to bring these local artists together, support our endeavours individually and collectively, and amplify our presence.
I am proud to present to you our first 12 members, our Dedicated Dozen if you will. These principally represent our original core Copa group, with a few invited colleagues. Excitedly, the collective is already generating interest, and more artists are in a holding pattern waiting to join.
I have launched this website, with the goal of building a directory of creative artists, that people can visit, see their work, and contact them directly. This is also supported by socials, with member subscriptions put towards advertising the collective through these channels.
Hopefully, this will accelerate a process that would take months, maybe even years for one of our members to do on their own, and at a far less cost than boosting posts on their own platforms. This is strength in numbers. It’s also a way to for them to test the market before investing more time and money into a website of their own.
Next, we aim to step off screens and into the physical world to present, manage and curate our own physical exhibitions. We need to be able to put our work out there when and where we want, where visitors can walk though and engage with us and our art - face to face.
These are exciting times for us as a group, to take more control of our artistic goals, and set our own paths. I encourage you to follow us as we chase our dreams.
And remember, all of these creatives have their work available for sale. Please support local talent.
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