The reality of life as a professional artist is something I've wanted to write about for years. It's a topic not well-represented in the public, the media, the schools – and as artists, we are often complicit in perpetuating a host of false narratives about life in the arts. These narratives tend to either romanticize poverty, indirectly represent a lifestyle afforded by generational wealth, and effectively stigmatize the necessity for most artist to work supplementary jobs alongside their art careers. When I decided I wanted to contribute a pragmatic spin to the discourse – something less ephemeral than a closed-door conversation – I immediately knew I wanted to interview Nicole Collins.
Nicole is a successful artist. She's been exhibiting in commercial galleries and museums worldwide for over thirty years. Her work has been featured in modern art history textbooks. Her 20-page CV boasts dozens of group shows, art fairs, residencies, and a continuous steady stream of solo exhibits in multiple established and highly sought-after galleries, including the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Her art practice is expansive. She also has a full-time job.
I met Nicole in 2012 at OCAD University, where she works as an associate professor in the Drawing and Painting program; hers was the first class I attended as an official university student (I had audited several UofT courses previously), and I was nervous, to say the least. But not the typical out-on-your-own kind of nerves that usually plague the first-year student. I had decided at the age of 29 that it was finally time to follow my dreams and enroll in university. After fourteen years in the workforce and six years of blindly making my way through the Toronto art scene as a self-taught outsider, I was going to immerse myself in the art world.
To be clear, I never had any illusions of one day supporting myself through my art practice alone – I still don't. By that point, I had enough experience as a working artist to understand the fickle nature of the art market, one too unstable to confidently rely on for income – at least, not when you're on your own, and me with no partner, no roommates, no parental support, no savings. What was shocking, though, was how many of the students seemed never to have had an open and honest discussion with any working artist about what that lifestyle was really like. The assumption for many was that in coming to OCAD they would discover the key to success. Yes, they would work hard and study, but more importantly, they would figure out the secret recipe for “making it” as a full-time artist.
Now, it should be said that for the purposes of this article and interview, we're defining a full-time artist not by the hours you put into your art practice, but by the designation of working ONLY as an artist. Because this is the dream, right? This is the goal for all the hopeful, non-cynical, bet-on-yourself-type burgeoning artists out there. And it's no wonder. Scour the internet and you’ll find countless BuzzFeed-esque listicles touting five ways to make a living as an artist, or ten artists just like you who have found a way to "make it.” Artists themselves will mislead you about how working hard and networking was the way they got to that coveted full-time artist position. Great, so go to it, everyone. If this is the case, we'll all be full-time artists soon.
But that's not the case, it’s just the polished-up version of the artist that popular media neatly presents: a social-media-style reductionist portrayal of a life that we’ve been aspiring to since even before the time of social media. It's the portrayal of a person living outside the confines of normal society, a sometimes pretentious and maybe out-of-touch eccentric who spends all their time either in their studio or gallivanting around town. They're so good at what they do that it's all they do. It's an image that many artists feel the need to uphold, and it's a myth that needs debunking.
On that first day of school, Nicole said something that has since stuck with me. While we all took turns introducing ourselves for the requisite get-to-know-you exercise, one student introduced themselves along with the assertion that they intended to be a full-time artist after graduation. Nicole paused and looked inward – after a moment of contemplation, she informed us of the ethical quandary in supporting that kind of thinking. Not that she wanted to crush anyone's dreams or discourage would-be artists from pursuing their creative passions, quite the opposite; she wanted to prepare students for a long-term career in the arts by stating the cold, hard facts up front, that working as a full-time artist without supplementary financing is an improbability.
Nicole was gracious enough to sit down with me upon my request to discuss this still-relevant topic, a topic that's maybe more relevant now than ever. Here's what she had to say.
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