In this episode of The Art Biz I talk with Nanci Hersh about an exhibition she organized with 25 artists from multiple states and countries.

The show used the central theme of tears to explore empathy, compassion, and understanding within a sacred space—a metaphorical chapel. She says, as artists “we are so fortunate that we can use our art to make sense of life experiences.”

Nanci and I discuss:

• The ripple effect of art when it impacts the artist first.
• The training she received to facilitate uncomfortable conversations.
• The benefits of taking on such a big project and why it’s important that it aligned with her values.
• How the exhibition was paid for and ideas she has for improving funding options in the future.
• How she stayed organized.
• The importance of clear lines of communication, accepting help, and practicing gratitude.

⭐️ ABOUT NANCI HERSH

Nanci Hersh is a contemporary artist whose work is informed by the experiences, relationships, and places in her life. Her two-dimensional work, as well as her sculptures and installations, are at the intersection of personal narrative, art-making, and community engagement—exploring the grace, beauty and fragility of our lives.

Nanci is also a curator, illustrator, educator, arts advocate, and former Executive Director of the Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education. She has one foot in Pennsylvania and the other in Delaware.

🎧 RELATED EPISODES

The Art Biz ep. 160: Overcoming Anxiety about Making Art World Connections with Heather Beardsley

The Art Biz ep. 146: Remember The Many Opportunities We Have Because We’re Online with Barbara Muir

The Art Biz ep. 30: Multi-State Multi-Year Multi-Artist Art Project with Marilyn Artus

The Art Biz ep. 64: Knit Democracy Together with Eve Jacobs-Carnahan

📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/empathy-hersh

🔶 Sponsored by The Art Biz Accelerator 🔶 a coaching group for strategies, support, and accountability inside a community of artists who get you. https://artbizsuccess.com/accelerator

⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~

This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

Dare you have a sale of your art?

I acknowledge that having a sale of original work might be unpalatable. It feels as if you are cheapening the work you put so much effort into. I get it.

In just the last episode of The Art Biz (#166), I talked with Bri Larson about the mindset around raising prices and why it was important to do so.

In this episode of The Art Biz I discuss the psychology and process around having a sale of your art or any products that you might sell. Products such as calendars, note cards, books, catalogs, or print

I cover 6 options for structuring a sale, although, as you’ll see, promotion is probably a better word because not all of the options are about offering a discount.

I also outline additional steps to take around your sale.

Stick with me to the end and I'll share 3 mistakes you don’t want to make when having a sale of your art.

📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/

🔶 Sponsored by The Art Biz Accelerator 🔶 a coaching group for strategies, support, and accountability inside a community of artists who get you. https://artbizsuccess.com/accelerator

⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~

This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

In this episode, Bri Larson and I talk about her decision to raise her prices and how she overcame the mindset that her art needed to be affordable.

We also discuss:

• The value of her artist community—how they have supported her growth as an artist and her journey into motherhood.
• How she has been able to maintain a studio practice with a baby, including how she structures her days around the baby’s schedule.
• What kind of work she would give to a studio assistant and how she’ll know when to hire.
• The decision to focus on organic reach v. paid advertising online.
• Bri’s #1 piece of advice for would-be artist-parents.

🎧 RELATED EPISODES

Juggling parenthood also came up in these episodes:

The Art Biz ep. 162: She Knows Exactly How Much Her Art Income Will be Every Month with Kelly Pelfrey

The Art Biz ep. 84: Money Mindset Breakthrough Secrets with Lea K. Tawd

The Art Biz ep. 131: Injecting Personal Narrative into Your Art with Sara Lee Hughes

📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit

https://artbizsuccess.com/larson-raising-prices

⭐️ Connect with Bri and see more of her art: https://brilarson.com

🔶 Sponsored by The Art Biz Accelerator 🔶 a coaching group for strategies, support, and accountability inside a community of artists who get you. https://artbizsuccess.com/accelerator

⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~

This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

There’s no neat way to explain what success is because it’s different for every artist. I hope this episode is the start of an ongoing conversation on the subject.

💡HIGHLIGHTS

• Success for artists might include income (sales), exhibitions, leadership roles, achievements, collections, and studio production.
• A few of the diverse stories of success from artist-guests of The Art Biz.
• The importance of aligning the goals for your art and expectations of yourself with how you want your life to be.
• Success requires you to be nimble—to adapt to changing circumstances and be open to risks and failures.
• My best advice: Success doesn’t happen all at once. It’s the result of small wins, each of which must be acknowledged in order to stay motivated and focused on your vision.

📖 To read the complete transcript, see featured artists, and comment about the topic of success, visit artbizsuccess.com/feel-successful

🔶 Sponsored by The Art Biz Accelerator 🔶 a coaching group to support you as you follow your vision and take successful steps along the way. https://artbizsuccess.com/accelerator

🔶 Sponsored by the Create Opportunities Challenge 🔶 a 3-month program this fall to help you find and improve venues for showing, selling, and/or teaching art. It’s about being intentional rather than waiting for an email in your inbox. Find out more and see if it’s for you https://artbizsuccess.com/opportunities

🎧 MENTIONED EPISODES

• Lessons from a Wildly Successful Pop-up Art Gallery Event with Mai Wyn Schantz (ep. 109)
• Overcoming Anxiety about Making Art World Connections with Heather Beardsley (ep. 160)
• Increasing Self-Sales by 400% with Sarah Becktel (ep. 157)
• Play Tops Work, Connection Tops Solitude, and Confidence Tops Fear with Willie Cole (ep 126)
• Expanding Your Skillset to Respond to Opportunities with Detour (ep. 128)
• Guaranteeing an Effective Project with Eve Jacobs-Carnahan (ep. 121)

⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~

This is a special invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/