The artists who don't wait to be chosen (264)
The Art Biz
You don't need a gallery to put your work in front of people. You don’t need to wait for the next juried show application just for the promise to compete with a hoard of other artists. In this episode of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that waiting for gallery representation — or cycling through the same juried shows — keeps artists from the kind of visibility they could be creating themselves. This is a practical, imagination-expanding episode for artists who are ready to take control. In this episode, Alyson shares: Why "white walls" can be a metaphor for playing it...
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Why the Lone Artist Mindset Keeps You Small (263)
The Art Biz
In this solo episode of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield explores why collaboration is often the missing piece in an artist’s growth. While working alone feels easier, it can quietly limit what’s possible. This episode makes the case for thinking bigger by asking a simple but powerful question: Who else belongs in your work? Alyson shares: Two powerful examples of artist collaborations and how they reached audiences that the artists couldn’t have reached on their own How collaborations build accountability, momentum, and deeper work Why it’s important that your work be part of the...
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This Artist Turned Six Partnerships Into a Sold-Out Gallery Show with Meredith Nemirov (262)
The Art Biz
Artist Meredith Nemirov joins host Alyson Stanfield to walk through how she built a rare sold-out show — not by luck, but by design. Starting with a short proposal to a national nonprofit before she ever approached her gallery, Meredith assembled six collaborators, two opening nights, and a donation structure that gave everyone a reason to say yes. Meredith reveals: Why she approached a national nonprofit before she walked into her own gallery The three options she gave American Rivers for the collaboration How the gallery staff went far beyond hanging the work, and why it mattered The...
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What are you waiting for? The real costs of postponing strategic work in your art business (261)
The Art Biz
The daily work of running an art business always feels urgent. The strategic work doesn't. So it waits. But postponing that deeper evaluation isn't okay. In this solo episode, host Alyson Stanfield names five specific costs that accumulate when the strategic work keeps getting pushed to next month, next quarter, next year. In this episode: Why tactical delays and strategic delays are two different problems The question Alyson asks every client when a deadline feels far away What it means to leave money on the table, and why it's such an easy cost to ignore How unresolved strategic questions...
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The Art Business Self-Assessment Every Artist Should Do (260)
The Art Biz
My Art Business Assessment — Used with Every Client 50% In this solo episode of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield introduces the 3-zone framework she uses with every private client to assess where an art business actually stands. It's the same structure at the heart of the Art Business Reset workshop, and this episode is your chance to walk through it on your own. Alyson covers: The question she asks before any strategy conversation The 3 zones that account for everything you do to build your art business outside of making the work: Outreach, Presence, and Systems The breakdown of what...
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Do You Have the Art Business You Actually Want? (259)
The Art Biz
Most artists didn't design their art business — they drifted into it. In this solo episode, Art Biz host Alyson Stanfield invites you to slow down long enough to ask a question most artists never take time to ask: if you were starting fresh today, would you build it this way? In this episode, Alyson covers: Why most artists are running a business they drifted into rather than designed — and why that matters What a business model actually is (and why you already have one whether you designed it or not) The difference between examining your business and evaluating it, and why the order...
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Stop Being Busy, Start Being Strategic (258)
The Art Biz
Being busy is boring. In episode 258 of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that most artists are so deep in execution mode that they never step back to evaluate, redirect, or ask whether any of it is actually working. This episode draws a clear line between working IN your art business and working ON it, and explains why both matter, but one gets almost all of the attention. IN THIS EPISODE Why execution without direction is just activity, and what it costs you. The side-by-side difference between IN and ON work across four common artist tasks The two failure modes: too much IN...
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When You Want to Sell More Original Art (257)
The Art Biz
Selling products — giclées, pillows, aprons, notebooks — made sense when you started. But if you've been asking how to sell more original art and not getting traction, something may need to shift. Host Alyson Stanfield draws on her background as a museum curator and educator to explore what actually gets in the way and what to do about it. In this episode: Why the pivot to products is understandable, and when it starts working against you The fear that drives you away from leading with originals What collectors are actually buying when they choose to live with original art The screen...
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Healing Your Money Allergy with Hannah Cole (256)
The Art Biz
Artist and tax advisor Hannah Cole knows firsthand how shame can poison an artist's relationship with money. When her dad's accountant asked "When are you gonna get a real job?" instead of helping her understand quarterly taxes, she experienced the dismissal that makes so many artists avoid financial conversations altogether. In this episode, host Alyson Stanfield and Hannah explore why artists develop allergies to money talk and what it takes to build confidence with your numbers. Hannah reveals: Why "when are you gonna get a real job?" creates a lasting money allergy How believing money...
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Building Community Through Art: The Lights Out Model (255)
The Art Biz
Daniel Sipe and Karlë Woods didn't set out to start an arts organization. They just wanted to talk to artists during the pandemic. Four years later, Lights Out has produced 95 artist documentaries, thrown 18 popup exhibitions across Maine, and built a funding model that includes everything from $10 monthly donors to six-figure state contracts. Their story, shared with host Alyson Stanfield, offers a masterclass in starting before you're ready, investing in what matters (yes, including marketing), and building something sustainable through collaboration rather than competition. They reveal: ...
info_outlineDaniel Sipe and Karlë Woods didn't set out to start an arts organization. They just wanted to talk to artists during the pandemic. Four years later, Lights Out has produced 95 artist documentaries, thrown 18 popup exhibitions across Maine, and built a funding model that includes everything from $10 monthly donors to six-figure state contracts.
Their story, shared with host Alyson Stanfield, offers a masterclass in starting before you're ready, investing in what matters (yes, including marketing), and building something sustainable through collaboration rather than competition. They reveal:
- Why a power outage became the best thing that could have happened at their first art show
- The $800 investment that felt reckless at the time but proved essential to their credibility
- How they turned what could be seen as competition into their superpower
- The state contract that nearly bankrupted them before it saved them
- The simplest way artists can support arts organizations in their communities
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The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.