Everything is Changing

The title of my post is the name of a song by one of my favorite bands, Groove Collective. The lyrics go:

Everyday people

Keep doing what they got to do,

Everything is changing,

And it’s up to you

Everything is changing. I know it’s cliche and everything  is built on change but now, more than ever, I feel like I’m in the midst of a huge paradigm shift. Just the other day, I was talking to some coworkers at the day job about how the  concept of being middle class, based on what our parents have achieved, doesn’t seem to be translating too well to people to our generation. The stability and “comfort” of staying in one job forever and earning enough to own a home, one (or two) cars and the 2.5 kids seem to be more of an anomaly. Of course I could attribute this to living in New York City, but I get the feeling that this shift is being felt all over the country. Times are a lot leaner and now it seems like success hinges on survival of the fittest hustler.

Being a good hustler requires a lot of creativity. Making do with less and turning a seemingly nothing into something requires a lot of thinking outside of the box and innovation, which is why I think the merits of being an artist are really important survival skills. To be able to make a living off of your creations is a blessing that many of us don’t have the luxury of enjoying so in the meantime, we have to juggle various hats and scrape along , go the extra mile and hustle to be able to do what we love while surviving and thriving. Because a lot of artists have had to do that for so long, I think they’ve developed a certain resiliency and imagination that has been long lost by many others.

I’m reading more and more in the newspapers and magazines articles about the economy and that the funky job market will push people to pursue more entrepreneurial ventures, and  dictate their own path instead of following the traditional arc of working for someone else or a faceless corporation. With that in mind,  artists really need to take control over how they want their art to be seen and shared. I was especially inspired with this feeling after reading this great post by Baang & Burne.  The post talks about really taking your career by the, ahem, balls and aggressively going on your own campaign that doesn’t necessarily mean getting shown in a gallery and thinking outside of that box. Too often we allow getting in a gallery to define whether or not we’re artists. In order to evolve, we’ve got to get leaner and meaner with our thinking.

For me, I have a meeting next week with a non-traditional artist space in LIC, Queens. I’m exciting about pitching my exhibition proposal because the space isn’t just interested in shows that involve meandering around the room, sipping wine and trying to look cool. They want artists that will put on shows that get the public actively involved with the exhibit, whether through hands-on learning or taking the time to listen to the artist’s presentation on what makes their work tick. I’m pretty excited to pitch to this place and it feels good that I have so many options beyond the typical gallery.

So to dump all the cliches on table: change is good, change is inevitable, things change. I’m learning to change my way of thinking to pursue new experiences, stepping outside of my comfort zone, and embracing my inner-hustler.

I hope you are too.