how does prWe represent artists, but we are also a company comprised of artists. We therefore understand not only the issues and often resistance that comprise marketing ones work, but the issues, time, frustration, joy and wonder that comes from creating a work of art.

Our basic mantra is that artists need to do their work, but then then have to open themselves up to the art of PR and marketing.

Why?

You can create the most amazing work of art and if no one knows it exists, well – non one knows it exists. The job of PR is to build bridges between you and the public. Through the media you reach prospective collectors, influencers, galleries, and the public at large. Through the validation and credibility of being featured as a news story (as opposed to an ad, commercial, or direct marketing piece), you begin to establish yourself, your art and your brand.

If done constantly, the process works.

I can attest to that personally. I have a play opening this week (out of state) that came about because of public relations. A director read an article about a play of mine that had been produced in Los Angeles a few years back. The article piqued his interest. He contacted me, asked if he could read the play (apparently liked what he read) and the work will be going up this month. That scenario came about because of the media. I would have never known about this director and he would have certainly not known about my work, if it hadn’t been for the article he read.

A visual artist we work with was offered a collaboration with a major film studio after they had seen her work featured in some of the articles we placed. Amazing opportunities can come from an effective media relations campaign, but that’s only true if you launch one.

We begin by setting up a brainstorming session. In this session we’re looking for stories, media angles, etc. These sessions focus on our clients, their art, their journey as an artist, etc. It is here where we find the stories. Without a strong narrative, it’s difficult to implement an effective campaign, since effective PR is the art of effective storytelling. The upside is that every artist has a compelling story to tell. Our job is to define and refine the story and present it to the media in a compelling manner.

You have a compelling story to tell as does your art.

I know it can be daunting to take on yet another expense, but this is truly one of those situations where you will hit a point in your career where the question must shift from:

“Can I afford to launch a public relations campaign?”

to,

“Can I afford not to?”

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