The Artists dilemma : The conflict of creation and marketing.

If you’re an artist, you’ve probably, at one point in your life, heard the words, “Don’t do it for validation, do it for the art.”

This sentiment is perfectly valid in many ways, while simultaneously being invalidating to many artists. Why?

Because, in the age of contemporary marketing through social media and in-person events for exposure, viewership, and general support for your art, these things are almost essential if you want to succeed as a part-time or full-time artist.

But the reality is that simply creating from the heart isn't always enough in most cases. The work we create must also be seen, understood, and supported. Without visibility, even the most passionate artistic voice can struggle to find a place in the broader cultural conversation.

So, how do we navigate the reality of following our passion for ourselves while recognizing that we do, in fact, need some form of a dedicated audience to grow? Well, I won’t pretend to have the answers, but I certainly wanted to open up the conversation surrounding this because it’s something I believe plagues a great deal of artists. More than anything, it’s the conflict of overlap, right? If you push too far into the marketing and brand aspect of engagement, then you might start to feel more inauthentic.

The perception of you, over time, from others might begin to shift in that direction as well. It’s not just about how you feel anymore; it’s about how others begin to view your work, your motives, and your presence. But, on the opposite end, if you stay so focused on being true to yourself without compromise or adaptability, you can remain stagnant and find yourself constantly running into walls in terms of authentic growth.

This can be just as frustrating and discouraging, especially when you see others who seem to strike that rare balance between art and audience.

So, what’s the right approach? Why do so many artists struggle with marketing inconjunction with creation? Well, many would say a balance between the two. But the tricky thing about this is that, for many artists, one starts to feel like it’s taking over the other.

The line between art and marketing begins to blur, and with it comes a feeling of discomfort and inauthenticity.

Because when you try and put your work out there to be sold or to garner attention, you start to question "Am i a real artist? am i a sell out?"

I think a great deal of this conflict comes from cultural conditioning through cultural art elitism, that idea that if an artist wants visibility or money, they must not be a real artist. It’s also heard on the opposite end from some investors that are less empathic toward the starving artist life.

Neurodivergent artists especially struggle with this conflict. There’s also the factor of how many people create art for personal comfort, to quell trauma, or as an outlet for their anxiety.

For those artists, the process of pushing their art out into the world, let alone turning it into a brand can feel intrusive or overwhelming. Not calling marketing inauthentic, as there are varying degrees to it, but many of us do feel like, despite needing money to survive, too much focus on the capitalistic aspect can render us and the work we create, inauthentic. Or worse, we fear we’ll lose part of why we started in the first place.

I think ultimately this dilemma is not about choosing between purity and success. It’s about finding a way to exist within the reality of the world we live in while still honoring the reasons we create.

And maybe that’s the point of this conversation, why i'm writing this in the first place, not to solve it, but to recognize it, sit with it, and support one another as we each try to find our own way through it.