04/19/2015
CONSCIOUS BUSINESS MATTERS #10:
Having, once again, started "gigging" in my musical life this past week, I was reminded of the ways in which artists of all types find entrepreneurial ways to (a) make a living and (b) make a life.
The fact is that most artists are simply under-appreciated, whether financially or otherwise.
Yes, some decent gigs come along, and you can definitely make a decent paycheck if you have the wherewithal to simply "do good work" with your craft, just like any other industry.
But, the fact is that the appreciation for the long hours required to both become and remain a competent musician or dancer or otherwise are often not understood by the general populous.
That said, I must tell you how grateful I was, this week, to see the tide has been turning, when I received the genuine acknowledgement by the Dance majors at MSU - having subbed, as accompanist, for a few classes.
They end every class by squatting and battering the floor with their hands in the direction of the accompanist.
There is nothing like being praised in your own "language."
Tell an artist you love them, this weekend. They bring a beauty to this world that can always be "felt, but rarely understood."
http://www.thebookoflife.org/arts-unemployment/
Arts graduates across the developed world complain bitterly about the difficulties they are facing finding employment. They spend long and costly years studying such subjects as history, art, philosophy, poetry and drama – then they reach the jobs market, and discover that no one has any use for t
