I’m in the process of teaching my two young kids how to play with blocks. All kinds of sets: Legos, Magna-Tiles, wooden blocks with animal faces on them. One block on its own may not have much function or purpose — unless you count having a funny face that makes your kid chuckle a purpose, which I definitely do count. But combined with the other blocks in the set, they take on a collective capability. Strength in numbers. It takes a village. Community. These are tried and true phrases and concepts. And if you are a working artist, building a funding community can not only make your creative practice more sustainable, but it can provide enriching benefits — not just monetary — for you and the people who generously make up your funding community.
If you’re anything like my 18-month-old son, half the fun of playing with blocks is right at the beginning when you turn the box upside down and watch every block you have fall to the floor. How else would you know what you’re working (or playing) with? My son and I both implore you, dear reader, to turn the box upside down and bask in the glory of how multifaceted your funding community has the potential to become. Once you’re done drooling over it (maybe you’re teething, too), go through the blocks individually and discern what role this particular person in your life can play in your funding community. Because, yes, there are roles! And here they are:
Those little pieces that look kind of nimble compared to the bigger blocks? Turns out they are super important to this building project actually coming together. Without them, you’re left with a floor full of disparate blocks that don’t know what to do with each other. While connectors might not necessarily support you financially, they can help connect you to the people with resources you may need. Connectors can make introductions to potential traders, volunteers, and donors — the other blocks you might have at arm’s reach.
Those multi-pronged pieces that can fit with blocks of all shapes and sizes? Those are traders: people who have knowledge or skills that you may need in order to get a project off the ground or further fulfill your artistic practice. The wonderful thing about traders is that they need your help, too. They may be other artists looking for collaborative work, or they may be peddling their services and skills as a side-hustle for some extra cash. Whether you’re paying someone for their work or doing your part in bringing back the barter system, the beauty of a trade relationship is in its reciprocity and symbiosis.
When their kids grow out of things, many parents donate them to other parents of younger children. It just so happens that your block collection includes pieces that you didn’t pay for but are here to help. By donating their time, volunteers are a crucial resource for artists, making whatever you’re building bigger and better. Be sure to set clear expectations and boundaries for them, and don’t forget to thank them for their invaluable efforts!
When one of my kids is playing with blocks and the other one joins in, the results aren’t always… harmonious. There’s competition for resources, attention, space. But what I’m continually trying to explain to them is that they want the same things and, if they work together, they can both gain what they desire. While it’s true that you and your peers may be angling for the same grants or seeking funding from some of the same people, an arts ecosystem thrives when its artists are working together to navigate and improve that ecosystem. Plus, many funders accept proposals from collaborators and collectives, recognizing that there’s strength in numbers and diverse skill sets.
These are the biggest blocks you have, not because they are more important than the others, but because they are monetarily funding your creative practice. Whether they are individuals, nonprofits, foundations, or even the government, donations of any size represents a material commitment to and belief in your work — an important and necessary prerequisite to being part of your funding community.
While we normally think of building blocks as concrete, sturdy items (hello, object permanence!), the building blocks of your funding community are actually more fluid than that. Maybe you asked someone for a donation and they weren’t able to give, but they put you in touch with someone who did. And then maybe a year later that original connector, now in a different financial situation, became a donor. The truth is, any person in your funding community can fulfill any of these roles at any given time and flow between different roles over time. It all just depends on how they are able and wish to support you and your artistic endeavors.
To borrow a phrase from my kids’ favorite show, I urge you, dear artists, to take your blocks and build the tallest… tower… in the world!