2020 laid bare the ways that our current systems have been failing artists for a long time. It has also shown us new forms of collective organizing and power-building in the arts and among creative communities. We saw the limitations of individualistic, atomized approaches to succeeding or surviving in the arts, as well as the fragility of formal institutions like museums, galleries, and nonprofits. We have been inspired by artists coming together collectively, pooling resources and sharing information to help support the broader creative community. If we are building a better, more equitable arts sector in the coming year(s), we need to nourish that community.

Soon enough, we’ll have to stop saying “these past few months” or “since March” when we want to refer to ways that the COVID pandemic has upended our lives because it’s about to be March again and we will soon be one full year into this.

Since 2014, Wikitongues has worked to preserve languages at risk of extinction and to revitalize languages that are falling out of use and out of prominence all over the world. The team behind Wikitongues affirms linguistic sovereignty as our global cultural right.

It’s not that we don’t know what the problems are with institutions like nonprofits, companies, museums, and more. The longer we are involved with them, it’s not hard to see which ones are too white and which have too much power concentrated at the top. It’s easy to see which institutions function based on burnout and underpaying entry-level employees, employ toxic communication strategies and leave staff with no room for growth.

As this year comes to a close, we’re reflecting on the writing we’ve shared and the conversations we’ve had on the blog. We’ve shared resources that we’ve read and our own journey towards becoming a more anti-racist organization through strategies like caucusing over the years. This year, BLM protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder sparked a new urgency to these conversations and wider interest in having them (especially in the arts).

The Fractured Atlas team thinks and writes a lot about working; how we work, how we see others structuring their workplaces, how we think the nature of work can and should change in changing times. Often, this comes through Work. Shouldn’t. Suck. Two of the pieces of workplace culture that we have focused on a lot over the years are remote working and anti-racism in the workplace.

In addition to the multitude of tips and tools we share with artists, we also tackle some of the bigger questions on the minds of artists and people working in the arts. What are the emotional contours of living as an artist? What does the future of the arts look like? How can you be an artist when the whole world is burning?

Right now, many workplaces are reckoning with ways that systemic racism shows up in their industry and in their work cultures. Companies and organizations made big statements over the summer about becoming more anti-racist and some are still dedicated to doing that work. We’re doing that at Fractured Atlas, too. One of the ways that Fractured Atlas has upped the ante on our own dedication to anti-racism in the arts and in workplace design is by offering consulting to other workplaces

Fundraising is a big challenge for artists. For many artists, fundraising is one of the primary means by which you get the support you need to make your work, so it is often an unavoidable challenge.

A Sustainable Creative Practice Is Different For Everyone As an artist, you want to build your creative practice in a way that nourishes you and sustains you, that lets you stay inspired and connected. If you run yourself ragged trying to balance out your creative commitments as well as the rest of your life, you’ll find yourself burned out and frustrated. At Fractured Atlas, we want more artists to make more work. And if artists are burned out and frustrated, you’re not able to create! We need to develop sustainable creative practices.