Launching Your Art Career: A Practical Guide for Artists

As a former gallery owner, museum curator, teacher and advisor to a Masters Museum Management program, this was the book I needed so many times over the years. It is the definitive guide for what they don't teach artists in Art School. Alix Sloan gets practical and focused and this is what so many artists need to jump start their career. It's not the teachers beating the artist down or the family propping the artist up, it's real life guidance to up the odds of potential success in a somewhat haphazard and uncertain art world. With one chapter devoted to recommendations from artists, gallerists and curators, she is giving you the answers. Now it becomes time for the artist to implement her tips.

This is a book that I, as an artist, will have to keep on my desk at all times for reference. There is so much valuable and good advice packed in that it will take some time to absorb it all. Alix Sloan has written a comprehensive guide to starting up or reinvigorating your art career with many helpful tips. Sloan has added a very useful section of resources at the end that will come in handy for me for years to come as well as a terrific section which includes advice from many very successful artists and gallerists. I highly recommend this book.

This book is a pleasure to read. The information is meaningful and engaging. It is a must read for emerging or moderately established artist. As a gallerist, I often find great artist unprepared for the exhibition. There is far more involved than just creating the art. Everyone can learn something useful in "Launching Your Art Career." It reads like having a conversation with a good friend.

As a former gallery owner, this is a book that I can appreciate so much. Alix Sloan manages to decode the very confounding art world, and spare artists a lot of time and probably a couple career panic attacks by distilling her years of experience and funneling it into this must read guide. They don't teach you this stuff in school! And it reads like an outline, with points clearly listed, so it's a quick read and also easy to go back and refer to. For the artist it means less time chasing your own tail and more time creating work.

Interesting mix of articles/chapters on different facets of the business of art. I used this as a companion text for graduate students in a course on the business of art. It's a mix, and a few chapters didn't jive with our experience as creatives in business....but overall the book is a good resource for those in the creative field and is priced very well.

I am a fine artist who has lived in and shown my works in the art worlds of NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, VA and Chicago over the last 2.5 decades. In my career I have read many books and websites on "How to succeed in the art business". They are usually either of the sort that offers specious advice of a far to general manner to be useful or they partake in the cult-of-personality pop lit genre whose purpose is to instill in the reader a sense of the potential glamourous possibilities available in artist as a career choice instead of laying out the realities of what is a life long and difficult one requiring serious sacrifice and dedication. This being said, Alix Sloan's book offers concrete advice for the serious artist that can really help both the emerging and established artist in choices that are of a daily concern. Her book is a great starting point for young artists who want to get off on the right footing in a career that requires life long dedication and careful step-by-step consideration of a myriad of diverse details. - Nikolai Soren Goodich

As an advisor to artists, I feel many aren't prepared for the dog-eat-dog art world when first starting out. Rather than having to learn harsh lessons the hard way, Alix's informative book helps emerging-and established- artists arm themselves with the know-how needed to succeed and navigate amidst the sharks. With practical and engaging advice, this book prepares artists for longevity, giving them the smarts needed to worry about the most important thing in their careers- making work.

If you need a step by step, nuts and bolts, artistic and business guide about getting started in the art world or a refresher to get you back on track, I recommend this one. Not just practical but inspirational reading and to-do's to get your work seen outside of your studio by as many people as possible.