Artists’ Advice Ōtepoti: How to build a sustainable career

How to… build a sustainable career

It is important to know what you want to achieve with your creative practice: this will shape how you work.

What does success look like to you? 

• Creative integrity
• Conceptual rigour
• Making a living
• Enjoying my practice
• Critical recognition
• All these things
• Something else entirely?

If you are creating solely for your own enjoyment, the only things you need to think about are finding the time and resources to support your practice. 

If one of your main goals is to exhibit, perform, or sell your work, there are a few basic – but important – facts and questions to think about :

• You are operating in a marketplace.
• What are your goals? 
• How can you achieve them?

Before you download our practical cheat sheet (or do anything else!), take a few minutes and soak in the wisdom of someone who knows what’s what.

Long-time arts supporter, advocate, advisor, and generally awesome person Antony Deaker has spent a couple of decades helping artists achieve their professional goals. We’ve captured his sage advice for you with the help of Liam Hoffman (of Night Lunch fame, amongst other things).

Creative Partnerships at the Dunedin City Council

The small Creative Partnerships team works to ensure that Ōtepoti’s arts, cultural, and creative life is as vibrant and engaging as its inhabitants and that all those who call Ōtepoti home have a place in the city’s creative landscape.

At the core of what Creative Partnerships does is building relationships and supporting projects that help realise Ara Toi Ōtepoti – Dunedin’s Arts and Culture Strategy.

We are here to support Ōtepoti creative practitioners with advice, resources, and advocacy so that they can do what they do best, whether it’s public sculpture, improvised theatre, or a spontaneous trombone concert. We’re delighted to share our resources with you.