Workshop: How much money does an artist need to create?

The development of art directly depends on the opportunities that exist for artists in our country. Thus, one of the main factors influencing the creative process of any artist is the space in which he works. According to artists themselves, workshops are most often their personal spaces where they create their masterpieces. Many at times use garages or apartments for their needs, some rent separate rooms.

We decided to find out how things stand with the studios of artists in the capital and how much money they spend a month for rent.

I am a painter of abstract and exploratory painting, and I study the question of the influence of visual art on the human condition. In 2014, I first started the project "Nude Sketches" in Astana. It lasted one year, then I realized that the time of such ideas in our city had not come. Half a year ago I partly left my maternity leave to teach painting to children and to prepare personal projects. Now entering the art industry, I know for sure that our city is ready for something new and it's time for us to act. That's how the ArtBase project was born. ArtBaza is a co-working space for artists. When we opened, I was googling for some government agencies, but all the information was very outdated. These are abandoned sites with disconnected numbers," Evgeniya Grekina told.

Lizavetta Antropova, co-founder of ArtBase, says the studio is essential for every artist. It helps to focus and not be distracted by other everyday issues that artists face when working from home. Studios are also a place to share experiences with their students, meet potential buyers, and host various cultural events.

Keeping your studio alone is not cheap, so we teamed up and the three of us found a suitable space and are setting it up as comfortable as possible for everyone. And also our doors are open to those authors who are facing the problem of lack of space for work or just want to be in the company of like-minded people. You can rent a space, create, and meet people from art-community. We have a creative atmosphere; there is always something going on. But at the same time we set up a schedule so as not to interfere with each other - shared Lizavetta Antropova.

So, an important question that arises before the artist in selecting a suitable studio or studio, are the finances: how much it will cost him.

In general, we spend about 300,000 tenge per month. This includes rent, daily living expenses, and some purchases to make it comfortable: tables, hangers, dishes, and so on. Plus consumables for classes and your work. These are expenses from another category," added Lizavetta Antropova.

This is where the point of help from the state comes in. After all, young and emerging artists cannot afford such expenses. Malika Igibaeva, digital artist and the third co-founder of ArtBaza, says that projects of this kind are often created by artists themselves, who are faced with financial and organizational issues.

Material support is very important. And it's not necessarily money, it can be as easels, paints, furniture and any other materials that will facilitate the first few months and get on your feet. Publicity also helps a lot. The more people know about our workshop, the quicker the information will reach those who needed a similar space or community. If we talk about governmental processes, we can talk about this for a long time. However, first of all it is the grants and programs, directed on realization of the creative projects, about which we could hear and see in the infofield, otherwise it happens, that the program passed, and nobody knew about it, - Malika Igibaeva has commented.

If you go to statistics and type in a search engine query "workshops for artists Astana," the user will come up with 73 variants in the city. As a rule they are big cultural spaces where artists can hold any events, starting from the process of creating paintings, and premises where they can hold their own exhibition. But these are all private studios that are rented out. In the current climate, when the price of renting space across Kazakhstan has risen, many artists simply can't afford any of the options on offer.

There are very few studios for adult or working artists. And there are only 2 or 3 in Astana, including us. Almaty has come a long way, so it has more choice, both in terms of different studios and conditions. Many people from Almaty have an understanding of art and react to it calmly. Astana is more modest in this respect, and less experienced. But on the level of conditions it is not very different, I think that in the near future we may open a lot of unusual and interesting projects. I personally heard that in the past some artists were allocated space with a lot of space, but now I have not seen that. Most likely there are some state workshops or maybe some are allocated, but they are not seen and not heard in wide circles. And maybe there is a huge and difficult way to get this space, which will also be accompanied by a lot of bureaucratic delays and conditions - said Malika Igibaeva.

Thus, we can conclude that the situation with workshops for our artists is very acute and affects many things. First and foremost, it is a professional attitude to their work. An artist nowadays should not be poor, we all need culture and art. And support from the state can give you confidence. So far, many projects are just a personal initiative.

I'm sure there are foundations and organizations, but we know nothing about them. And people especially creative people are frightened by the fact that we do not know where to look and from whom to ask. Availability of information is the first thing you should pay attention to, - Evgeniya Grekina shared.

The artists repeatedly emphasized that the availability of space for creative people at an affordable price would not only help solve financial problems, but also contribute to the development of the community. In turn, community is a key tool for creating an innovative environment, ideal for collaboration and synergy between its members.

Material prepared by Zarina Kusanova