Art Date Social Club
A space for artists and creatives to connect, and share resources. Queer and BIPOC-friendly <3
I am excitedly and nervously announcing the soft launch of my new Substack subscription which I am calling formally / informally Art Date Social Club. It is an all-in-one community, umbrella label, and platform for the things that I am working on to cultivate community. And, because I like how one-stop-shop-y Substack is, I am using this as my home base (for now).
Art Date Social Club is, among other things, a space for artists to connect and crowd-source the unique set of challenges that we face. I hope to engage with nebulous and tough questions like beating creative blocks and carving out equity in an imbalanced art market, along with slightly easier-to-answer questions about professional development, opening etiquette, and elevator pitches. It is a safe space for queer and BIPOC artists, as well as anyone who finds themselves feeling isolated in the four walls of their studio and wanting to share their experience or learn something new.
As I mentioned on my podcast introduction this week (featuring artist Amber Jean Young), I went to a holiday party last month and all anyone could talk about was how much time they were spending alone because of their art practice, and maybe their art sucks to boot.
Knowing the artists in question and their very non-sucky art, it told me that we artists are isolated and losing perspective on what we love about making art. Self-doubt tends to creep in when I am feeling overworked, lonely, and uninspired, which is frankly a lot when I am on a deadline or feeling a financial pinch to produce more work. But that seems to be a catch-22 because if we end up hating what we make, or possibly ruining it out of frustration, working more becomes counterproductive. We need to consciously make more time for connection and play because more time is not going to magically make itself.
Thus the Art Date Social Club and the weekly plein-air meet-ups here in LA were created. The subscription to Substack and ADSC is now $10/month and $100 year.
This includes all the free content per usual - essays and recaps of The Side Woo epsiodes. If you were previously a subscriber at the initial rate, fear not, that will not change!
For Subscribers:
Access to discussions via Substack threads and comments
Discounts on workshops and live talks, both in-person and online
Free access to weekly plein air painting meet-ups on Saturdays here in LA. BYO supplies (materials are an additional $25 a session)
Just to entice you further, I have a few workshops coming up that might be of interest. They are all $15 a session, but I am giving a 50% discount to all subscribers for their first one. The code will be in the welcome email. I’m also offering scholarships and comped subscriptions to students, so please reach out if that’s you.
Upcoming Art Date Social Club online events:
New Moon Art Planning Session - Wednesday, January 10, 2024 from 6-7pm PT
Networking for Artists - Wednesday, January 17, 2024 from 6-7pm PT
Creative Blocks - Wednesday, January 24, 2024 from 6-7pm PT
In-Person Events
Weekly Plein Air Meet-Ups in Los Angeles - Every Saturday from 10-12pm PT, locations change every month.* Please check the Eventbrite page for scheduling details.
If there is enough demand, I am happy to turn any of these workshops into an in-person meet-up as well. Let me know along with any topics you might want covered in the future.