Oklahoma Artists & OVAC: Survey Results

Recently, the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition asked Oklahoma artists to respond to a survey about the current state of their practice, and how OVAC has influenced their ability to make their work.

Many of your responses were encouraging and show the impact that our programs can have for artists in Oklahoma. We are also carefully considering the suggestions and comments we received, which can help to guide our future programming. We received close to 300 responses and wanted to share some of the preliminary results with you.

Environment for Artists in Oklahoma

*An incredible 94% of respondents say they believe the general environment for art in Oklahoma has improved because of OVAC.

*Because of OVAC, 83% say they are better able to practice their art in Oklahoma, and 68% say they are more satisfied with their art.

Click to view graph larger.

“It is because of OVAC's outstanding support that I am practicing art in Oklahoma. Without their amazing support I feel that the visual art scene In Oklahoma wouldn’t be anywhere near as vibrant!”

Networks for Artists

*60% of respondents say they have experienced increased help and support from other artists because of their participation with OVAC.

*Because of their participation with OVAC, 73% say they know more people to talk with about the business of art, and 63% say they know more people to talk with about making their art.

Click to view graph larger.

“It helped me meet fellow artists and provided encouragement. It also created opportunities for me to encourage and help other artists share their work. We can kind of pass on information to each other that may be helpful.”

Business of Art Tools

When we asked artists about the tools they have prepared for their business, we found that the strongest responses came in the areas that have been well-covered in our Artist Survival Kit workshop series. 45% of respondents said they had attended an Artist Survival Kit workshop.

*86% say they have an artist statement (23% said they developed it with the help of OVAC)

*81% say they have an artist resume (17% developed it with the help of OVAC)

*86% say they have a portfolio (14% developed it with the help of OVAC)

Other business tools that artists might need additional resources for appear to be websites, studios and action plans for their careers.

Click to view graph larger.

 “Through going to the ASK workshops (and later experience), I am now comfortable writing my resume and an artist statement.  I've had to create a couple crates to ship my work and the crating workshop is the only way that happened.”

Other Resources

We wanted to know what resources artists are using, besides OVAC. We know that OVAC isn’t the only resource for artists and in order to have a healthy career, artists must have many networks and resources. These came in several categories:

*Arts Organizations: such as the Oklahoma Arts Council, Fiber Artists of Oklahoma, Tulsa Artists’Coalition, Norman Arts Council, local art guilds, and tribal art associations.

*Galleries: such as Individual Artists of Oklahoma, Artspace at Untitled, City Arts Center, Paseo, and other independent galleries.

*Internet Resources: such as Art Biz Coach by Alyson Stanfield, and Etsy

*Exhibitions: attending art openings and events

*Peers: networking with other artists

*Art magazines: such as Art News, Art in America, Art Forum, and New American Paintings.

*Schools/Workshops: such as universities and workshops with practicing artists.

Big thanks go out to the artists who participated in this survey. The data collected will be put to practical use for OVAC’s future programs. Watch for future blog posts that will include further information from our survey.

This survey was funded in part by an Oklahoma City Community Foundation grant. Many thanks for their support of our self study and organizational improvement.