Supporting emerging artists and making artwork accessible go hand in hand for Artsper

Early-career artists are often met with a road of forking paths to reach a basic, but unfortunately overlooked, aspect of creative work: getting paid. Making a viable career from creativity can look different depending on your discipline and approach, but those preferring to sell their original creations can face some time-consuming challenges. Not least, gaining a big enough platform to publicise their artwork and accessing an audience looking to purchase them. For many, marketplace Artsper has presented a logical solution, a digital platform easing the perilous landscape contemporary art-selling has morphed into, a world many artists often find thrown into to make a living from their practice.

For some context, Artsper is an online contemporary art marketplace where audiences can discover artists – its selection boasts a huge range of work spanning sculpture and photography to lithography – and support them by buying their artworks on the same platform. Refreshingly, it is also a marketplace committed to accessibility in the sphere of fine art. It’s an element of the site that has led many similarly aligned artists to the marketplace. “In my opinion, the art field is in need of a change. It needs openness and modernity and this is what Artsper brings to the table,” explains Valérie Chauffour (La Robotte), an artist based between Paris and Annecy.

On what drove Valérie to begin to work with Artsper, the artist explains how difficult it was to make being an artist financially viable. “It’s a constant struggle to earn enough money, in order to maintain my freedom,” explains the creative. Although, Valérie adds: “I’m not complaining, as I enjoy finding creative solutions to my problems,” – in this instance, part of the solution came in the form of a collaboration with the marketplace. “When Artsper contacted me, I immediately found the proposal interesting, because they support a new process of selling art.” Drawn to the platform for how it innovates, stays “intrigued by new ideas”, and provides the necessary attention to uplift artists, Valérie has since managed to build up an alternative online presence on the platform while selling artworks. Visitors to Artsper will now find Valérie’s work available to acquire on the site, one such exciting example being Proxima 2390, a digital artwork mixing science and fantasy to visualise a tolerant futuristic world.

Bordeaux-based artist Jéko also took to Artsper for the opportunity it presents to display work to people “who would have otherwise never discovered it” – “it provides me a lot of visibility,” Jéko says. But according to the artist, platforms like Artsper are also changing how audiences look at and access art, often turning passing site-browsers into new-time art buyers. “It enrichens the overall visibility of art, encouraging people who typically do not frequent museums or galleries to gain interest in it. Who knows, perhaps it also converts people into art lovers?” In line with this inclusive ethos, Artsper makes concerted efforts to keep things affordable, with artwork options covering a wide range of price points. “Beyond buying or selling, it is also an excellent showcase as Instagram can be,” adds Jéko. Scrolling through the abstract, spontaneous, colourfully childlike work of Jéko on Artsper, one gets a sense of how the marketplace can be used in a way much like Instagram, as a place of discovery.

As a place for selling artwork, while Instagram worked initially for Gabrielle Rul – a French artist based in Paris – the model “seriously slowed down” in the pandemic. The artist decided it was time to set prices based on size. But marketing strategies remained a “struggle to think about” for Gabrielle. That was until discovering Artsper. “I just have to post my pieces and then communicate a bit about it, without having to deal with the building of a website.” It’s a match that works well as accessibility is also high up on Gabrielle’s priority list. As someone who is occasionally shy about going into galleries, the artist argues for Artsper breaking traditional art viewing formats. But also: “I want people to be able to afford something from my universe and make it theirs without having to sell a kidney.” Browse works from this “universe”, featuring fluid multi-disciplinary offerings with a penchant for the ink pot here.

While recounting their experiences with Artsper, all three artists acknowledge that keeping artworks affordable while supporting artists can often feel like a dichotomy. “Making art affordable can be complicated,” states Valérie, “I am well aware that not everyone can acquire a work at 200 euros” – the standard starting costs of some of Valérie’s artworks. Plus, as Jéko points out, affordability can occasionally come at a cost to an artist’s profits. But, both assert that Artsper is making much-needed steps forward in a world of art elitism.

By offering small format artworks and prints for audiences, and the proper support – via informative newsletters and other necessary materials – for emerging artists to build a customer base, the marketplace is proving that art buying can work for both creators and consumers. Head over to the site to peruse through an incredible selection of over 200,000 artworks, discover great early-career artists, and maybe even find something for that empty wall waiting to be filled in your house.