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plpietra 's review for:
Make Your Art No Matter What: Moving Beyond Creative Hurdles
by Beth Pickens
The word artist is fraught for many people, particularly for people with marginalized identities and experiences who never saw themselves reflected in any professional art contexts. It's loaded with meaning and cultural implications, and some people may shy away from using it as an identifier. Perhaps they don't make money from their art or don't spend what they believe to be enough time on their practice. The world showed them that art was only for white people, wealthy people, men, people who grew up around art. They didn't go to artschool and they don't consider their opportunities to perform, exhibit, or present their work professional enough. Maybe they've never had an opportunity to share their work with the public. No one has paid them for their creative work and they fear their work isn't good. Their families and friends scoff at the concept of being an artist, or perhaps artists with real careers surround them. These are just a few of the reasons I've heard from artists as to why they don't use the identifier. Making the art seems more certain than calling oneself an artist. Often, it is easier to do than to be.