Watch: Navigating art and business – the power of creating exportable art

The concept of art and corporate are not terms that always go well together, although recently, these two concepts have created a power combo for both parties involved.

Not only are artists now able to make a more sustainable profit with their work, but businesses are creating healthier working environments and drawing in diverse clients.

Eastern Cape-born artist Masonwabe Ntloko started his journey drawing Dragonball Z animations on class workbooks. He is now collaborating with international brands such as Airloom, Rocking the Daisies and Warner Music Africa.

Watch:

Most successful artists have sold us the concept that ‘individuality and authenticity sell’. While this may not be the only way forward, Ntloko’s work started holding value and weight when he found his identity and niche.

Ntloko’s work is deeply rooted in his identity as a black man from Eastern Cape and the people that have influenced him along the way. It deeply reflects what he believes represents the people around him.

Ntloko believes that “it is important to try to tell our stories from our perspective. If you are the one telling it from your perspective, it hold value”.

Ntloko says, “A lot of what gets blown up internationally is usually work that speaks to who we are”. He defines this as exportable work.

“Imagine a big international company like Warner Music Africa asks you to help them rebrand, and the brief is to create something that reflects Africa, the people we’re trying to serve,” says Masonwabe.

ALSO READ: Flying solo as a small business? Here’s how to avoid being overwhelmed

Finding a niche may be the simpler part towards having an art business that sells and is sustainable. Yet there still comes the daunting experience of having to negotiate your worth.

Ntloko says, “I realise a lot of the times when people come to you, they need you, but because they are bigger and you are smaller, they negotiate with you as if they can always just get the next guy”.

“But at some point, you need to understand that there’s a value that you bring to the table. When you start having a conversation with someone, and they want to do something with you, the conversation should be a conversation of equals,” explains Ntloko.

The power is cultivating an audience that buys and respects your craft outside the big corporate giants.
To sell your art, one needs connections to the buyers. Yet, for most artists, the most important part is making sure you keep your identity through the process.

Coming from Easter Cape, attending a government school that did not have access to libraries and having RDP food for lunch may not be the best starting point for making connections. Yet for Ntloko, this played a vital part in how he later interacted with people who would put him in the right doors towards his success.

“How we grew up taught me the importance of knowing and respecting people”, says Ntloko.

“There has been a lot of stories where I’ve spoken to a random person that I didn’t know, and that person later changed my life.”

The most important part of being an artist is to have a style that is identifiable and owned by only you. Yet, in a world where most people are working to pay bills, artists are often sold into deals that strip that ownership from them.

Masonwabe says, “Artists need to find a way in which you can go about still making money off your talents that does not compromise you in the future.

“When you know that this is the one thing that will change you and your family’s life, you need to protect that.”

NOW READ: Watch: Inclusive dance fest shows how the human body can push against limits