ARTISTS as ENTREPRENEURS: A Panel Discussion
(about generating income from your visual art)
ABOUT
Many aspiring artists struggle with how to effectively turn their creative passions into positive income-generating side hustles or careers. For many, the challenge is in not only identifying opportunities but in determining which one(s) are worth investing time and effort into.
On July 20th 2021, host John Bowman spoke with artists and entrepreneurs Dauda, Patrick Hunter, and Tony Lei about the growing and ever-changing world of opportunities for emerging and aspiring artists to earn a living with their art.
WATCH THE RECORDING
PANELISTS
Patrick Hunter
Patrick Hunter is a 2-Spirit Ojibwe painter, graphic designer, + entrepreneur from Red Lake, ON. In 2011, he made the move to Toronto to pursue a career in the visual arts after completing the graphic design program at Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie, ON.
After spending too long working in the service industry, it became clear that a major career move would need to be made. Knowing that his cultural background was an asset to his success, in 2014 he launched Patrick Hunter Art & Design. The focus being specializing in original + digital artwork + designs from his Ojibwe roots with the intent to create a broader awareness of Indigenous culture and iconography.
Dauda
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Toronto-based artist, Dauda, has been honing his skills in mixed media and digital art for the past several years. Originally a fine artist turned fashion photographer, Dauda blended his West African and Jamaican roots with 25 years of design experience, bringing about a perfect marriage of his two passions.
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Dauda’s evolution into mixed-media paintings and portraits has allowed him to introduce another element to this union and extend the range of his talent even further. His use of tribal figures, bold shapes and design allows Dauda to challenge the boundaries of people, and culture and how they coexist - utilizing colour to tell canvas stories, which explore the depths of relationships and composition.
Tony Lei
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With a background in creative arts, studying fine art and art history in his youth, Tony Lei emerged into the Advertising and Design industry with a fresh take on merging technology and creative. Being a co-founder of his first digital agency in 1996 (Digital Messiah), Tony built brands and websites for companies ready for the new era. In 1999, founding a new startup (Hemispheres) , Tony then moved his sights to helping the fashion/talent industry enter into the internet age. Now in 2021, Looking a head, once again, to the future Tony is helping creatives navigate the NFT and Blockchain space.
