Art Systems

Umetnostni sistemi was developed to help artists understand the business conditions of their profession and make informed decisions about their work. The challenge was to turn business concepts commonly presented through start-up and corporate examples into practical tools for artistic production, while accounting for the particular conditions of the Slovenian art market.

I developed the programme, an adapted business model for art projects and a workbook with original examples and exercises. The content connected production costs, pricing, time and resources with the ways artists reach audiences, work with galleries and institutions, and combine sales with public funding and other sources of income.

For example, project planning included the artist’s own fee, unpaid preparation and the income forgone while producing an exhibition. This made abstract economic concepts tangible through situations participants could recognise in their own practice.

Through workshops and mentoring, participants applied the material to their own projects or worked through hypothetical examples. The programme gave them a structured way to assess a project’s feasibility, understand their position within the art system and plan the practical conditions needed to sustain their work.

Across its various editions, the programme reached approximately 400 participants. With support provided through the programme, around 10 participants subsequently obtained self-employed status in culture with their social security contributions covered by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.

The programme’s 2023 edition, delivered under the title Umetnost v digitalnem svetu od A do Ž, was supported by the public institute Mladi zmaji.