Dear Artist Unfuck yourself your work is great....

I have been thinking about art, language and expansiveness. 

About 4 years ago I decided to put my dreams and ideas into accessories and create a brand around it. At the time, I was simply revamping my collection and in no time I had too many of them. That year they made great gifts at Christmas then my friend asked why I wasn’t selling them. I shrugged.... it does not always come naturally that the things we love can be the things we do and make a living out of. Fast forward to today..... I am so glad that along the way my creativity, design, playfulness and workmanship skills are still growing thanks to a great community and camaraderie of artists, jewellery and accessory designers who swap ideas and skills. The most distinctive thing has been their generosity of spirit, the appreciation of great design, the bottomless pit of creativity that blunts the hard edge of tense competitiveness that capitalism often creates. We work on similar products, targeting similar clients and the shared feeling is that the range of products speak only to offer a wealth of choice to all.

I tried once, very ill advised to assume that that spirit of generosity was widespread in Nairobi. I was quickly corrected. A friend once made mention of a weekly space where artisans showed their wares for the madding crowds. She urged me to try and showcase my work and sell some pieces.  Any artist understands the initial hesitation and vulnerability to open their work to the world....Nonetheless, I gritted my chin and dropped the organiser an email. After one week this was the response I received by a well-known Kenyan entertainer.

“Thank your for your email but we are not doing anymore of these items due to their flooding the market on Sundays. We have limited space and are constantly full.

I truly apologize for that.

I ask that you understand that we have SO MANY requests and do our best to select products that work well with us. This does not mean that your product is not great, it just means it's not a good fit.”

Now understand that I am a big girl and so I am very aware that opportunities are finite and rare. I did not really expect a yes because I was still very green and my work very new and very unknown.... but what surprised me was the kind of no I got. I imagined a young emerging designer reaching out and getting this kind response... even with the same decline are there ways we can say no but not stifle enthusiasm and creativity with our words? The words  “good fit” did not resonate with me and reeked of the classism and snobbery that often divides artists in Kenya. 

Thankfully for all involved I chose a different path and have managed to showcase my work in many spaces big and small with many wonderful artists and collectives alongside me who chose to valorise individuality and mutual cooperation. They also intentionally steered away from creating hierarchies in the art world; they are constantly evolving their work to newer heights. In this frame of mind, artists are creative and prolific. The shared undertone ultimately is respect and so they are free from the fears and anxieties of copyright infringement or undercutting that is prevalent in ‘closed art spaces.’

I am grateful for the decline because it released me from the trap of thinking of market as validation my work...