Survival Notes is an inspiring narrative, weaving artists’ reflections on success with advice to aspiring creatives. Featuring direct quotes and exclusive interviews with well-known artists such as Anish Kapoor, Jesse Darling, Tracey Emin, Ryan Gander, and Shirin Neshat—to name a few—this book offers authoritative counsel on how to thrive in a highly competitive creative field. By providing a glimpse into the unique career paths of established practitioners, art writer and historian Lydia Figes highlights the practical realities of the art world and demystifies the route to professional success.
Thematic chapters offer essential guidance for emerging artists on how to negotiate the complexities of the art world, with discussions relating to self-discipline, mental well-being, education, commercial representation, and other relevant topics. Artist profiles not only outline the origins of famous practitioners but also offer key elements of advice, often in the artist’s own words.
In a climate where younger generations feel less empowered than ever, this book provides a hopeful message about perseverance and perspective. It advocates for the resistance of narrow measures of success and challenges the limitations faced by emerging artists today, encouraging readers to pursue more autonomy in their creative endeavors. Brimming with unique insights and exclusive interviews with internationally acclaimed artists, Survival Notes is key reading for anyone working to establish themselves in the art world.
Contributors
Lydia Rachel Figes
Author
Lydia R. Figes is a writer, editor, and art historian who is currently curator of digital at Contemporary Art Society. She has interviewed many well-known artists, and her writing has appeared in Apollo, ArtReview, The Guardian, British Journal of Photography, AnOther, Dazed, i-D, Elle, A Rabbit’s Foot, and Elephant, amongst others.
