CCB Magazine

Ina Roß: "State funding is not a permanent engine"

Photo: © Camille Blake

How do you survive as an artist? The cultural manager Ina Roß has written a book on the subject, and the third edition has now been published. A conversation about ideas, instruments and tomorrow's forms of financing.

Interview Jens Thomas 

CCB Magazine:  Hi Ina, you have just reissued your book "Wie überlebe ich als Künstler?". When it comes to money, the fun stops for many. Are you an artist yourself and can you make a living from your work? 

Ina Roß: I am a cultural manager by training and have been working with artists and creative professionals for more than ten years on topics such as self-marketing, management, financing and self-organization. My principle is to help people help themselves. That's why the subtitle of my book is "a toolbox": I give readers tools, ideas and instructions that they can then adapt to their needs. I do this primarily at universities, but also in individual coaching with artists. I also advise cultural institutions and train their staff.  

CCB Magazine: Your first edition is a few years old. In Germany, spending on public cultural funding has increased over the years - from 9 billion in 2012 to over 11 billion in 2020. What has changed since then? What forms of funding and support existed back then, and which dominate today?

Ina Roß: This is the third edition of the book, which we have completely revised and expanded this time. The content of the chapter "How do I finance myself?" has grown. Here I have taken the reader by the hand in detail when it comes to applications for public funding. How do you write an application text, what does a short text look like, how does a cost plan look like, etc.? I talked to people on juries and commissions who sometimes look at dozens of applications a day. I talked to them about recurring mistakes or no-go's. Also new is the section on collecting societies, church cultural sponsorship, and subscription model crowdfunding, which is a new addition alongside project crowdfunding. The section on sponsorship by companies or corporate foundations has been expanded with new interview partners.

My principle is to help people help themselves: I provide readers with tools, ideas and instructions that they can then adapt to their needs

CCB Magazine: In a nutshell: How do you survive as an artist?

Ina Roß: I have written 230 pages about this - but if I am to concentrate on one piece of advice: Be aware that, in addition to the creative/artistic side, at least 50 percent of the job of an artist also involves organizational and promotional work. And you need not only time and motivation, but also knowledge, craft and good ideas. This is not usually taught to art students at universities. That's why you should definitely try to acquire this knowledge as early as possible through the offers of other providers, such as cultural offices, professional associations or further education providers.

CCB Magazine: If you were to give a tip to artists: Which mistake(s) should be avoided?

Ina Roß: Even though we fortunately have public funding in Germany and young artists can get help to get started: Don't forget that there is a risk of getting too old for the funding. That means it is important to build up and maintain an audience or potential buyers in case the public sponsors fall away. My book gives many examples and ideas on how to do this. State funding is usually seen as a start-up aid for an artistic career, not as a permanent engine. The wisdom of eggs, which should be distributed among different baskets as much as possible, applies here.

State funding is usually seen as a start-up aid for an artistic career, not as a permanent engine. The wisdom of the eggs, which should be distributed among different baskets as far as possible, applies here

CCB Magazine: In recent years in particular, a new understanding of the economy has made way: value-based instead of profit-fixated, post-growth instead of growth. For example, by focusing on the issue of sustainability. For many artists, marketing under economic auspices has always been a horror. Is this relationship changing as a result of a new value orientation? Does this give rise to new collaborations and new forms of financing?

Ina Roß: How an artist faces marketing is influenced by the personality of the artist, the education and not least by the artistic content. There have always been artists who were open to cooperation with companies that went far beyond simple sponsoring and recognized a win-win situation in it. Under the label "Büro Orange", Siemens in Munich, for example, invited artists into the company twenty years ago as creative, productive "disruptors", or Gasag collaborated with artists and employees - to name just two prominent examples. There is a lot of room for new ideas and cooperation on the part of both artists and companies. And with the topic of sustainability, an interesting new focus has emerged that will change the priorities and conditions of collaboration. That's something to look forward to.

CCB Magazine: If you were to reprint your book again in 5 years: How will artists finance themselves in tomorrow's world?

Ina Roß: If you had told me five years ago that we would first see a lockdown and then a war in Ukraine, I would hardly have thought it possible. That's why I'm cautious about making predictions. Nevertheless, I hope that the alliance between society and its artists will become stronger. If state authorities withdraw more from funding due to ongoing crises, as is unfortunately already happening in many places now, then it comes down to civil society. Platforms like Patreon or Steady are pioneers of this civil society engagement in the digital realm. And I hope that we all realize that we also have to do something as individuals to ensure that Germany remains a culturally rich country.

Category: Knowledge & Analysis