I understand your concerns but it's something I thought through really well. When I start the collective I wanted it to be a place where people could find things in common through the arts regardless of political ideology or station in life but it got boxed into one specific sphere which was the complete opposite of what I'm trying to do. If someone has more political art that's fine but if any of it will be featured for an artist spotlight it'll be something that more people than not have in common, not divisive. My number one focus is the art and how people use the arts as a creative outlet. There's also a lot more I can do with Substack than I can do with a traditional website especially in regards to cost. I can add contributors that can publish themselves, I can host video and audio (I was just embedding from other platforms on the website anyway), I don't have to worry about how I'm going to find $300 for the web hosting next month when I can do everything here and more (especially with going from a website with members and pages to just a magazine), there's more reasons why this is the best route for me to take. I'm not concerned about any censorship because the focus is on the arts, the artist and the creative process, not any particular ideology. When I started the Anartist Collective in the beginning of 2024 I wanted it to be a place where people could get exposed to artists across the spectrum DESPITE ideology but it ended up being something that got pigeonholed into artists from one particular ideology. I don't align with anyone at all, which is why I have friends and acquaintances across the spectrum. There's a lot of talented people out there and I want to connect people through the arts and get away from all the political divisiveness. There's already enough platforms and podcasts out there for people to share their feelings on the state of the world. People have their own avenues to share that. This is for the arts. It's one thing to talk about what inspires different artists to create the things they do, it's entirely a different thing to turn everything into a political soapbox. I have no particular ideology myself. I'm all over the place which is why I choose to connect with people through what I have in common with them rather than focus on the differences. It's why I know so many people too. I don't box myself in because of a label or how people are different from me, especially because I'm a bit different myself. I shouldn't have a problem with Substack by focusing on the arts and staying away from anything overly divisive. And I'll also be backing up all the articles, video and any other media too. Once I get this going again as a magazine I might get a cheap hosting plan to use as a mirror for the Substack too so either way I'll be good. I want to set the world on fire and this is the way forward. I've already stoked the creative fire in a lot of people over my lifetime just by being myself, I want to do it intentionally and on a large scale. This is the way to do it.
I came accross you via Matt Finlay. Just read your post here. The only thing that occurs to me is that I wonder if Substack is an ideal place to base yourself considering their increasingly censorious approach.
Thank you! I started the collective to share art and music of people I know and find but it turned out that having a website with members is too restrictive for me and this way anyone who wants to contribute and share anything they find and might want to review, or events they go to, they can become a contributor and share all that out in one place. It also gives creators an opportunity to represent themselves and their work in their own words, as little or as much as they want. All they have to do is have a substack account and added as a contributor. I wanted to crowdsource from the very beginning to show smaller artists from all over but I can't be everywhere and this is the best way to do it. Anyone can contribute, from one piece even if it's their own work to as often as they want (within reason that is lol). Creators all seem to know a bunch of other creators and I think this is how I get more discovery. If it's something you'd be interested in let me know, even for yourself. I've checked out your work and I think it's really interesting.
I understand your concerns but it's something I thought through really well. When I start the collective I wanted it to be a place where people could find things in common through the arts regardless of political ideology or station in life but it got boxed into one specific sphere which was the complete opposite of what I'm trying to do. If someone has more political art that's fine but if any of it will be featured for an artist spotlight it'll be something that more people than not have in common, not divisive. My number one focus is the art and how people use the arts as a creative outlet. There's also a lot more I can do with Substack than I can do with a traditional website especially in regards to cost. I can add contributors that can publish themselves, I can host video and audio (I was just embedding from other platforms on the website anyway), I don't have to worry about how I'm going to find $300 for the web hosting next month when I can do everything here and more (especially with going from a website with members and pages to just a magazine), there's more reasons why this is the best route for me to take. I'm not concerned about any censorship because the focus is on the arts, the artist and the creative process, not any particular ideology. When I started the Anartist Collective in the beginning of 2024 I wanted it to be a place where people could get exposed to artists across the spectrum DESPITE ideology but it ended up being something that got pigeonholed into artists from one particular ideology. I don't align with anyone at all, which is why I have friends and acquaintances across the spectrum. There's a lot of talented people out there and I want to connect people through the arts and get away from all the political divisiveness. There's already enough platforms and podcasts out there for people to share their feelings on the state of the world. People have their own avenues to share that. This is for the arts. It's one thing to talk about what inspires different artists to create the things they do, it's entirely a different thing to turn everything into a political soapbox. I have no particular ideology myself. I'm all over the place which is why I choose to connect with people through what I have in common with them rather than focus on the differences. It's why I know so many people too. I don't box myself in because of a label or how people are different from me, especially because I'm a bit different myself. I shouldn't have a problem with Substack by focusing on the arts and staying away from anything overly divisive. And I'll also be backing up all the articles, video and any other media too. Once I get this going again as a magazine I might get a cheap hosting plan to use as a mirror for the Substack too so either way I'll be good. I want to set the world on fire and this is the way forward. I've already stoked the creative fire in a lot of people over my lifetime just by being myself, I want to do it intentionally and on a large scale. This is the way to do it.
I came accross you via Matt Finlay. Just read your post here. The only thing that occurs to me is that I wonder if Substack is an ideal place to base yourself considering their increasingly censorious approach.
You’re awesome! What a great idea 💡
Thank you! I started the collective to share art and music of people I know and find but it turned out that having a website with members is too restrictive for me and this way anyone who wants to contribute and share anything they find and might want to review, or events they go to, they can become a contributor and share all that out in one place. It also gives creators an opportunity to represent themselves and their work in their own words, as little or as much as they want. All they have to do is have a substack account and added as a contributor. I wanted to crowdsource from the very beginning to show smaller artists from all over but I can't be everywhere and this is the best way to do it. Anyone can contribute, from one piece even if it's their own work to as often as they want (within reason that is lol). Creators all seem to know a bunch of other creators and I think this is how I get more discovery. If it's something you'd be interested in let me know, even for yourself. I've checked out your work and I think it's really interesting.
Just shouting out to you live now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP-WtVAha6s