DB: Micro Patronage

As a freelance artist, I find that my quality of life has less and less to do with the dollar amount that I bring in every month. As wonderful and necessary as money has become to my sustainability, I would venture to say that nearly half of what I need and have is granted to me by way of relationship and patronage. The perfect balance of money and barter/circular gifting is perhaps the zen of the urban villagers creative life. Participating in a gift economy has strengthened the bonds of my community and drawn me closer to maturity as a social being.

According to Wikipedia, “Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege and often financial aid that an organization bestows to another person or organization. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors.” For me, this support often comes in the way of access or creative partnership. Be it an automobile or a dance floor, my patrons have recognized the value of my work and found ways to give to my specific needs in order to support the continued accomplishment of this work. These relationships are tricky, because they are often undefined and one can easily fall from graciously accepting gifts to being drawn into a codependent relationship. I have found that with clear expectations and careful gratitude a beautiful reciprocity is possible between those who love the arts and those who struggle to continue to create them. I would like to call this form of support Micro Patronage.

From tea to gasoline, my patrons have offered me the kinds of support that only a close relationship with me could have illuminated. Historically art patronage tends to arise when a royal or imperial system and an aristocracy dominates a society and controls a significant share of the resources, like oil or gunmen.

Some patrons, such as the Medici family of the eternally beautiful Italian renaissance, used artistic patronage to “cleanse” wealth that was perceived as ill-gotten through the charging of interest on predatory loans called “usury”.

This holiday season, I suggest you consider cleansing your wealth by forming a relationship with an artistic soul. Micro Patronage is as easy as finding out what little things they may need to keep the fire going…you may be surprised at the simplicity of life required to create beautiful work. More than likely you will find you already have more than you need of something they have very little. Food, heat, clean water and love are not hard things to part with in exchange for the knowledge of furthering the soul and beauty of the city we live in. May we all learn to give and receive well, free of greed and hidden expectation as we grow.