What I Learned at ArtFields 2022
In April I participated in the ArtFields Competition in Lake City, South Carolina and I have to tell you - it was incredible. I came away from this experience so inspired and for so many reasons that I will get into, but to start, let me tell you about the event.
If you haven’t heard of ArtFields, let me tell you about it. ArtFields is a 9-day-long art competition held in the small town of Lake City, South Carolina. Lake City is a small, agricultural town of about 2,000-4,000 people and ten years ago, the organizers of ArtFields decided they wanted to pursue revitalization of their community through southern art, and so, ArtFields was born.
Ten years later, ArtFields is massive, attracting thousands of artists to enter from all over the southeast. For their tenth year competition, 400 artists were selected, including myself, bringing their work to display all over the town of Lake City.
Over the course of the competition, there is art on display everywhere, and I really mean everywhere. Nearly every business you walk into has multiple artworks on display. Businesses participating in the ArtFields competition as hosts to artists and their artwork all had the ArtFields logo emblazoned on their windows and doors in bright orange. There are sculptures, murals, community art projects, and interactive art installations spread out all throughout the town all with ArtFields signs directing you to “more art”.
My piece, “Call Me Crazy”, was on display outdoors for the event. (Check out the catalog of artwork on display for the 2022 event here!)
I went to Lake City for the last weekend of the competition and I have to tell you, it was really overwhelming for several reasons - the artwork alone is something I am still processing nearly two months later. 400 pieces of artwork on display and I maybe saw three-quarters of the work that was on display. You really need the entire 9 days to see all the artwork and give each piece the time and attention it deserves.
For the sake of this blog post, though, I am going to list my 5 Biggest Takeaways from the ArtFields Competition.
Artist Appreciation:
Right off the bat, the thing that stuck out to me the most was the way Lake City values artists. Their goal for their community is to “Make Lake City and Art Town Year-Round”. Coming from a place that regularly overlooks the arts community to a place that not only values art and artists, but is also actively trying to recruit them into their community brought me to tears on my first day.
Community Support:
The entire Lake City community was pumped for this event. Nearly every business I walked into, I was greeted by business owners showing me the art that was on display in their building. Let’s just say that where I come from, there is not nearly the same level of enthusiasm for community events. Witnessing this had me wondering what all it took to get the community on board with supporting this event.
Talent in the South
Y’all, the art that was on display for this event was incredible (one of the reasons my imposter syndrome was raging over the weekend). Southern artists have historically been overlooked by museums, especially self-taught, black, southern artists. To anyone questioning the validity of southern art, I would encourage them to attend ArtFields. For a large part of my young-adult life I carried shame about the region where I grew up (for both personal and cultural reasons). I, at one point in time, did my best to eradicate any hint of a southern twang in my dialect. This show reminded me that, although the south has a troubled history, there is much to be proud of that is coming from this region - especially the brave souls creating bold and challenging work.
4. Imposter Syndrome is a Bitch
Speaking of imposter syndrome, mine was on high alert the weekend of the competition. As an “informally educated” artist (I don’t claim to be self-taught, because I have learned from other people, just not in an academic setting) with no formal training, I struggle with the validity of myself and my work in the presence of artists further into their career paths or that have formal training. I don’t know if this is something that will ever go away, and I still struggle to manage it, but one thing I try to do when I hear the voice of my imposter syndrome is to ask myself “what’s behind the story?” What is behind the story my imposter syndrome is trying to tell me? My imposter syndrome wants me to believe that my work is invalid compared to the work of others and doesn’t deserve to be in the company of such talent, but behind that story is the insecurity, envy, and grief of a vulnerable part of myself that is scared of being seen. Instead of listening to the story of my imposter syndrome, I choose to lovingly hold those feelings with both hands and give myself the comfort and assurance that I need in order to commit more fully to the work that fulfills my heart and soul.
5. Long-term sustainable support
My biggest takeaway from this experience was the work that ArtFields is doing to support artists in a sustainable, enduring way. ArtFields announced that their next phase of growth includes establishing affordable artist studio spaces and long-term artist residency programs in order to “make Lake City an Art Town year-round.” Because of their full-commitment to supporting southern artists, it inspired me to dream bigger for the mission of Bristol in Bloom and the ways in which Bristol in Bloom can grow to support Appalachian artists more sustainably.
I don’t know that I will truly know how deeply this experience has impacted me for some time, but I do know that I came away from it changed - not just by the experience as a participating artist attending the event for the first time, but also by the art that I consumed while there. For so long I have feared being noticed which resulted in me staying small and “playing it safe”, but after my weekend at ArtFields I made a promise to myself that I would no longer allow that fear to hold me back.