Could you too be an art patron?

Natasha Arselan didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur. She worked in the art world but never felt entirely at ease in it. “I didn't wake up in the morning and think ‘I want to start a company.’ I just saw this problem that I wanted to solve,” says the founder of AucArt. The problem was two-fold: emerging artists struggled to sell their work, while art collecting was reserved to those with wealth or connections. Her solution? Start AucArt, an online auction house specializing in emerging art, for which she visits art schools and studios around the world to discover talent and help artists sell their work directly to consumers. She tackled both issues — and created a dream job for herself.

How was AucArt born? 

One artist I'd worked with on a show called me one day and said, "Natasha, I've got no money for my degree show. Can you come down to the studio and buy something?" I went, and as I was walking through the studios, I was just blown away by how amazing the work was. I bought a piece and he went on to do very well. I just remember going to his degree show and feeling so proud: “I've helped this artist get to the next point. I've got this incredible work. Why can't everyone do this?” That got me thinking about how I could create an ecosystem whereby artists would be able to support themselves and I, as a young person or with limited means, could start collecting incredible art. 

Why focus on emerging artists? 

I found myself going to a lot of degree shows. I'd find an amazing artist and then the next year I'd call them and say, “Have you got any new work?”, and they would say, "No, I haven't been able to continue because I couldn't afford it. I had two or three jobs, and I just didn't have any time in the studio." For me, that was really heartbreaking. I went to musical theater school, so I know the feeling: when you come out of an arts program, you're pretty much alone.

It’s hard to think of a riskier career than visual artist. What are the challenges that these very early career artists face?

It's very difficult as it is and now we have social media, the marketplace is so saturated. You've got so many artists visible at one time. Even though it's easier for an artist to promote themselves, it's also a lot more competitive. I think the main challenge is just having your voice heard and being consistent, to persevere and to keep making new work.

That sounds much like the entrepreneur’s lot. 

I always say to the artists that I work with, “We're all in this together. Your success is my success.” They're creating artwork, I'm creating a company, and we're both creating these visions we believe in out of nothing. Our goal, our mission is to pass that on to everyone else. There's only one of us and there are billions of people in the world. From that point of view, I feel like we're in the same boat. 

A version of this interview is published in the January 2020 issue of Delta Sky magazine. The interview was held in June 2019 (print deadlines...) #5MinutesWith