The Dos and Don’ts of Doing it Yourself

A conversation between Way2wavybaby & Chango4

Buffalo is home to a wide range of artists finding ways on their own and with their friends to achieve what they want in their careers. Whether flying solo or as part of a tight knit group of creators, Buffalo’s artists are doing all they can to get their work into the world — and all without the assistance of big institutions with big money. This recent conversation with my creative partner Chango4 spotlights some of the ups and downs facing Buffalo’s emerging DIY artists. 

Chango: Buffalo is interesting because there’s no pressure toward commercial creation. There’s a culture or spirit here that gets swallowed up or suppressed by the chaotic mass of everything in a larger city. We’re not in New York City where everyone is always competing.

Wavy: So, do you think that because we’re in a smaller city and not an art world mecca like New York, there’s less competition between artists? Do you think that in major cities like New York, artists can develop faster because there’s more competition?

Chango: Absolutely. Say I played little league baseball all my life. I'm only gonna be as good as my twelve-year-old competition. But, if I make it to MLB, then I'm competing with the MVPs. 

Wavy: That’s an exaggerated comparison, but yeah. Artists definitely benefit from healthy competition to push them and their artwork further. Let me strongly emphasize the “healthy” in “healthy competition.” We endure more than enough unhealthy competition, consciously and subconsciously, through social media. And that kind of competition doesn’t care where in the world you are as long as you have an internet connection. This raises more questions, like how is the pressure of our peers different from the kind of pressure we experience online? Is this constant pressure turning us into diamonds or making us crumble? I just think it’s so important to get to know other artists in person so that we can all help each other. Having other creators around you is a huge resource. You can bounce ideas off people, get feedback, get criticism; it’s a vital component in any artist’s process. 

Chango: I think it’s a step that’s overlooked, and it’s definitely best when the relationship is reciprocal. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours kinda vibe. Like, I do all this research on my own time, and then somebody wants me to give them the drop. They’re like “Oh, put me on to your connection” or “Put me on the bill for this show,” when they’ve never popped out to any of the shows I’ve curated in the past. 

Wavy: Yeah, that’s not right. If you’re an artist and you’re asking other artists for help or to share their resources then you also have to show up to their events and see what they’re actually doing in person. Sharing posts doesn’t equate to your physical presence; what you’re seeing online are only little glimpses of what’s really going on. Everything online is presented in an altered way to structure your perception. So, get into these spaces physically and go to these events. Show face, make conversation, and meet people who you can work with or learn from. Exchanges of energy are much better received IRL. 

Chango: Exactly. So, if you think digital marketing is a priority, well, physical marketing is making a comeback. I mean actual posters and flyers that you can tape up and wheat paste all around town. I think that more people are recognizing the benefits of old school approaches, and it’s really cool to see that. It has this air of nostalgia for me. For these events with physical flyers, it’s more of an “Ask a punk” or “If you know, you know” energy. 

Wavy: I feel like a combination of the two approaches — where you post your flyers on the internet and on telephone poles — and being able to understand their differing benefits is what will take your promotion to the next level. If you post on the internet everyone can see but not everybody is going to see. The algorithms can hinder or help us. Learn to use them to your advantage. You could also combat Instagram’s tactics by just using different digital tools. A local resource that I really like for promoting events is the Buffalo Arts Calendar started by UB’s Arts Collaboratory. Anyone can post or view events going on locally, and it’s a wonderful way to find happenings you might not hear of otherwise. If you’re hosting an event or if you got something going on, all you have to do is go to the website, post the flyer with the information, and now it’s on that calendar where anyone can find it. We’ve posted a couple of our events there, and I was even able to make our Group Chat event recurring so I don't have to worry about updating the calendar every month. There are a plethora of other resources at organizers’ disposal; it’s just about figuring out which ones are going to be the best fit for you and your work. They might seem distant or inaccessible at first, but they are truly all around you. 

Way2WavyBaby, Group Chat 8/19/22, 2022. Digital collage. Courtesy the artist.

Chango: If you’re looking for money to throw an event and you have this crazy concept you wanna do, write it down, and get a budget in the works. That’s what I want to jump into: these grant opportunities that offer money for you and your art. There are lots of ways to source these opportunities.

Wavy: One great place to start is Pick Up The Flow (@pickuptheflownyc). They aggregate and share grants, residencies, and other opportunities; everything from huge lump sums of money to micro awards for both collectives and individuals. There’s so much out there and to find exactly what’s perfect for you is gonna be a lot more difficult if you can’t review all of these opportunities in one place. So pages like Pick Up The Flow are super useful to see your options. This shouldn’t steer you away from doing your own research as well; please do your Googles. But these resource-sharing pages compose critical melodies of hope in the medium of opportunities; you just need to tune in. 

Chango: Instagram is such a huge part of how I’ve been able to find, figure out, and learn about grants, residencies, and other opportunities. For those of you who don’t think you can get art residences or grants, please apply for them, but you also gotta understand you can’t take any rejections to heart too much. 

Wavy: Make the space for your emotions, but take that energy and turn it into some more art. There are people who apply for the same residencies years in a row waiting for their time to shine. You’re gonna fail and you’re gonna have to pick yourself back up and keep going. 

Chango: Yeah, you’re right. A big part of DIY culture is trial, error, rejection, and acceptance. The reason why we have to do it ourselves is because we were rejected by already existing institutions. Instead, we’ve curated our own spaces to feel accepted and to feel community. 

Wavy: I hope that those who enter our curated spaces feel the same acceptance and community we’ve tried to create for ourselves. I just want to inspire and show other artists that they can do the same things on their own; we want others to absorb our ideas and build off of them for their own events.

Chango: I love it when people come to my events and then one or two months later I see them hosting their first events. That’s the point. I believe this symbiotic relationship, artist to artist, can help elevate and advance us further than competition ever could.

Way2WavyBaby, Group Chat 8/19/22, 2022. Digital collage. Courtesy the artist.

Wavy: And to me, when you’re hosting an event, I’d say the number one rule is to respect your artists. If you are charging cover at the door or selling tickets prior to your event, you must pay out the artists you are including in the program. I’m pretty passionate about this because, seriously, the alternative is so frustrating and disrespectful for artists. It’s terrible etiquette as a curator if you’re straight out using these artists and the friends they bring to line your pockets. The “pay to play” scheme isn’t good enough anymore. Creators deserve and need to get paid for what they’re doing and the energy they bring to your event. 

Chango: People need money. The artists are giving you their time, pumping gas in their cars, driving to the venue, bringing friends to the event. Don’t expect people to continue performing at your events if you aren’t reciprocating the energy. It’s time we solidified the fact that funds should be distributed and allocated to all parties involved. Don’t be afraid to do things differently than the examples you’ve been given. 

Wavy: Group Chat has been a learning experience for me and a laboratory to experiment with and explore event curation and how people experience live music. Changes like removing the names of performing artists from the flyer, having a loose set time list to allow for accommodations or alterations, creating an environment as opposed to an event—these all really made an impact. There’s a method here. I’m aiming to establish why you should come to Group Chat every third Friday instead of relying on the popularity of any particular show’s performers. I keep set times private until the act prior in an attempt to discourage artists and the friends they brought from leaving immediately after their set. This is why I create interactive displays as well. I want to hold our audience’s attention and keep them around long enough to hear a couple artists they’ve never heard before. We ask questions and work to creatively solve them.

Being an artist in Buffalo in 2022 is a hell of a time, to say the least. Day-to-day life is filled with roller coasters of ups and downs. Personally, I believe our work wouldn’t feel the same any other way. Whether the wind is against your back or slowing you down, there’s something about being an artist that makes you question that wind or wonder if you should change the route to your destination. As artists, even when we’re making the careers we want to see for ourselves on our own, we must vow to question everything.