Why Being Asked to Explain What an ‘Emerging Artist’ is to a Panel is BullSh*t

February is greeted with discombobulated weather and one of my least favorite sections of artists applications: “Please explain to the panel why you are an Emerging Artist”. Over the years, I have had to explain this question at least 100 times. I have an answer that fits into what each institution defines as ‘Emerging’ but there are several aspects that make up the honest answer that, quite frankly, I doubt the panel really wants to hear. 

Emerging Artists are scrappy as hell. We create, perform, pour our hearts out because there is no other choice. It is what keeps us up at night. It is what we fight with our families about when they ask why we don’t get a “normal” job. It is why we spend more hours researching and embodying ideas then we do actually in a studio creating them. It is why our bank accounts are slim and our credit card bills are high: because we spend our money on essentials like living and LIVING (seeing art, seeing the world). 

I am Emerging because I look at my works and I am so close to watching my pieces and saying to myself “YES! That’s it! That is exactly what I want to say and how!”. I am so so so close to this feeling. I see it right in front of me. Just not completely yet. Yes, I (hopefully) have years of creating ahead of me and it takes most artists a lifetime to develop their truth. BUT…

Photo by Stephanie Crousillat

In a very real way, this is largely because opportunities for emerging artists are extremely limited. Yes, there are the institutions that support emerging artists. Some of them I have been apart of and have felt like they are truly rooting for me and will help me in my path (Springboard Danse Montreal being one of them), but others I feel like just needed to check a box in their impact report and actually set me up for failure with how little resources they were able to provide aside from an award title. 

I am now extremely picky about what I apply for and who I’m willing to explain my definition of ‘Emerging’ to. 

There is not enough support for Emerging Artists. I have my work made because I have a community that has supported me on the outside, which is largely made up of people who are not in positions of power within the dance community. 

I see myself and my fellow creative generators on the verge of a simmering pot of water but are very often asked why we aren’t making more work. You really want to know why? It’s because we mainly get asked to make works for theaters that can’t provide stipends, or, if they are able to provide compensation, it is usually $50 (yes, I literally just had a phone call today that offered to pay me $50 to present a solo piece for her event…) to, and this is rare, $5000. To be transparent, nest, act II, a duet between two dancers and one live musician I created in 2021, was $5000 to create. All of which I self raised and NOoSPHERE arts graciously gave me their space and rooted for me hard in their community. 

I get it, the arts were impacted drastically by the pandemic, but this was also happening before the pandemic. And then I read articles about how Exxonmobil made $55.7 BILLION! 

Why why why do the people screwing our environment profit so largely? Why why why is money tied to power? Why why why are we still struggling to explain how necessary the arts are? How how how do we change this? 

I NEED to see my community thriving. I NEED to see more support for the Emerging Artists who are making powerful work versus some of the bullsh*t I’m seeing being brought to large scale theaters in NYC and on the big screen (I’m looking at you Where the Crawdads Sing - ugh how did you ruin that book?!). But I need to see these people, this community, supported in a sustainable way. So that instead of spending hours explaining to yet another application why they are ‘Emerging’ and why they deserve to share their work with the world, these artists can alternatively be in a studio crying because what they just crafted is exactly what they want to be saying and how.