Over the past four months, one humble hashtag has generated over 300,000 Instagram posts and distributed over $20,000,000 into the hands of artists globally.

The #ArtistSupportPledge (ASP) was created by artist Matthew Burrows in March, designed to offer a lifeline to artists affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Initially a small-scale hashtag-based system, it soon exploded into something much greater. 

How It Works

Artists post an image of their artwork for sale on Instagram for no more than $200. They include the #ArtistSupportPledge hashtag in the caption, which creates a portfolio of artwork for sale by artists across the world.

Here’s the best bit: once an artist has made $1000 in sales, they pledge to spend $200 of it on another participating artist’s work.

Before the world shut down, many artists may have set their sights on getting ‘gallery representation’, a traditional route sometimes seen as the best and only way to get their work placed in front of buying eyes. Collectors went to private views, clinked their glasses and purchased the work made by a select few on the walls. Now all artists need is an Instagram account. 

It’s no new thing to see crowdfunders and petitions shared on the internet, calling for help to save local art centres and creative organizations. These well-intentioned initiatives are vital to the industry, to the individuals involved and in most cases the funding does drip down to the artists at the heart of them. However, during lockdown when galleries were closed and private views were cancelled, the ASP has granted artists full autonomy in creating the means to support their own and each others’ practices. 

Artists Supporting Artists

ASP believes that an equitable and sustainable future economically and environmentally must begin by examining the cultural values we live by; that artists are central to this debate; and that ALL artists are important in maintaining the permaculture that is our global artistic ecosystem. If one part suffers we all do.

– From the ASP website

With these progressive ideas, the ASP manages to do away with any lingering feelings of ‘competition’, a concept too often dwelled upon in the creative arts. Secrecy and the withholding of our tricks of the trade are behaviours inherited from the messages we have been told. Perhaps we were discouraged from pursuing art as a career choice for reasons such as “too many people are already trying and only a handful of them make it.” Phrases like these perpetuate the idea that other artists are our rivals, emphasise the feeling that resources are scarce and that there is only so much that can go round.

Social media, while undeniably a useful tool for artists, can feed these anxieties. Not only can we feel at odds with our colleagues but also with the algorithms. This is where the magic of the ASP lies: it is built on foundations centred around community, equality and generosity. It utilises the things we thought we were up against to the whole community’s advantage – the most important one being each other.

Ultimately, the hashtag creates a simple, unbiased space for those seeking to purchase new art and for the artists to set their posts aside from the traditional timeline format. Vitally, this can all be done safely from the refuge of the individuals’ homes. 

Hashtag Brings Hope for the Future to Artists

Inevitably, as the popularity of the hashtag has grown, some artists have reported finding it harder to get their work noticed. The ‘Recent Posts’ section shows hundreds more images each time you refresh and admittedly the ‘Top Posts’ tab, a built-in feature of Instagram, still remains. Nonetheless, the combined success of the pledge sows a seed of hope for the future. Matthew Burrows has now developed the ASP into a Not for Profit company, describing the pledge as ‘a generous culture and economy in support of artists and makers’.

With no sign of slowing down, it seems the ASP is setting out to run beyond the pandemic. But when “all of this” is over, when we are no longer in crisis-mode and when kindness is no longer actively being encouraged, will the ASP continue? Of course, it is too soon to tell what the future holds for this individual initiative, but it is undeniable that the ASP has set a precedent for how artists can operate collectively. The pledge has acted as a positive force for artists during a time of mass uncertainty and has demonstrated the creative industry’s ability to adapt, innovate and ‘live generously’. 

To learn more and get involved, search #ArtistSupportPledge on Instagram, or visit artistsupportpledge.com.