We were lucky to catch up with Erin Remington recently and have shared our conversation below.
Erin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
Ever since I was a child, creativity and art has always been my passion. I was obsessed with Trading Spaces in the early 2000s as a kid and would think of all the ways I could re-decorate my bedroom. Usually, it ended up with me moving furniture around every few months just to feel like I was changing up my room. I don’t think I consciously thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I was always doing a project or something to fuel my creativity. It was just a part of who I was. As a kid, you don’t think about what drives you to do things, you just follow what is intuitively fun and fulfilling. It’s not until you are older that you start to think about money and how to make a way for those dreams. When I first considered making a career and making money from an artistic path probably not until I started college and taking courses in Art History. It was then through professors and classes that I realized that if I wanted to pursue art and work either in a gallery, museum, or teaching capacity I would need to focus on what I wanted to do in the art world. I think for a lot of creatives can relate to the idea that there are so many ways you can make a career in art, alot of it looks like learning about the industry. Careers like being an art handler, conservator, or art valuation for example are not something you would think of right away when wanting to pursue an artistic path because being the “artist” is usually the most known. But in the creative fields, it is those backroom jobs that really are the back bones of creative paths.
Erin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Erin Remington, I am a Curator and Art Advsior . I have been in the arts for about 10 years working in galleries, museums, and education. Currently, I work at Saatchi Art as the Director of Sales and Curation. Saatchi Art is an online gallery that supports emerging artists and connects collectors with up-and-coming new artists. As an Art Advisor, I work with private clients and trade professionals to help build their art collections. And as curator for the gallery, it is my job to help find exciting new emerging artists and showcase their work.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
There is a lot of pressure right now to have your social media account have a huge following. Undoubtedly having a following doesn’t hurt, but I think we need to let go of this pressure of the numbers following you. There are many artists or people in my industry that I have met who do important work are well-connected and have a very small presence on Instagram. I think the main thing is knowing what your goal the social media platforms is, is it to be a brand and be the face of your brand, then yes you have to show your face, talk to the camera, and be that source of connection. If you are simply looking for a lander to showcase your work, then you don’t need to post all the time, just have professional photos of your work and keep it simple. Build what you need, and take the pressure off to have thousands of followers.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn the less that hard work pays off.
Now I don’t necessarily disagree with this statement, I just don’t think it’s the full truth. There are plenty of hard-working creatives or artists who dedicate themselves to their practice but never see a payoff. Hard work must be coupled with putting yourself out there. You need to be seen, and you need to be able to share your work. I find that the most successful people in my industry aren’t always working 40+ hours a week, they are just using their energy in the right ways. Work smarter, not harder.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Afinereye
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-remington/
Image Credits
Nikki Mata (all photos)