In this solo episode, Ceri talks about a truth many artists and creatives struggle with: Success won’t change your life. We’re told that success is the finish line, but this is far from the truth, success is fleeting and life carries on afterwards. Ceri talks about what success really means for creatives and artists and how changing your mindset around it can help you build and live a more fulfilling life and creative career.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Success isn’t about reaching a final goalpost but about continuous growth. When you start measuring your progress by how much you’re evolving, rather than just ticking off achievements, everything changes.
• Most artists and creatives underestimate the power of slow-building momentum. You’re not just working toward some distant finish line; you’re constantly growing in ways you might not even notice.
• If you want to build a creative life that lasts, stop waiting for success to validate you. Instead:

- Redefine success – What does progress look like for you?
- Follow your curiosity – Chase ideas, not approval.
- Celebrate small wins – Acknowledge every step forward.
- Track your progress – Keep a journal, document your journey, and reflect on how far you’ve come.
- Give yourself permission to change – Your creative path isn’t fixed. It’s fluid, and that’s a good thing.

BEST MOMENTS

“That external validation wasn’t the most important part, the real reward was in the process”

"But the real joy? It comes from holding these goals like a roadmap, not a rigid itinerary. The destination helps plot the most scenic route, where you’ll meet incredible, funny, and inspiring people along the way.”

“Have you had a conversation recently that sparked a new idea? Have you experimented with a technique or approach that felt exciting? Have you shared your work with someone and received valuable feedback? These are growth moments. And they matter just as much as a big career milestone.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

****

Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

Ceri is joined by Marcelle Joseph, an American independent curator and collector based in the UK whose collection champions female identifying and queer artists. Marcelle talks about her journey from corporate lawyer to art world innovator, revealing how early influences in material culture shaped her curatorial vision. With over 50 exhibitions curated since 2011, she discusses her feminist focused collection and her GIRLPOWER residency in France and gives advice for emerging artists.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Marcelle's journey into art began with material culture influences from her grandmother's textile work and her father's entrepreneurial spirit. This now manifests in her current collecting of ceramics and textiles from female identifying and non binary artists.
• After leaving a successful corporate law career, Marcelle reinvented herself through a degree at Christie's Education and founded Marcelle Joseph Projects in 2011, eventually curating over 50 exhibitions that explore feminist theory and the performativity of gender.
• Studio visits are crucial exchanges where Marcelle connects with artists' influences and processes. She recommends artists prepare thoughtfully, demonstrating their practice range and sharing their theoretical inspirations.
• For new artists looking for opportunities, Marcelle advises maintaining a professional Instagram and comprehensive website showcasing at least five years of work, being selective with networking events as well as persistently applying for residencies and grants.
• Marcelle established a unique 50/50 collecting partnership with Kimberly Morris called the GIRLPOWER Collection, which expanded into a residency program in France that offers stipends, materials budgets and exhibition opportunities to three artists annually.
• The contemporary art market faces serious challenges, particularly for small to mid size galleries. Marcelle highlights Hauser & Wirth's model of offering small galleries a commission when signing their artists as a potential sustainability solution.
• Institutional governance work has been central to Marcelle's impact, including 

  a former trustee

  at Matt's Gallery, Ambassador for the Royal Academy Schools, and Vice Chair at Mimosa House, 

  which she values for championing marginalised voices.
• Marcelle's dream retirement project is to create a foundation in her hometown in upstate New York to introduce contemporary art to young people while offering artist residencies, giving back to the community that shaped her.

BEST MOMENTS

"I've adopted a lot of my father's mentality in my own career journey about deciding that I want to do something that's really brave and sort of outside of my comfort zone and just attacking it and making it happen."

"I'm all about platforming those artists who have been marginalised or written out of the traditional Western art canon by the patriarchy."

"I like supporting early career artists because it’s the most pivotal part of their career in my opinion. If they can’t get past being an early career artist, they’re not going to be an artist."

"I often call my collection a collection of conversations, because almost all of the artwork is by artists that I know, that I've worked with, written about, done a studio visit with."

"Don't be afraid to approach your heroes. What's the worst thing that can possibly happen? They turn around and walk away, right?"

"I know websites are going out of fashion, but I find them so incredibly important to do my initial research on artists. A holding page is not enough. I like to see at least five years of their work."

"Curating is all about caring for the artwork, but it's also about caring for the artist. That's really important to me."

"Life is short so you shouldn't let any opportunity go by."

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://marcellejoseph.com

@marcelle.joseph

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

****

Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

Tired of shouting into the void? In this episode Ceri reveals how creators can find their perfect audience without compromising artistic integrity. Using climate crisis art as a case study, Ceri demonstrates how identifying ideal clients can transform creative careers. Rather than changing your work to please others, it's about strategically connecting with those who already resonate with your message and using this in all aspects of your work, from creating to marketing. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Defining your ideal client isn’t about changing your work or selling out. It’s about assessing what you already create, what you’re passionate about, and finding the people who care about the same things.
• Consider your clients demographics such as age, location and income.
• Psychographics are also important, things like their interests, values and beliefs and aspirations.
• Be as specific as possible, when you’re specific, you can tailor your marketing, your social media content and your pitches to speak directly to your ideal clients.

BEST MOMENTS

"You don’t need to change what you create. You just need to find the people who are already aligned with it.”

“Who is most likely to resonate with your work? Think about age, occupation, lifestyle, and location.”

“This isn’t about exclusion, it’s about making meaningful connections.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

****

Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

Ceri is joined by Rosalie Schweiker, a South German artist and cultural organiser reimagining how art can drive social justice. As co-director at Migrants in Culture, Rosalie shares her journey from EU citizen to confronting the UK's hostile immigration system and how this transformed her creativity. The conversation explores motherhood's impact on creativity, building collective driven organisations and dismantling oppressive systems while designing joyful alternatives.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Rosalie structures her week meticulously since becoming a mother: two days of childcare, two days at Migrants in Culture and one day for "mopping up" life admin. This routine provides space for her creative process.
• Migrants in Culture operates as a design agency that creates capacity for organisers to imagine a world without borders, following design justice principles while ensuring their processes align with their values around migration justice.
• The traditional commissioning model for socially engaged artists often places them in an impossible position, expected to deliver transformative work with minimal resources while bearing all responsibility and getting paid less than everyone else involved.
• Building a collective helps shift from the unsustainable model of the individual artist to a more accountable, transparent system where decisions are made together, resources are shared and relationships are less disposable.
• Artists shouldn't view themselves as special or separate from broader societal pressures, instead recognising they are workers within a system helps adjust expectations and create more sustainable practices.
• Challenging the romanticised view of the artist, Rosalie suggests the system is intentionally designed to keep artists precarious while serving as "lightning rods" for organisational processes that otherwise can't be fixed.
• Motherhood has shifted Rosalie's artistic practice to focus on drawing as documentation and processing, showing how creativity adapts to life circumstances rather than requiring ideal conditions.
• The concept of "submerging" is as important as "emerging" for artists. Sometimes withdrawing from visibility to reflect, recharge, and develop work away from external pressures is essential to creative sustainability.

BEST MOMENTS

"I guess you find your people by just constantly showing up in a way. It wasn't like I had this as a vision for myself."

“The art world can do whatever it wants to do. I am not here to fix that mess.”

"When we make a report for an organisation or if we do graphic design and people are excited about it, you get quite direct feedback."

"The system is designed to work. People, especially when they're first engaged with immigration, they're like, 'Surely that must be a mistake,' but if this mistake keeps reappearing all the time, we can assume that this is structural, and this is intended."

"I really struggle with attributing value to what I do as an artist, as a person. I can only do that when other people are in conversation with me for some reason."

"That idea of continuing the status quo by trying to fix it, solve it, work hard, graft, overcome it, is such a familiar story to so many of us listeners, I'm sure."

"Submerging is as important as emerging, I would say."

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.RosalieSchweiker.info

https://www.instagram.com/rosalieschweiker/

https://www.migrantsinculture.com/

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

****

Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

Ready to stop waiting for that elusive cash fairy and actually make 2025 the year your bank account catches up with your creative talents? Ceri explains how artists and creatives can rewire their financial mindsets to elevate their earnings in 2025.  Ceri reveals practical accountability frameworks, goal setting techniques and mindset shifts that turn vague money hopes into tangible results.  This episode delivers the financial reality check creative souls desperately need and teaches you how to hack your money mindset. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1.  Rewire Your Money Mindset. Say these out loud to yourself: "I can earn money." " I earn money." "I have money." "I spend money." Try saying these out loud every morning for a week. Notice what thoughts come up. Challenge them.
2. Find a ‘Money Mark’. So a friend, colleague or mentor who’s also ready to level up. Here’s how to make it work: Set a financial goal for the year and share it. Meet monthly (or fortnightly) to check in, swap ideas, and keep each other motivated. Call out each other’s limiting beliefs. Use your collective brainpower to spot opportunities, collaborations, and new income streams.
3. Set a Financial Goal and Actually Track It. Be specific, Define Your Number. Identify Your Income Streams the Sh*t Work – If it’s time-consuming, joyless, and underpaid, ditch it. Use a System to track your progress.
4. Set Deadlines and Stay Accountable. Money goals only work if they have deadlines. Break it down like this: Annual goal. Quarterly check-ins. Monthly Milestones. Regular Money Mark meetings.
5. Know Your Worth and Price Accordingly. Your prices should reflect the value you bring, not just the hours you put in. Charging properly doesn’t make you greedy, it makes you sustainable. The right people will pay your rates.
6. Stop Hoping and Start Practising. Here’s the truth: getting better at making money is just like getting better at your creative work, it takes practice.

BEST MOMENTS

Most of us in the arts have been trained to believe that making money is for other people. That success stories are anomalies. That talking about cash is a bit icky.

Money goals only work if they have deadlines. Otherwise, you’ll still be thinking about them in December 2025, wondering where the time went.

"Your prices should reflect the value you bring. Price confidently, and your clients will recognise the worth of your offerings."

“You’re not bad with money. You just haven’t trained yourself to think about it differently.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

****

Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

Ceri explores the future of cultural spaces with Seb Chan, the director & CEO of ACMI, where he is redefining how museums connect with their audiences. Seb talks about his evolution from experimental music producer to museum innovator and reveals how his background in creating immersive musical experiences has shaped his approach to museum design. Seb’s unique experiences and professional knowledge give a unique perspective on how museums can shape the future.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Drawing from his experimental music background, Seb discovered that museums should move beyond traditional education to spark curiosity.
• His experience in underground music scenes taught him how to create environments where people feel empowered to explore the unfamiliar.
• Going from tech consultant to museum CEO, Seb developed a future focused philosophy. He now insists cultural institutions must be designed for the future, considering not just technology but also the skills future generations will need.
• Leading multiple international institutions taught Seb the importance of acknowledging diverse cultural contexts. His experiences across New Zealand, Australia, and America shaped his understanding of how museums can create inclusive spaces that transcend shared assumptions.
• Physical tools can enhance digital experiences. Seb’s work with these technologies revealed solutions for maintaining visitor focus in our distraction prone lives.
• Through years of visitor research and practical application, Seb developed strategic principles for creating memorable museum experiences. His approach integrates multisensory engagement with thoughtful space utilisation.
• Witnessing the erosion of societal trust, Seb recognises why cultural institutions are vital spaces for rebuilding connections. His leadership philosophy emphasises fostering genuine dialogue and understanding across communities.
• Despite facing resource constraints and pandemic exhaustion, Seb maintains his commitment to experimentation; continuous innovation is crucial for addressing complex societal challenges.
• Based on his transformative work at ACMI, Seb changed how they measure success. He shifted focus from traditional visitor counts to deeper engagement indicators, fundamentally changing how museums evaluate their impact.

BEST MOMENTS

"For me, music has a particular ability to transcend cultures and time and space too, it gives you a different sense of time. Going to a gig or going out to an event, that sort of sense of time shifts and time stretches and makes me think about things in other ways."

"In the world we live in, where all our social relations and communities are run through media, museums have a vital role in helping people make sense of that complexity."

"You can design spaces to change behaviour and to change people's openness and when you design them well, they work. I know a lot of artists are sort of thinking about this sort of stuff too."

"Niche interests and the platforms that media is distributed on, and the way those platforms monetise attention as well is based on fragmentation and driving difference amongst that. And that can be very interesting and positive and also politically, it can be very destructive as well as we're seeing play out in various parts of the world."

"Focus is hard now. I think people find there's lots of things vying for their focus. But again, using those design principles, I think you can design for focus."

"We need to find ways to disagree about things... there was an ability to disagree without it becoming, your house getting swatted."

"It's very easy to get someone interested in music that they didn't think they liked and it's probably the easiest art form to get someone interested in because it's so multisensory."

"People are interested in lots and lots of different things and they're very up for things they're not familiar with if you don't make them feel like idiots."

EPISODE RESOURCES

GUEST LINKS:

www.acmi.net.au

IG: @acmionline

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

****

Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

Moving beyond the myth that bigger is always better, Ceri reveals what actually works: intentional, strategic, and well placed moves. Building the right relationships, choosing the right projects and being open to unexpected opportunities. In this short episode, Ceri shares the power of the "3P Exercise" (Possibility, Person, Place) and talks through how you can maximise your effort in the right way.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Possibility: What’s One Move That Could Make a Real Difference? Write down one opportunity that could move things forward for you right now.
2. Person: Who Could Help Expand Your View? Write down the name of one person you’d love to connect with. Someone who inspires you, whose work you admire, or who you think could provide a fresh perspective.
3. Place: Where Inspires You? Think of one place, it could be a gallery, publisher, agency, festival, or organisation, that excites you. Somewhere you’d love to be part of.

BEST MOMENTS

"Smart moves aren't about cutting corners; they're about maximising your effort in the right way."

"I committed to getting started rather than waiting until I was 'ready.' Now, here we are."

"No ask, no agenda, just a genuine expression of interest. The result? We're now hatching a plan to work together."

"The more deliberate your actions, the bigger the impact."

EPISODE RESOURCES

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

****

Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

Ceri speaks with Claire Luxton, a British artist who is revolutionising the art world through her multidisciplinary approach. From self portraiture to large public installations, Claire shares her thoughts on pricing artwork, building authentic brand collaborations and maintaining creative integrity while achieving commercial success. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Claire has developed a distinctive artistic process that merges performance and photography, choosing to capture everything in camera using a Hasselblad medium format camera rather than relying on AI, reflecting her commitment to authenticity in an increasingly digital world.
• Through her journey with brand collaborations, Claire has learned to evaluate opportunities by asking "Would future Claire say yes?" a self filtering approach that helps maintain her artistic integrity while building commercial success.
• Claire approaches every project with extensive research and preparation, believing that understanding context deeply enables her to create more meaningful and impactful work.
• Claire’s public art installation approach begins with historical research, allowing her to uncover and tell forgotten stories of each location, from decommissioned lighthouses to power stations, creating work that resonates with both place and community.
• Her experience with MTR Agency has changed how she views artist collector relationships, moving away from the traditional gallery model of separation to embrace direct connections with collectors, leading to more meaningful artistic dialogue.
• Claire's social media strategy evolved from posting frequently to carefully curating content that authentically represents her artistic vision, prioritising meaningful engagement over algorithmic success.
• After leaving exclusive gallery representation, Claire found her voice by exploring different creative avenues before ultimately returning to fine art with a clearer vision and stronger boundaries.
• She structures her editions thoughtfully, offering one off pieces for largest works and editions of three for smaller sizes, a strategy that reflects the value of her work and her desire to maintain its specialness.

BEST MOMENTS

"At the time, that was incredibly exciting and I was very green and fresh and I didn't really have any experience, any experience that I had was self generated, as both of my parents were secondary school teachers, so I had zero connections in the art world."

"I want to make the art as true conversation and then there to be the by product of money from that."

"Would future Claire say yes? So this future me that I picture, would I say yes to this in two years time, in five years time? Would I be happy that I did this?"

"So many collectors are invested in not only the piece, but in yourself and having conversations with collectors about why they were interested in the piece in the first place is so incredibly valuable."

"If something has a lot of conversations, to say there are a lot of comments and a lot of people having conversations, I feel like that's helpful and informative because it means that it's struck a chord."

"Only you can do what you do. I know that there's lots of other people who can do similar things, but only you can do you."

"Art is about problem solving so when you're given certain parameters, you then can fit your practice within those parameters and it kind of pushes you in different directions."

 "I want to make the art as true conversation and then there to be the by product of money from that. It's a difficult space to navigate, but I think at the core it's about finding those key values within your practice that really resonate with your voice and kind of sticking to your guns."

EPISODE RESOURCES

Guest Links:

www.claireluxtonart.com

@claireluxtonart

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

****

Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

Ceri examines how to liberate creative authenticity by offering ideas for artists who feel creatively blocked. She shares five actionable methods to escape creative paralysis and embrace your unique artistic voice. Ceri also provides examples from pioneering artists like Lindsey Mendick and Laure Prouvost, who dared to be different, and suggests exercises for practising these five ways to be bolder, braver, and weirder in your art.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Bland is Boring – Stop Playing It Safe. If you don’t take risks, your work blends into the wallpaper of creative mediocrity. Push the thing that makes you

BEST MOMENTS

“With AI churning out generic mush and tech pushing us towards sameness, what we need now is your gloriously weird, hyper-specific, totally you take on things.”

“Playing it safe leads to forgettable work”

“You don’t need everyone to love your work. You need your people to love it. The ones who get it.”

“Your intuition is always talking to you. The trick is learning to hear and, more importantly, learning to trust it.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

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Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

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Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

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Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

Ceri speaks with artist Erica Eyres, whose work masterfully balances on the edge of discomfort and revelation. Erica shares her creative process, including how she transforms found images into haunting portraits and creates ceramic replicas of mundane objects. The conversation explores the delicate dance between artistic freedom and commercial success and how understanding and overcoming your creative vulnerability shapes you as an artist. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Erica embraces her compulsive need to make art constantly, choosing to produce abundantly and edit later rather than limiting her output. 
• Her unique approach to video work requires complete solitude. She plays all characters herself and can only perform when entirely alone, highlighting how some artists need specific conditions to access their creative depths.
• Through her international exhibition experience, Erica has observed how cultural context dramatically shapes audience reception, particularly noting how her work dealing with childhood themes received starkly different reactions in Denmark versus Glasgow.
• She views gallery relationships as having organic lifecycles, similar to dating, and has learned to navigate these professional partnerships with both commitment and acceptance of their natural evolution.
• Experience has taught her to be strategic with social media, sometimes keeping new work private until ready for specific exhibitions, maintaining a careful balance between visibility and preserving work for shows.
• Teaching at university level has become both a financial anchor and creative stimulus for Erica, keeping her connected to emerging perspectives while forcing efficient use of studio time.
• Her journey has shown her that success in art isn't about dramatic breakthroughs but rather sustained practice through inevitable ups and downs.

BEST MOMENTS

"I've definitely had people tell me that I make too much work... but I've sort of also tried to just accept that this is just how I work, is to make quite a lot of work and then eventually edit it down."

"It's almost compulsive, I suppose. I really just have this need to make stuff and I've always had that."

"I think everyone has a time where things are going really well, like you see really successful artists that have downtimes as well."

"The art world is so complicated and I still feel like I'm learning about it and all the kind of idiosyncrasies of it."

"Most galleries want to show the best work that an artist could possibly make. That's what they're really looking for."

"You never know who's looking... but it also doesn't matter. Do you love what you do enough whether someone's looking or not?"

EPISODE RESOURCES

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

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Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! 

https://cerihand.com/membership/ 

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Build Relationships The Easy Way
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network,"  offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today 
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at [email protected]

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity 
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.