The Paid Work/Side Hustle balance is the new Work/Life balance for Artists, post-Covid-19 lockdown.



Holding down a day job and topping it up with a couple of freelance gigs is just the regular ol’ hustle for artists. We’ve been 'fighting the good fight', 'upskilling' and 'putting ourselves out there’ forever. Always making more 'cool shit' and 'new work’ to keep up and stay relevant, and with the ever increasing demand for quick, authentic content, we’ve really had to sit up and ask why, in this age of innovation, there isn't a substantially better, more lucrative, streamlined and safer platform for South African artists to earn a decent passive income online yet?



20 years ago the Getty Images contributors were killing it. It was difficult to become one, but when you were able to crack that nut, and got yourself into the top tier, you could become a full time “stock” photographer. Sure this meant you had to use a pseudonym and wear a hoodie in public, but the cash rolled in.



There just aren't enough platforms for brands, marketing companies and advertising agencies to turn to, that support local Artists, when they need relevant, original images with vision and soul, when they have a budget to pay for them.



Now I know you’ve looked at your shoots a thousand times and you're probably tired of them and being super judgy - every artist looks over at the green grass on Instagram daily and starts doubting, but that work is gold, it's burning a hole in your top drawer and it should be working harder for you. It should be online, being waved around under the noses of the buyers searching tirelessly for new, slowly crafted, hyper-local images with narrative and soul.



Like yours.