1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: tip is to become a patron. It may be more 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: affordable than you think to commission art in its various forms, 5 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: or to support an innovator's pursuits. Being a patron can 6 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: be a satisfying and effective way to get more great 7 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: work into the world. So if you studied the Renaissance 8 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: in school, you no doubt learned about the medicis and 9 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: others who had commission masterpieces from famous artists. And while 10 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: it would be really cool to be the guy who 11 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: commissioned Michelangelo, that doesn't sound like it would be within 12 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: the realm of most of our capabilities, and perhaps not 13 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: at that level. But the truth is that commissioning art 14 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: in its various forms might be more affordable than you think. 15 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: I certainly found this when I helped found the competition 16 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: for Young Composers, which has been run by the Young 17 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: New Yorker's Chorus for almost two decades now. We invited 18 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 1: young composers to send us samples of their work, and 19 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: then we'd choose three finalists and commission works from each 20 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: of them with a guarantee of certain prize amounts for 21 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: those pieces. The dollar amounts were around a thousand dollars 22 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: and we got some pretty fantastic choral works out of that. 23 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: More established composers would be more expensive, for sure, but 24 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: we are talking within the range that a small foundation 25 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: or perhaps even a small choir could conceivably support. I'd 26 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,919 Speaker 1: personally some day like to commission a concert length choral 27 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: work that's either a cappella or written for one instrument. 28 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: Lots of choirs can't afford a whole orchestra, so that 29 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: would broaden the amount of accessible concert repertoire. As for 30 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: visual art, I had purchased a few pieces from a 31 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 1: particular artist I found exhibiting in the Torpedo Factory in 32 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 1: Old Town Alexandria several years ago. Then I realized that 33 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: I would like a painting of Texas bluebonnets to give 34 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: to my husband. I reached out and she quoted me 35 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: a very reasonable price for what is an absolutely fantastic 36 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: original piece of art that is now hanging in my house. 37 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: There are lots of creative people in this world. Like 38 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: anyone else, Creative people need to make a living. Thanks 39 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: to the Internet, it is possible to connect with people 40 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: like never before. If you would like a piece of 41 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: art for your home, or a special holiday card, or 42 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: professional calligraphy for a wall hanging, or perhaps even a 43 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: special song for someone's birthday or an anniversary, you just 44 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: might be able to connect with someone. Certainly, you can 45 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: see who is doing good work via Etsy or the 46 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,919 Speaker 1: people you follow on social media see what they might 47 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 1: be able to do. Then you will have something that 48 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: no one else has, and you will help create more 49 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: cool work in the world. You can do this for 50 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: all sorts of things that are creative. Plenty of creators 51 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: have started Patreon groups or substacks as a way to 52 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: create community while generating support for their work. If you 53 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: like what someone is producing, then by paying a small 54 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: amount of money each month, you can vote for that 55 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: person to keep producing their work. In general, I want 56 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: to live in a world where people are producing more 57 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: cool things, both in terms of art and content. So 58 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: those of us who do enjoy such things can use 59 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: money to make sure that more cool things come to be. 60 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: And the good news is that these days you don't 61 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: have to live in an Italian castle to make it happen. 62 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: Many people can become patrons, even people who've never thought 63 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: of themselves that way. And the more people who do 64 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: start to think of themselves that way, the more rich 65 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: and interesting the world will be. In the meantime, this 66 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the 67 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear 68 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,839 Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 69 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 70 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the 71 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me 72 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. 73 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 74 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch. 75 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts 76 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 77 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.