Post #920133

2026-01-28 13:23 UTC

crazy how artists (not restricted to digital art but like all art practices) are particularly stuck in mainstream social networks like instagram because &quot;we need it to brand our work to pay rent, so this became where we build our career&quot; while more and more people are actually just leaving those platforms. it feels silly to imagine a bunch of artists shouting in the hypercapitalist ruin-to-profit-loop mainstream social network &quot;look what i just made its my new project&quot;. i say that without judgment, as i&#39;m on insta myself (though i don&#39;t post about work only shitpost &amp; impulsive thoughts and pics), but the idea that &quot;artistic practices become an obstacle to social change, in the big schemes of thing&quot; (?) in that sense is really silly

Replies (5)

@NIGHTEN@hi.nighten.fr 2026-01-28 14:54

@doriane While I get the sentiment (I don’t use Instagram and my main platform is the fediverse), it’s worth remembering that Instagram hit 3 billions monthly active user recently. There is no massive exit of people from those platforms as far as regular users are concerned. I think all creative should be spreading their risk and ideally not leave their fate to an platform, but staying is often the most sane thing to do when you have actual rent and your family on the line 😕

Open ##1097792
@doriane@post.lurk.org 2026-02-10 17:30

@detours_anachroniques @oblomov @NIGHTEN @victor @gahlord @xenophora @neopostmodern So a few things that emerged from such (very nice) discussion that could benefit other are: * artists have always been entangled in the dominant power structures, difference is that now it sucks us into power structure that have no limited scope (since we also use the same platform for daily life conversations, news information, friendships, opinions, personal archive, etc) - thus our "artistic career identity" dependency create other constrains in all those other aspects... * leaving a platform isn't only leaving a digital place but a whole media culture - that's even harder, especially for those who experienced material change (individual or collective) through such (alienating but impactful) algorithmic media culture (instagram activism, personal viral success story, making it into a scene...). So change that isn't replacement need to be digital, but also infrastructural, and mostly cultural! * distinction in dependency systems between B2B and B2C artists, like are you more dependent on a crowd of people like tattoo or musicians, or of centralized institution in your practice like designer, conceptual art. And the importance of moving institution outside of siloed social media through different localized actions like petitions

Open ##1917751
@xenophora@mastodon.art 2026-01-28 14:58

@doriane If I hated Big Box Social Media but loved art, I would simply never join up with those spaces, and kill my career with a big ol’ shrug. Oh, wait. I had no career in the first place. Just the art. So it all worked out!! 🤪

Open ##1917771
@ronvanderende@mastodon.nl 2026-02-10 12:31

@doriane I’m personally going to fix that! https://echobeach.nl

Open ##1917779
@neopostmodern@tldr.nettime.org 2026-02-10 13:09

@doriane I think there is a big difference whether artists sell/somehow financially live off B2C or if it's a B2B strategy. My Instagram activity falls entirely into the latter category, so as long as the remaining art world sticks to the platform it doesn't matter much whether non-artists leave.

Open ##1917780