Alison Moritz appeared on my Facebook feed when Seattle Opera published a quote of hers:
“Many people probably won’t talk about this honestly, but I think it’s important to be frank about the personal and financial sacrifices that it takes to be an emerging artist, particularly in the United States. There are many wonderful rewards to this life and work, but they are not necessarily financial. It’s a very hard position to be in—when I first started, I often found myself doing work I loved with people I greatly admired, but not getting paid enough to make a living. What if I couldn’t afford to take that kind of risk on myself? What stories and artists are we missing out on because there are people who simply can’t afford to create art for a living?”
You can only imagine how excited that made me… an artist after my own heart!!!
So I pestered her with an email or two and she graciously agreed to answer a few questions about her life as an artist and the broader financial challenges that we all are facing these days.
And man did she deliver: with some great thoughts, a ton of resources, and a few pieces of advice that will be rolling around in my head for months.
Enjoy!
What were your expectations when you fell into this arts world? Did you have an idea of what the challenges and rewards of the life would look like, or did you ‘learn as you went along’?
When I began working in the arts, I had no idea how much money (if any!) I could expect to make as a stage director. I was really lucky, though, and received a teaching position immediately after I graduated with my master’s degree. The short time I spent teaching at a conservatory was a huge learning curve and, without a doubt, the most important lesson I learned was what it feels like to be paid for something you love so much you’d do it for free.
Ultimately, money is a tool for how you choose to live your life. There is bound to be a period of growth early in your career when you determine your own priorities and values – and personal finances are inevitably a huge part of this phase. I’m pretty sure everyone can relate to this – not just artists.
How do you afford to be an artist?
Honestly, this is an ongoing process and I am far (very, VERY FAR!) from perfect at it. I’ve tried a lot of things – including YNAB budgeting and also paying myself monthly, which I know you recommend on R2R. My friend Tara Faircloth has an ingenious system for budgeting as a freelancer, which I also recommend.
That said, there are a few key takeaways from my experience so far:
- Keep your overhead low. This can be really difficult, especially since opera companies tend to be in major cities – where the cost of living is higher. At this moment, I choose not to have a home base. When I travel to direct or assist, the company usually arranges both my travel and housing. Not having an apartment that I need to sublet or worry about has been very liberating – and my paychecks go a lot further.
- Accept help. Amanda Palmer wrote a beautifully brave and imperfect book about this topic called The Art of Asking last year. Help can come in so many forms, but the important thing is to acknowledge that helping others (and receiving help) is one of the fundamental things that connects us to one other.
- Stand on the shoulders of giants. Last season, I was working on a concept proposal of Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock. As I researched Blitzstein and read the biographies written about him, I learned how truly terrible he was with money. On the one hand, it really frustrated me to read about the many amazing projects Blitzstein abandoned so that he could take higher paying gigs. On the other hand, I felt liberated that I was not alone in this struggle. Reading biographies and autobiographies of other artists has been a huge part of my process. Talk to the people you admire about how they made it through – it could be that the challenges they faced earlier in their careers are precisely what turned them into the people you admire now. But remember – the economic and social context may have changed since then.
What’s the biggest hurdle coming between artists and an ability to make a living?
Well, specifically in opera, many mid-level companies either closed during the recession or drastically reduced their programming. However, university music programs and conservatories continue to matriculate and graduate students at growing rates. So, not only is the pie smaller, there are also more people sharing it.
That said, all freelancers are feeling this pinch – not just artists and musicians. 
Why do you think financial struggle, and sacrifice in the arts, is such an important
thing to talk about?
We live in a capitalistic society and many of the familiar narratives of success revolve around quantifiable metrics like salary, job titles, and possessions. But what makes an artist successful? How can you measure growth and progress without using these metrics?
I truly believe that this line of questioning can help us to foster not only healthier artists, but also better and more relevant art.
What would you tell a young artist who wants to try to do this for a living?
The things you complain about to your friends over beers are the problems you were born to fix. Get a little bit mad, then get to work.
Do you think that it’s necessary for artists to make a living with their art in order to create?
Absolutely not. And, inversely, I also don’t believe you don’t need to be making art for a living in order to consider yourself an artist.
I subscribe to Seth Godin’s definition of art. “Art is anything that’s creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.” He also says, “Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.” (Check 
out his amazing book Linchpin. Highly recommended!)
My collaborator Charles Murdock Lucas and I have a sort of mantra – “We make art for artists. And by that, we mean everyone.”
How do we change the narrative? What can we as artists do to adapt to our changing business?
Well, this is a huge and multi-faceted question. But, in brief – as we move further away from the Industrial Age and into the Conceptual Age, the discussion of creativity and intellectual property will become more and more mainstream. (For more on this – check out Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind.)
As for myself, I am committed to questioning a lot of the assumptions about the profitability of our art form. I’m convinced that there is a HUGE opera audience out there – of fellow artists from all arenas. I see restaurant groups and entrepreneurs like Danny Meyer democratizing the world of hospitality – and institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art redefining the museum-going experience with exhibits like China Through The Looking Glass. Opera is ready for a swerve of this kind.
I will add that many, if not most, companies are already doing the right thing by their artists. Across the United States, I have been paid fairly, treated well, and valued for my contribution to the artistic process in cities large and small – and I am extremely hopeful for the future.
You can learn more about Alison on her WEBSITE or follow here on TWITTER
