Cercle de l’Art wants to help artists to get out of precariousness

Is there an area of ​​society that is not affected by gender inequalities? With nearly 60% of female students in art schools, but only 5% of women’s works sold in galleries and auction houses, the art world is no exception.

If historically women have long been excluded from the great narratives of art history, suggesting, for decades, that female creators did not exist, their insertion into the art world is still not easy. . Far from the fictionalized image of the artist at work in her studio, at first glance away from the most elementary considerations of life (paying the rent, taking care of the child, etc.), they are actually faced with the difficulty of an independent, solitary and precarious activity.

“Visual artists suffer from great insecurity”

It is to counteract this reality that Margaux Derhy, visual artist, author and also at the origin of the “Les Amis des Artistes” initiative, which came to the aid of artists during their imprisonment, launched Le Cercle de l’Art.

“Visual artists experience great precariousness and great loneliness in France. We have to look for solutions on a private level if the public is not progressing as we hope, because it is too frustrating, ”she explains.

Helping female artists to gain their independence

Le Cercle is a platform that brings female artists together around tools that allow them to make their work profitable, creating a circle of collectors. Specifically, each collector becomes part of the artist’s circle by purchasing a work that he will pay in twelve monthly installments, thus allowing the artist to build a fixed income. The goal: to help these women gain their independence by contributing to the economic stability of the project (which is based on different affiliations if the artist wishes to have access to the tools or the community or both).

Founded in 2020, the Cercle de l’Art ended its last season last June, alongside 50 artists, and with rather satisfying results. Six months into the season, 96% of attendees had sold at least one work, considering the artists had sold 3.3 times more works than if they had been alone during the period. “On average, the artists have sold more than 8 works each in a month (…) for an average salary of around 800 euros per month with a maximum of 1800 euros”.

Registrations are open for Le Cercle de l’Art

On the strength of these results, which have allowed many women to acquire financial stability for a year, and therefore to be able to create peacefully, Margaux Derhy has launched a new call and opened the next season to even more artists. . There should be at least 100 to join Le Cercle de l’Art by the end of the year. All profiles are accepted and all files studied, be they sculpture, painting, photography or drawing.

On the program: interventions, practical courses, art history courses, meetings with artists, but also opportunities for residencies and exhibitions.

The world needs accomplished artists and without financial stability it is more complicated.

Margaux Derhy

For artists who want to become part of Le Cercle, registration is still open until Sunday 30 October. All information can be found on the Cercle de l’Art website.

Cover image: © Julia Genet for Le Cercle de l’Art. The artists featured in the photo: Thalia Dalecky, Marina Mankarios, Carine Valette, Josephine Vallé Franceschi, Clémence Vazard, Virginie Rasmont, Nelly Zagury, Solène Kerlo