Art Problems

In this episode, Paddy gives you the skinny on the Guggenheim Fellowship, one of the most prestigious awards for mid-career artists. The talk contains tips and strategies you won't find on their website, including knowing when to apply and how often. You won't find this information anywhere else, so have a listen. Even if you're not planning to apply, this episode will give you strategies for ALL...

Katie Hargrave is a visual artist and associate professor at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where she's lived and worked for twelve years. This is the second episode in a series on artists building careers outside city centers. Katie talks about what that has required: virtual studio visits that now feel more natural to her than in-person ones, a social media presence built on sharing ot...

Ever wondered how to build a growing art career without moving to New York or L.A? Today, I speak with Jodi Hays, an artist who has done just that.  In this episode, Jodi talks about deciding early on not to bend to the art world’s preference for artists located in major cities, and to build something sustainable on her own terms. This meant investing in Nashville as her home and part of her pract...

with Constance McBride, figurative ceramic sculptor, curator, and co-founder of The Hook Experiment Constance McBride came back to art at 47 after 25 years in the corporate world, eventually joining Netvvrk in 2021. Four years later, health reasons pulled her away from the membership. What happened next is the kind of story Paddy doesn't always get to tell: a former member building something real....

Do you feel like an imposter? Most artists do, at least sometimes. But artist anxiety can take on a life of its own -- the voice that says your work doesn't matter, that you don't belong, that it's only a matter of time before everyone figures it out. This week's guest, Holly Wong, has thought hard about why the art world breeds this so reliably. When even objective markers of success can be quest...

Crystal Hartman has been a Netvvrk member since we launched in 2021 — long enough to know exactly how she uses it, and what it's actually done for her practice. She joins me today to talk about what it looks like to run a studio with your values front and center: finding community after relocating to a new city, using Netvvrk as a resource library rather than a fixed routine, and how learning to a...

Artists Tommy Riefe and Lexa Walsh join me to discuss the New Museum expansion and show, New Humans: Memories of the Future curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Gary Carrion-Murayari. We discuss the success of the building itself and then move onto the show’s major themes—the history of the human body as mediated by technology.    Additional Resources:  Tommy Riefe Lexa Walsh  The New Museum, New Hum...

The art world has no HR department. There's no employer to set up health insurance, no emergency fund, no retirement plan. If you’re a freelance artist, that means you’re on your own. Today's guest, Yancey Strickler, co-founder of Kickstarter and founder of Metalabel, thinks that can change with a new business designation called the A-Corp. The A-Corp is Strickler’s answer to that problem: a new b...

Artist William Powhida and Netvvrk Operations Director Penny Retica join me to discuss the 2026 Whitney Biennial, curated by Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer. We walk through the show's major themes—human-animal relationships, infrastructure, economic critique, and the handmade.   Our conversation explores the possibilities brought forward by the biennial. Does it represent a search for art’s util...

What does it feel like to work professionally as an artist for 23 years but still feel like you're treading water? In this episode of Art Problems, I speak with Boston-based artist Yuko Oda about joining Netvvrk just over a year ago after graduating from RISD in 2002 and spending two decades feeling confused about her trajectory. She was saying yes to everything, spreading herself too thin, and mi...

What does it take to level up your documentation and grant applications when you're deeply insecure about your writing?   In this episode of Art Problems, I speak with Bay Area artist Kimberlee Koym-Murteira about joining Netvvrk three years ago, knowing she needed support to win more grants. She'd seen firsthand that when she had help, she was successful—but she didn't know how to get that consis...

What does it feel like to return to your art practice after a 25-year break? In this episode of Art Problems, I speak with visual artist Shae Nadine about navigating an art world that had completely transformed in her absence. When Shae joined Netvvrk two years ago, she was figuring out basics like digital documentation and artist statements. But through accountability groups and community support...

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information out there to help artists? In this episode of Art Problems Netvvrk member Maggie Hinders shares how the Netvvrk Navigator assessment transformed her artistic experience of this reality from "I can't do this" to "I can do this." Maggie talks about moving from using Netvvrk primarily for community connection to finally tackling the cu...

80% of artists struggle with the same problem: getting seen by curators, gallerists, and collectors. And solving this problem is like slaying a multiheaded Hydra—the tasks are endless. In this episode, we talk about how to conquer the Hydra. I break down the reasons artists get stuck, even when they're working hard. You'll learn why the order you tackle things matters more than the tasks themselve...

We're kicking off 2026 with artist William Powhida, whose 2017 work After the Contemporary predicted the future of art with unsettling accuracy. From the NEA closure to resource wars to Miami flooding, his satirical timeline keeps proving prescient. We discuss what he got right, what he missed (AI, influencers), and his predictions for 2026—including the rise of the "haute garde," the gambling-ifi...

In this episode, Paddy talks with art market analyst Tim Schneider about the New Visions Report 2025, a survey of over 1,000 visual artists about their working conditions. They discuss why even successful artists struggle with money, what separates artists who advance in their careers from those who don't, and the business practices that matter most. Tim shares insights from two decades covering t...

Artist and accountant Hannah Cole talks about her new book "Taxes for Humans"—your not-boring guide to taxation for self-employed artists. We discuss why tax education is deliberately kept from us, how to fix a messy tax situation without shame, and Hannah's secret agenda to turn artists into activists. Plus: tax-advantaged accounts, disaster relief benefits, and why it's worth investing in your p...

This week I'm extending a conversation I started in my revived Hyperallergic column: do you need a proper studio space to get studio visits? The answer is no—if you handle it properly. But the real question isn't about your space. It's how to network effectively so visits actually happen. I break down the exact timing strategy for outreach, why most networking fails in the follow-through, and how...

This week on the Art Problems podcast interview series "Inside Netvvrk", I'm wrapping up the series with Chris Moss, a painter and the artist advisor who leads all of Netvvrk's studio critiques. Chris has been with Netvvrk for years. He shares what it's like to go from being completely stuck to organizing a neighborhood studio crawl that brought hundreds of people through his door. We talk about w...

This week on the Art Problems podcast interview series "Inside Netvvrk", I'm talking with Brent Showalter, a multidisciplinary artist whose brilliantly colored paintings and photographs transform layered compositions of color and shape into vibrating surfaces. Brent runs multiple businesses and brings that same strategic mindset to his art practice. In doing so, he's able to devote more time to hi...

This week on the Art Problems podcast interview series “Inside Netvvrk”, I'm talking with Ann Marie Auricchio, an abstract painter who creates work at the intersection of psychological and physical experiences. Ann Marie shares what it's like to restart your art career after 25 years in another profession. She talks about why having all your materials ready isn't enough if you don't know how to us...

This week I'm launching 'Inside Netvvrk,' a new interview series with Netvvrk members. First up is Laurie Frick, a data artist and one of Netvvrk's founding members. In this conversation, we talked about what it's really like to invest in your career when you're already mid-career. Laurie doesn't sugarcoat it: Netvvrk isn't cheap, and you need to treat your career like it's worth investing in. But...

This week, accountant and artist Hannah Cole interviews me. As an artist who isn't (yet) a Netvvrk member, she had a lot of questions about how it helps mid-career visual artists. Who is it for? How does it work? What makes it different from a course? Do you really need it? We talk about why I started Netvvrk after years of cobbling together income from adjunct teaching and speaking fees, and how...

Eric Shiner, President of Powerhouse Arts joins the podcast to give artists the skinny on this new organization. This 170,000 square-foot nonprofit in Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood is fast becoming one of the most significant resources for artists in New York City. Eric walks me through Powerhouse's seven fabrication workshops (ceramics, printmaking, textiles, wood, metal, and more), their artis...

One of the most common challenges artists face is knowing when—and how—to hire help for their practice. This week, I'm breaking down the practicalities of hiring: from determining if you're ready, to figuring out what you can afford to pay, to managing assistants effectively.   I cover the key tipping points that signal it's time to bring on help, the difference between contractors, assistants, an...