Been to an art gallery lately? No, neither has anyone else in the world for the last month or so. The shutdowns and government restrictions meant that Australia’s galleries were some of the first venues to close, and our artists some of the first (and worst) affected financially. But a pair of photographers from regional Victoria have come up with an oh so simple way to allow artists to keep earning.
Cream Town is an online collective and shop that showcases artists affected by the shutdowns. The initiative comes from two photographers, Isaebella Doherty and Bronte Pleasance, who built the platform to directly help artists affected by the crisis.
Both photographers come from Castlemaine in Dja Dja Wurrung country, where Doherty was moonlighting in hospitality to supplement her work as an artist. After losing her job she reached out to Pleasance with the idea to sell prints online for the flat rate of $100 a pop. One day later, Cream Town was live.
Almost all artists featured on Cream Town are Australian and all have been affected by ongoing shutdowns. At the time of writing, the collective has showcased more than 150 artists and has sold over $22,000 worth of art.
Cream Town focuses on selling A3 art prints, with all prints costing an incredibly affordable $100. Of that $100, $48 goes to the artist, $32 goes to Hound and Bone (Cream Town’s Melbourne printer) and Cream Town takes $20. So when you’re buying a print, you really are supporting artists.
Speaking of those prints: Cream Town features work by artists like Georgia Smedley, Lilli Waters, Quince Frances, Georgina Mckay, Zoe Harriet, Julia Chetwood and heaps more (personally, we’re loving Carla Scotto’s ‘Climate Stability Is My Kink’ print). Designs cover everything from black and white photographs, psychedelic collages, minimalistic sketches, cute-as-a-button animal illustrations and colourful graphic paintings. Your problem will not be what to buy, but what not to buy.
Prints currently on the website are only available until May 1, when Cream Town will be introducing additional print sizes (A2 and A1, at an additional cost), the option of framing, and increasing the number of artists they can showcase, with the selection of print designs changing monthly. If you’re an artist, Cream Town is also on the lookout for new submissions – you’ve got until April 26 to submit your work.