The Artist as Culture Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life

Edited by Sharon Louden
Published by Intellect Books (2017)
Distributed by the University of Chicago Press

Available now from University of Chicago Press and Amazon.
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The Artist as Culture Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life is a collection of essays by 40 visual artists. Edited by artist and educator, Sharon Louden, the book describes how artists extend their practices outside of their studios. All of these contributors have impactful, artistic activities as change agents in their communities. Their first-hand stories show the general public how contemporary artists of the 21st century add to creative economies through their out-of-the-box thinking while also generously contributing to the well-being of others. Although there is a misconception that artists are invisible and hidden, the truth is that they furnish measurable and innovative outcomes at the front lines of education, the non-profit sector, and corporate environments.

The following artists contributed essays to this book: 

Alec Soth (Little Brown Mushroom), Alison Wong (Butter Projects), Andrea Zittel, Austin Thomas, Billy Dufala and Steven Dufala (Rair Philly), Brett Wallace (The Conversation Project), Caitlin Masley, Cara Ober (BMoreArt), Carrie Moyer (Dyke Action Machine), Carron Little (Out of Site Chicago), Chloe Bass, Duncan MacKenzie (Bad at Sports), Edgar Arceneaux, Euan Gray, Faina Lerman and Graem Whyte, Jane South, Jayme McLellan, Jean Shin, Julia Kunin, Kat Kiernan (Don't Take Pictures), Khaled Sabsabi, Lenka Clayton, Mark Tribe, Martina Geccelli (Raumx London), Matthew Deleget (Minus Space), Michael Scoggins, Morehshin Allahyari, Paul Henry Ramirez, Peewee Roldan (Green Papaya Art Projects), Robert Yoder (Season), Sharon Butler (Two Coats of Paint), Shinique Smith, Stephanie Syjuco, Steve Lambert (The Center for Artistic Activism), Tim Doud and Zoë Charlton, Wendy Red Star, William Powhida.

Additional contributors include:

Hrag Vartanian (Foreword), Editor-in-Chief  and Co-founder of Hyperallergic; Deana Haggag, Program Director for Arts and Culture at Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Courtney Fink, Co-founder of Open Fung, and Chen Tamir, Associate Curator at the Artis Contemporary in Tel Aviv, Israel (Conclusion).

Quotes on the Back Cover

Adam Weinberg, former Alice Pratt Brown Director, Whitney Museum of American Art
"This manual is a testimony to the belief that art can, does and must have an existence that goes beyond the reach of the art market. These intimate essays have a disarming frankness, disclosing the lives of artists from the inside out rather than the outside in. They reveal how social action derives from self-reflection and such artists turn personal hardships and financial difficulties into new practical models.”

Ben White, Chief Economic Correspondent at POLITICO
“This fascinating set of essays reminds us that artists are not mysterious figures cloistered in studios but vital cultural contributors working right alongside the rest of us to bring beauty, truth, joy and economic value to a society that needs all of these things more than ever.”

Valerie Cassel Oliver, The Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)
"This book not only demystifies the illusion of what it means to be an artist but also positions the artist as a catalyst for productive change in our contemporary society. Insightful and inspiring, these artists align their talents with ideals of citizenship, rejecting isolationism in favor of engagement."

Jonathan T. D. Neil, former Director, Sotheby's Institute of Art & The Center for Management in the Creative Industries, Claremont Graduate University
"This brilliant collection of personal stories about what it means to be an artist in the twenty-first century should finally shred that sepia-toned and nostalgic image of the solitary, studio-bound outsider with chisel or paintbrush in hand. The ingenuity and perseverance on display here is simply awe inspiring."

Wassan Al-Khudhairi, former Ferring Foundation Chief Curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
"The Artist as Culture Producer is a collection of stories that creates transparency into artists' lives today, inspiring audiences to challenge their ideas of the impact artists can make in our communities." 

Steven J. Tepper, President, Hamilton College
"Sharon Louden is our modern day Giorgio Vasari. With her second collection of artist essays, she has become one of most important chroniclers of the lives and experiences of artists working in the 21st century. Louden has brought us an amazing group of working artists who are imagination partners, creative entrepreneurs and exemplars of the new ways artists are working in the world."

Printing in the United Kingdom by Gomer Press Ltd on sustainably sourced Claro Silk paper using vegetable based inks. Format: 230 x 170mm portrait.
Copy editing by Susannah Schouweiler.
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The Artist as Culture Producer was launched on March 2, 2017.

The Artist as Culture Producer is the second in the Living and Sustaining a Creative Life trilogy. The first was Essays by 40 Working Artists, and the final book, Last Artist Standing, was released in May 2025, also published by Intellect Books and distributed by University of Chicago Press.