Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life

Edited by Sharon Louden
Publishing date: 2020

Last Artist Standing will be the third publication in a series of Living and Sustaining a Creative Life books. Published by Intellect Books and distributed by the University of Chicago Press, each book consists of 40 working artists sharing their first-hand accounts of how they sustain their creative lives over time. This third book will shine the spotlight on the lives of artists over the age of 50, most of whom will be women.

I am focusing on this age group because, although the marketplace often overlooks these artists, their stories and careers are some of the most inspiring out there. They are mentors to other artists, having learned how to thrive and be creative through decades of life's travails. I want to share these stories with the public so that their models can be replicated by all age groups, both within and beyond the art world.

Last Artist Standing will address the following issues:  1) the ability of these artists to remain contemporary as they adapt through generational shifts  2) the physical, financial and professional challenges they overcome to remain vibrant and sustaining artists, and 3) their role as inspirational models to others who may be arriving late in their lives to the art-making world.

The selection criteria of each book varies, but what is common throughout the series is that every artist is forthcoming, humble, fearless, generous to other artists in many ways, professional, can relay truth in a positive way, and is comfortable revealing the nitty-gritty of his or hers' everyday life.