The Art Biz Art World Gatekeeping Forces Artists to Compete with Damien Davis (254)
Jan 22, 2026
52:24
Damien Davis is a visual artist and writer who questions the art world's power structures from an artist's perspective. In this conversation with host Alyson Stanfield, he exposes the gatekeeping mechanisms—from application fees to institutional approval—that keep artists competing for artificially scarce opportunities instead of recognizing the abundance they could create together.
Damien reveals:
- How learning business skills like grant writing and fundraising allowed him to stop waiting for gatekeepers and reclaim his studio practice
- Why he defines a successful artist as simply someone who keeps making art, regardless of galleries or institutional validation
- How barriers like application fees serve to keep artists competing for resources that should be abundant
- Why people at the center of the art ecosystem benefit from keeping artists in perpetual competition with each other
- How his writing exposes exploitation directly while his colorful sculptures draw viewers into uncomfortable conversations about erased histories
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