A young artist

A young artist needs—in fact, deserves—a safe space to test ways of behaving, thinking, dressing, making, seeing. A safe space to begin to build a personal vision, to fail and to learn healthy ways to give and take criticism. A safe space to acquire technical and conceptual skills to build a creative life.

In some ways this is no different than the space parents should create to prepare a child to become a productive adult. And, in this regard, the safe space must also nurture responsibility and generosity to the world in the young artist. The young artist must realize that the world is not configured to care about him or her. It’s the young artist’s task to take on the world fearlessly and responsibly, make it look at itself, make it reveal a new bit of meaning.