We help artists find their people
Southwest Art Towns is a mission-driven online community of visual artists in the Southwest and their fans. It’s designed to provide a dedicated space to enable connections, build community, and foster collaboration across our vast region.
This is a place for those who crave deeper relationships and the ability to connect with other artists and art patrons on a more personal level.
We help artists find their people.
Need help finding people who want to buy your art?
Do you know who your ideal clients are? Do you know how to find them?
Download our free Ideal Client Profile Builder pdf worksheet.
Find your people
Who are you looking for?
Would you like to find people who make the same sort of art that you do? Painters, sculptors, weavers, welders, photographers; artists who work with the same kinds of materials you work with, who use similar tools; those sorts of interesting people, doing interesting things. This is where you can find them. If they aren’t here yet, they soon will be. And they’ll be looking to connect with artists like you.
When you find them, or they find you, you’ll quickly learn what you have in common, what you do differently, where they’ve been, and where they want to go. When you talk about your work you’ll see them light up. You’ll know that this person gets it. That they know how it feels to feel so strongly about creating these things, this art, that brings joy. To oneself, and to others.
On Southwest Art Towns you’ll find other people who work in media familiar to you, or with new things that you have been wanting to try. You’ll also find artists who live and work in places you’ve been wanting to visit, or have been returning to for years, or maybe right in your own art town. And when you join those discussions and talk about your own work, those amazing artists will be able to find you, too.
Build your audience
Who do you want to reach? Who do you want to share your work with?
Your true audience is the people who care about your work, want you to succeed, and want to be a part of your journey. Sure, they like your art. But what they are really drawn to is the artist. They want to know why you made that piece, what inspired you, what you were feeling at the time, and how you are are feeling about it today.
Southwest Art Towns is a place to share those stories. And to hear, and learn, from others.
Grow your business
Would you like to earn more money from your art? To feel confident when you set a higher price? Get better at selling? Build your business skills?
That can happen here.
Joining a community of artists will help you learn from their experiences, their mistakes, their successes. It will help build your confidence. Improve your skills. And grow your business.
Looking to build some specific business skills? Take a look at our Professional Development Courses for creative entrepreneurs.
The power of non-toxic community
Social networking, without the ick
Remember when people online were kind to one another? When you could say something, or just ask a simple question, and it didn’t turn into a shouting match among strangers? When folks thought for a moment before firing off an angry response that really doesn’t mean anything, in any meaningful way? When you could walk away from the screen without feeling like you needed to take a shower to get rid of all that ick?
We remember that. And that it wasn’t so long ago.
And that’s what we are building here. A community that is kind, thoughtful, generous, and welcoming.
A place where people genuinely care about one another, about each other’s feelings, and about how the words they type or tap onto the screen are received, and perceived. About what those words mean, with the understanding that words have meaning, and that people matter.
Our mission
To create and grow an online platform for artists in the Southwest to enable connections, build community, and foster collaboration.
The strength of authenticity
Most people in our community like to be known by their real names. And most are happy to show their faces. That goes a long way toward authenticity, honesty, personal responsibility, and mutual respect.
If the online spaces you used to enjoy have become overrun with bots, fake accounts, and AI content, this might be the place for you.
Memberships
Participating in our community requires a membership. We have affordable annual paid memberships for artists and art fans. And we have free membership plans that still offer lots of value. If you think you’re ready to join us, compare our membership levels and pick the plan that’s right for you.
From the blog
About us
Southwest Art Towns was founded by Val Weston and J. Brandon. We are partners in both business and life based in Silver City, New Mexico.
