Dear artist,

Since 2010, we have been building structures where artists can develop their practices, become more visible, enter new professional contexts, and create relationships that continue beyond a single program or exhibition. We have created residencies, exhibitions, publications, educational programs, gallery projects, and an international community grounded in artistic exchange. We have seen artists find clearer language for their practices, develop new projects, sell work, form communities, and move into opportunities that once felt distant. We know the value of what we have built because we have witnessed its impact over many years.

Most of the people sustaining the Uncool Artist ecosystem are artists too. We understand the material and emotional realities of artistic life because we live them alongside the artists we serve. Every opportunity we create depends on real human labor. There are hours of listening, planning, writing, administration, curatorial attention, documentation, technical work, financial responsibility, and care behind what becomes publicly visible. We believe it is important to speak clearly about what sustains this work.

We operate through a for-profit legal structure in the United States. This structure allows us to remain independent, receive revenue, pay expenses, compensate labor, and continue developing programs and opportunities. Our for-profit fiscal status does not mean that we are accumulating wealth. The resources that enter the ecosystem are reinvested into labor, platforms, administration, exhibitions, documentation, scholarships, stipends, artist payments, gallery operations, and future projects.

I know the nonprofit system directly. I have worked closely with a nonprofit and participated in smaller nonprofit projects. That structure depends on fundraising, institutional relationships, administrative capacity, and financial reserves. It would require us to organize much of our time and energy around sustaining the institution before we could sustain the people doing the work and the artists it serves. As a Brazilian immigrant and woman artist, I have chosen a structure that allows me to work directly with artists and respond to the needs we encounter through the work itself.

Our independence is deliberate. It allows us to experiment, adapt, and build according to the values that shaped this ecosystem, and it also requires resources. Program payments sustain the knowledge, attention, labor, and relationships participants receive. Gallery income supports the work of presenting artists, contextualizing their practices, developing visibility, supporting sales, and cultivating relationships over time.

Our Artsy sales structure reflects these values. When a sale happens through our Artsy program, 75 percent goes to the artist, 20 percent to Uncool Gallery, and 5 percent to Artsy. Within our capacity, we continue to offer scholarships, access requests, stipends, and paid work for artists.

Mutual support has to move both ways.

We want to work with artists who value reciprocity, transparency, curatorial discernment, sustained relationships, and independent artistic structures. We want relationships where support circulates and where the people behind the organization are recognized as artists and workers too. We are comfortable not being for everyone. Clear values and aligned relationships allow communities to become stronger and more meaningful.

We are proud of what has been built since 2010, and we intend to continue with greater clarity about the resources, relationships, and shared responsibility that make the work possible.

With care,

Carolina Paz
Founder and Director