What is the Handbook for Emerging Artists?

The Handbook for Emerging Artists is written by Christian Bazant-Hegemark, an artist predominantly working in drawing, painting and code.

The Handbook is my attempt at ordering the chaos that accompanies being an artist. It wants to support artists on their path to lead more fulfilled lives: by offering a structural analysis of the fine arts world, and providing actionable strategies to enable self-informed, proactive and individual solutions.

The Handbook doesn’t discuss specific artistic media or country-specific information; it’s intended for international use. Topics are grouped into Artistic Practice, Business and Personal Development. Each chapter poses and answers a question – in a short, concise manner.


About me

My experiences are based on various work backgrounds: I’m a self-employed artist with representation in Germany and Austria, and over twenty solo shows. I managed a non-profit art space and a startup gallery, and curated over thirty exhibitions (most of which featured exclusive texts about the artists, as well as public artist talks) while writing my PhD thesis. Apart from endless studio talks and various workshops, the Handbook has its roots in my YouTube channel “On Doubt”, where creatives of all media discuss their work. Before all things art, I used to program video games for several years (GTA, Max Payne, Manhunt and other IPs).

Since I began writing the handbook, its contents have been used in various classes and workshops I’ve held at the virtual art school “Pushing Colored Dirt”, for alumni of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, for specific students at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, at Kunstschule Wien and for many deep dives with artists of all media and backgrounds.

Portrait of Christian Bazant-Hegemark, (c) Eva Kelety

The Handbook grows constantly: subscribe to its mailing list or follow me on Instagram if you want to stay up-to-date.

Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist. This site and its content is for informational and educational purposes only, and should not be considered therapy or any form of treatment.


Contact

You can contact me via mail and follow me on Instagram.