Dear Babs,

What advice might you give to an older artist who would like to return to making art after a two-decade hiatus? I experienced a dead-end art career in my mid-40s, showing in copious group shows and occasional college gallery solo shows. I want to return to making art, but I am terrified about re-entering the art world and that no-man’s land where I seemed to have been stuck with no gallery representation.

—Over-the-hill career artist

Dear Over The Hill,

The bad news is that breaking out of that old exhibition cycle is still hard. As you probably know, it’s extremely unlikely for any artist to get the kind of gallery representation you desire. But the good news is you don’t need to keep chasing the expectations from your past life.

A few hundred years ago, the people we call “modern artists” escaped the Academy—where success depended on one’s ability to appease a conservative system of gatekeepers—by embracing new venues for exhibiting, selling and talking about art. The art world of 20 years ago seems ancient as well, given it was defined almost entirely by in-person connections, analog technologies and outdated notions of what it meant to be successful. In 2022 there are many ways to succeed as an artist in many art worlds that don’t necessitate gallery representation. These days you can make your art, put it online and immediately have a larger global audience willing to look at, respond to, and buy your work than ever before. Nothing is guaranteed, but you have better chances at sustaining your art practice now than you did two decades ago.

Sure, you might not get the acclaim you were conditioned to want back in the day, but why should you care? Your job now is to get your art into the lives of people who want and need it. If you need a gallery to do that, then so be it, but don’t wait for them to find you. Just make your art and get it in front of as many eyeballs as possible. I’d love an update from you in the next year or so. I’m sure you’ll surprise yourself and all of us in the process.