This is it, art-lings.
Notwithstanding the dubious ego boost of being featured on Finnish television (with Part II, on the proposed Helsinki Guggenheim, airing today), I’ve come to an obvious, long overdue conclusion: There’s not enough financial support out there from you—CultureGrrl‘s devoted readers—to justify continuing this five-and-a-half-year experiment in trying to build something journalistically worthwhile and financially viable. But I’m willing to wait three more weeks for you to prove me wrong.
One of the parts of my edited Finnish interview that didn’t make it onto the program concerned the unremunerative nature of this solo enterprise. I have just totaled my dismal take for 2011. I’ll share it with you—slightly less than $1,400 (including donations and ads), for a year out of my finite professional life. What am I thinking?
Blogging has been a labor of love and it’s in my blood. I believe (as I told the Finns) that it’s important, and I’d like to think that CultureGrrl has been regarded as such by its devoted, sophisticated niche audience.
So here’s the Grrl’s last gurgle:
If 100 readers are willing to donate $20 each within the next three weeks to express appreciation for last year’s edition of CultureGrrl (or if a different combination of readers and benefactions achieves the same monetary goal), I’ll continue. Given the size of my audience, that’s a relatively modest goal. But it seems unlikely to be realized, in light of the record so far.
If I don’t get this vote of confidence, I’m going to take off at least a month, beginning Jan. 9, to undergo blogging-addiction withdrawal and seek other opportunities. I don’t know yet whether I’ll relapse in February. But my month’s hiatus isn’t an empty threat; it’s a promise.
If you value CultureGrrl, there’s an easy way to encourage me to continue. For those who may view me as a thorn in the side of the artworld: Don’t give.
I doubt I’ll withdraw from all online activity: You may occasionally find me on Twitter or, if there’s something I feel I absolutely must expound upon, there’s always the equally unremunerative (but much more widely read) Huffington Post. I will continue, for a time, to link to any mainstream-media work in the middle column of CultureGrrl (labeled “NEW!“, to help you find it).
I’ll announce the results of CultureGrrl’s Last-Gasp Fund Drive on Jan. 9. Whatever happens, it’s been rewarding and fun. I thank you, readers, for your interest, insights, news tips and many words of appreciation.
In an event, we still have three more weeks together. So much to tell you, so little time!