Sharon Louden

the books

Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life Over 50

Edited by Sharon Louden
Published by Intellect Books (Early 2025)
Distributed by University of Chicago Press
More information: LiveSustain.org
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Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life Over 50 shines the spotlight on the lives of 31 artists over the age of 50, most of whom are underrepresented individuals whose voices the book amplifies. Although the marketplace generally overlooks these artists, their stories and careers are some of the most inspiring. They are mentors to other artists, having learned how to thrive and continue their creativity through decades of life's travails.

Their stories are being shared with the public so that their models can be replicated by all age groups, both within and beyond the art world. The focus is on this age group because, although the marketplace often overlooks these artists, their stories and careers are some of the most inspiring out there. They are mentors to other artists, having learned how to thrive and be creative through decades of life's travails.

Last Artist Standing will be Louden’s third publication in the series of Living and Sustaining a Creative Life books, but is part of the larger series involving other editors and contributors into 2030.

Last Artist Standing will address the following issues:  

1. the ability of artists over the age of 50 to remain contemporary as they adapt through generational shifts

2. artists give to the well-being of others and the backbone of freedom of speech

3. the physical, financial and professional challenges they overcome to remain vibrant and sustaining artists, and

4. their role as inspirational models to others who may be arriving late in their lives to the art-making world.

The selection criteria of each book in the series varies, but what is most common throughout the Last Artist Standing and the entire Living and Sustaining a Creative Life series of books is that every artist is forthcoming, humble, fearless, and generous to other artists in many ways. We learn how artists are exceptional examples of dedication, commitment, resiliency and giving to the well-being of others.

The Artist as Culture Producer:  Living and Sustaining a Creative Life 

Edited by Sharon Louden

Published by Intellect Books (2017)
Distributed by University of Chicago Press
More information: LiveSustain.org
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The Artist as Culture Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life is a collection of essays by 40 visual artists describing how they extend their practices outside of their studios. All of these contributors have impactful, artistic activities as change agents in their communities. Their first-hand stories show the general public how contemporary artists of the 21st century add to creative economies through their out-of-the-box thinking while also generously contributing to the well-being of others. Although there is a misconception that artists are invisible and hidden, the truth is that they furnish measurable and innovative outcomes at the front lines of education, the non-profit sector, corporate environments and our day-to-day lives. By sharing these examples, this book addresses how the myth of the "Artist Hero" is no longer relevant in today's society.

The following artists contributed essays to this book: 

Alec Soth (Little Brown Mushroom), Alison Wong (Butter Projects), Andrea Zittel, Austin Thomas, Billy Dufala and Steven Dufala (Rair Philly), Brett Wallace (The Conversation Project), Caitlin Masley, Cara Ober (BMoreArt), Carrie Moyer (Dyke Action Machine), Carron Little (Out of Site Chicago), Chloë Bass, Duncan MacKenzie (Bad at Sports), Edgar Arceneaux, Euan Gray, Faina Lerman and Graem Whyte, Jane South, Jayme McLellan, Jean Shin, Julia Kunin, Kat Kiernan (Don't Take Pictures), Khaled Sabsabi, Lenka Clayton, Mark Tribe, Martina Geccelli (Raumx London), Matthew Deleget (Minus Space), Michael Scoggins, Morehshin Allahyari, Paul Henry Ramirez, Peewee Roldan (Green Papaya Art Projects), Robert Yoder (Season), Sharon Butler (Two Coats of Paint), Shinique Smith, Stephanie Syjuco, Steve Lambert (The Center for Artistic Activism), Tim Doud and Zoë Charlton ('sindikit), Wendy Red Star, William Powhida.

Additional contributors include: 

Hrag Vartanian, Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder of Hyperallergic (Foreword), and Deana Haggag, Director of The Contemporary in Baltimore, MD, Courtney Fink, Co-founder of Common Field, and Chen Tamir Curator at the Center for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv, Israel (Conclusion).

To order this book, please visit the University Chicago Press website. 

Living and Sustaining a Creative Life:  Essays by 40 Working Artists 

Edited by Sharon Louden

Published by Intellect Books (2013)
Distributed by University of Chicago Press
More information: LiveSustain.org
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In this day and age, as art has become more and more of a commodity, many students graduating from art school believe that they will immediately make a living as an artist by obtaining gallery representation. One of the goals of this book is to dispel the belief that there is only one way to chart a path into a creative and sustainable life as an artist. This collection of essays is intended to show the reality of how artists -- from the unknown to the established -- juggle their creative lives with the everyday needs of making a living. They share with us in their own words how they are creative inside and outside the studio, both on a day-to-day basis and over the long haul. 

The following artists contributed essays to this book: 

Adrienne Outlaw, Amanda Church, Amy Pleasant, Annette Lawrence, Austin Thomas, Beth Lipman, Blane de St. Croix, Brian Novatny, Brian Tolle, Carson Fox, David Humphrey, Ellen Harvey, Erik Hanson, George Stoll, Jay Davis, Jennifer Dalton, Jenny Marketou, Julie Blackmon, Julie Heffernan, Julie Langsam, Justin Quinn, Karin Davie, Kate Shepherd, Laurie Hogin, Maggie Michael and Dan Steinhilber, Maureen Connor, Melissa Potter, Michael Waugh, Michelle Grabner, Peter Drake, Peter Newman, Richard Klein, Sean Mellyn, Sharon L. Butler, The Art Guys, Thomas Kilpper, Timothy Nolan, Tony Ingrisano, and Will Cotton. 

Additional contributors include: 

Carter E. Foster, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Prints and Drawings, Blanton Museum of Art (Introduction), and a conversation between Ed Winkleman, author, blogger, and former gallery dealer, and Bill Carroll, artist and Program Director, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Program (Conclusion). 

To order this book, please visit the University Chicago Press website. 

The Artist as Culture Producer and Essays by 40 Working Artists are part of the "Living and Sustaining a Creative Life" trilogy. Both have been supported by substantial Conversation Book Tours across the country and abroad, beginning in 2013. The final book, Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life, is scheduled to be released in 2020. It will also be published by Intellect Books and distributed by University of Chicago Press.

Conversation Tour Hashtag:  #LiveSustain

For more information, please visit:
LiveSustain.org