Come and playtest Working Artist Board Game, a multiplayer board game about being a working artist under capitalism—about the beauty and joy of making art, contrasted with having to leverage your creative practice as a commodity to survive. Players have to balance creating art, gaining recognition, tending to their community, paying rent, and determining their own definition of success as an artist.
Start by choosing your initial success or "win" condition (everyone starts out with a dream). Create art, and manage your player stats (Prestige, Money, Morale, and Artworks) while navigating opportunities or setbacks, both internal and external, in the pursuit of your goals.
This participatory art piece highlights and challenges the system of capitalism, and raises the question of how, perhaps, we can ultimately move beyond it. What is long-term artistic success? Can we actually win under the current rules of capitalism? Is this larger systemic critique too much to ask of a fun board game? Let’s find out!
From the Artist
As a multidisciplinary artist who has had to balance making art with earning a living throughout my entire career, this project is both a reflection of my experience and an aspirational coping mechanism.
Return to all sessions