This is all to say about the Parisian artists who survey the city's rooftops from their cramped workshops. When artist Margot Derhe comes to fetch me from the courtyard of a building in the lively 10th arrondissement, we take the elevator down into the network of caves – cellars where the occupants of the apartments above traditionally store their wine.
Despite the lack of natural light, Derhy's underground studio is cozy and inviting. The walls, floors and ceilings are entirely covered in wavy white plaster: more reminiscent of the fishermen's caves in the cliffs near Derhi's home in Massa, Morocco – where her father is from, and where she spends the winter months – than they are of white plaster. The French capital where I grew up.
The way her work environment challenges expectations is spot on. Alongside her career as an artist, Derhi, 38, is also the founder of Le Cercle de L'Art, an all-female collective that rethinks the way artists navigate their careers. “I want to break the image of the bohemian artist, disconnected from the world and economic reality,” Derhi said of the organization she started in late 2020. I want to show that artists, on the contrary, are powerful, not only in their practices but also in their ideas and ability to work.
Artists pay a monthly subscription of around €100, gaining access to events and opportunities designed to support them in their careers – such as online forums, residencies and talks from industry professionals, art historians and philosophers – in France. Once a year, as part of Art Month in April, artists put up for sale online a collection of about 15 works, which buyers get in advance but don't own until they pay for them in 12 monthly installments. Le Cercle members are encouraged to open their studios during the month, offering small perks to collectors (brunch at their studio, for example, or a discount on future purchases) and sharing how they use the income to grow their business (such as buying new equipment or moving to New studio space).
It's a simple idea, but its ambition is to alleviate the complex systemic challenges that female artists often face, such as isolation, irregular income and lack of confidence. Over a cup of ginger and hibiscus tea, Derhi explains how studying for a master's degree in painting in London opened her eyes to ways in which artists can work together. Not only did the students organize their own exhibitions, but simply “being in a group of 120 painters for two years, discussing painting, was an inspiration.” When she returned to Paris after graduation, she did not want to lose that sense of community. “I didn’t study in France and my friends were in the UK. So that was the beginning of the idea – and then Covid happened.”
The regular salary offered by the French government to freelancers during the first months of the lockdown was a revelation. For her and many of her peers, this relatively small measure of financial stability has led to an “amazing” sense of freedom. Therefore, Derhi decided to offer 12 works for sale on her Instagram page that can be purchased in monthly installments. Everything sold out within a few hours.
A few of her friends have tried this tactic as well, with equal success. I wonder: Wasn't Instagram already an effective way to sell businesses? “Honestly, it is not easy for artists to sell paintings online, especially on Instagram,” she answers. “You don't want to share prices online, and usually the people looking at the post aren't buyers, they're simply curious. There's no incentive to buy.”
Derhi decided to formalize the process, extending an open invitation to other French-speaking visual artists. More than 70 percent of the responses came from women, “which led me to recognize a particular resonance with female artists,” she says. The original “season” in 2021 attracted 20 artists. This April, 102 artists will participate in the fourth season. Half of this season's participants were selected again from the previous year. The rest came from about 300 applicants. “Numbers should be kept limited in order to maintain the quality of the experience,” Derhi says.
New members are selected on the strength of their work, but it is equally important whether Dirhi — and the few original members who help her filter applicants — feel they will join them. “We ask: Are they nice? Are they helpful? Will they want to donate to the community?” It's not for everyone,” she says. While she wants to broaden access, it helps if artists can easily get to Paris, where most of the activity takes place. It's also important that there is already some interest in their art. “It's mostly people who know the artists who buy [during Art Month]. If the artist doesn't have any pre-existing collectors, it won't work well in most cases – although we're often surprised. The ages of the artists this year range between 26 and 65 years.
Caroline Dervaux, 34, a painter and mural artist, is one of the beneficiaries. “Pushing the commercial side of my practice was really uncomfortable at first,” she says when we meet at her studio in Saint-Ouen, an up-and-coming suburb of Paris. “I'm much happier now when I say, 'This is my art. This is how much it costs.' I think it's great, and I think you should be a collector of my work,” she said with a laugh.
In addition to boosting her self-confidence, it was beneficial on a practical level. Referring to a lecture an accountant gave with Le Circle, Dervaux says that when she did her MA at Chelsea College of Art and Design 10 years ago, such guidance on the more realistic aspects of living as an artist was unheard of. Recently, when she was offered a commission at the Center Pompidou to make a large collage, a medium she was unfamiliar with, she was able to ask a Le Cercle artist for advice who had experience working with paper. After she was reassured, she felt able to accept the job.
Only 20% of participating artists have gallery representation, so I'm curious to see if organizations like this could threaten the usual sales channels. “I had never encountered anything like Le Circle before,” says Gabrielle Larocque, of Galerie Larocque-Granove, who organized an exhibition of 10 Le Circle artists last year. “I felt refreshed and positive. . . . Our work as gallerists involves thinking about the artist’s career in Long term, so I like to see artists gain confidence and realize their value.
Derhi simply hopes that Le Cercle can enable talented women to continue making art. “I think it's really hard to be an artist today,” she says. “I struggle almost every day. I just want to help artists feel more secure, happier and not give up.
Art Month runs until April 30, lecercle.art
