Infrastructures for Inspiration: The Routine Construction of Creative Identity and Inspiration

TL;DR

This paper examines how online platforms influence visual artists' routines of building creative identities and finding inspiration, highlighting the role of platform design in supporting artistic practices.

Contribution

It provides an empirical analysis of how online platforms mediate artists' creative routines and suggests design improvements to better foster inspiration.

Findings

Platforms support disciplined and spontaneous creative practices.

Passive inspiration seeking is increasingly prevalent.

Small community spaces help artists negotiate their identities.

Abstract

Online, visual artists have more places than ever to routinely share their creative work and connect with other artists. These interactions support the routine enactment of creative identity in artists and provide inspirational opportunities for artists. As creative work shifts online, interactions between artists and routines around how these artists get inspired to do creative work are mediated by and through the logics of the online platforms where they take place. In an interview study of 22 artists, this paper explores the interplay between the development of artists' creative identities and the, at times, contradictory practices they have around getting inspired. We find platforms which support the disciplined practice of creative work while supporting spontaneous moments of inspiration, play an increasing role in passive approaches to searching for inspiration, and foster numerous small community spaces for artists to negotiate their creative identities. We discuss how platforms can better support and embed mechanisms for inspiration into their infrastructures into their design and platform policy.