You have something special you want to share with the world.

Say it’s an art piece. A short story. A collection of poems or some doodles that you’ve compiled. Maybe even a piece of music or an experimental sound gallery that you’ve been working on. You’ve acted as a creator, an artist, and now you want other people to see it. 

But you’re just not quite sure how.

It can be intimidating going from the process of creation to the process of sharing, especially for student artists who might not have experience showing their work to others. That’s alright. You can start small. 

Here are some of the ways that you can share your work with the world.

Low-stakes situations.

It can be as simple as just sharing your work with your friends.

Not every piece of art needs to shake the world to its foundations (though, if you can manage that, it’d be amazing). If you’re looking to share what you’ve made with others, sometimes the best choice is the people closest to you. Once you make sure they’re okay with seeing or hearing what you have for them, it can be an immensely rewarding experience to share your art with your friends and trusted acquaintances. They know you, after all, and you know them! If you’re comfortable sharing other aspects of your life with them, why not this?

Personal propagation.

If you want to go further, however, it can be difficult. Showing your work to friends and trusted acquaintances is one thing, but sharing with strangers? That’s on another level. Or so it would seem. The truth is, as intimidating as it might be to give your work to be appraised by strangers, in many ways, it can be liberating. Think of your art as à la carte; everyone has their own style and tastes. If a stranger doesn’t like yours, they can move on. If they do like it, then that’s someone whose day you’ve made better just by giving them something to enjoy.  

You can provide that joy by your own merit. The advent of the internet has made it incredibly easy to share your works through platforms like Facebook, X, or YouTube. If you’re looking for something more analogue, try making a zine (a grassroots short-form sort of magazine), doing a public reading, or even a rehearsal. Sometimes, taking the sharing of your work into your own hands is the best thing you can do.

Calls for submissions.

But what if you’re looking to go even farther? 

If you’re looking to get as many eyes on your work as possible, it can be helpful to have a more organized delivery method. In cases like these, you should turn to calls for submissions from local groups and publications. UBCO is home to more than a few, including but not limited to Paper Shell, That’s What [We] Said, and beyond.

Even The Phoenix News is always accepting student submissions. If you have something you need the world to see, we’re more than happy to receive and review your work — such as short essays, poems, photography, comics, and art — and let you know if it’s something we’d like to publish. You can email your submissions to management@thephoenixnews.com. 

Wherever you submit your work, there’s no guarantee that it will be accepted, of course. There never is a guarantee with these kinds of things. Ultimately what is and isn’t shared is in the hands of the editors and publishers you’re appealing to, but as long as you’re willing to take that step in advocating for yourself, you’re doing far more than if you had chosen to keep your work locked up.

Festivals, galleries, and beyond.

For some artists, everything mentioned above is still not enough. It may be that the previous methods don’t work quite conveniently for their medium, such as with filmmakers or experimental artists, or it may be that you’re simply hungry to push for more.

In cases like these, it becomes a little more complicated, however. Different mediums have different paths for getting your work shared at a professional level. In these sorts of cases, it’s best to do your own research. See what galleries are looking for student art to share, what film festivals are searching for submissions, or what journals and magazines could use a story like yours. Whatever the case, find what’s right for you. Just be sure to remember two things. First, know that the odds of getting published are never in your favour, something that becomes more true the further you get in scope. Second though, and important to remember in the context of the first:

Be willing to share.

I can’t count the number of artists I’ve seen stumble at the finish line. They’ve got a fantastic piece prepped and ready to go, something they’ve poured their heart and soul into and can’t wait for the world to see, only to give up and keep it to themselves right once everything is ready.

There isn’t anything inherently wrong with deciding not to share your work. It is yours, after all, and what you do with what you’ve created should be decided by you. With that said, it’s often worthwhile to try and share your work anyway. It doesn’t have to be in the context of a journal, a competition, or even anywhere public. Sometimes, just sharing your work with your close friends is enough.

In any case, it never hurts to try. Being brave enough to share your work with others is a struggle, but every time an artist spreads their wings and shows the world what they have created, the world becomes just that little bit richer and more interesting.