Talenthouse is on a mission to democratize creative work

Ello | Korean painter 08amEllo | 韩国绘画家 08am

Maintaining a strong digital presence is an important part of being a modern creative. This is especially true if you’re an artist hoping to attract brands for commercial collaborations. Attaching an e-mail address to your Instagram bio and waiting for DMs might do the trick if you’re already a top-tier influencer, but for emerging artists who haven’t gotten their lucky break, opportunities are few and far between. But what if artists could take a more proactive approach? What if, instead of relying on luck, there was a way for you to place your work directly in front of brands looking for creative talent?

如今想要成为一个当代创意人士，在线上经营个人品牌是非常重要的一部分，尤其当你想要吸引那些商业合作的时候。如果你已经有了大量的粉丝，那么在你的微博简历上附上一个电子邮箱，等待私信的到来，这可能会奏效，但是对于那些还没有得到幸运突破的新兴艺术家来说，这样的机会是非常少的。如果不是靠运气，有没有一种方法，能让你把你的作品直接展示在那些需要创意人才的品牌面前呢？

Talenthouse | Thai cartoonist Puck SawrealTalenthouse | 泰国漫画家 Puck Sawreal

Talenthouse | Filipino illustrator Joseph LunaTalenthouse | 菲利宾插画家 Joseph Luna

That’s the line of thought behind Talenthouse, an online platform that’s been facilitating creative collaborations between independent artists and global brands since 2009. The vision for Talenthouse, as co-founder Maya Bogle puts it, was to set up a “creative ecosystem and economy,” a welcoming space where users can not only showcase their work and connect to other like-minded individuals but also discover opportunities to get paid for their work. In the decade since its launch, it has introduced an expansive offering of creative briefs from big-name brands and top-tier ad agencies to its ever-growing community of artists, photographers, designers, and more.

“Without community, we are nothing more than a tech platform,” says Bogle. “If you focus on nurturing a creative community, on creating opportunities for them to be inspired by other creatives’ work, and collaborate on projects and to practice their craft with real-world briefs then you give them a reason to stay.”

这就是 Talenthouse 背后的思路。自 2009 年以来，这个在线平台就一直在促进独立艺术家和全球品牌之间的创意合作。正如联合创始人 Maya Bogle 说，Talenthouse 的愿景是要建立一个“创意人才的生态和经济系统”，在这里，人们不仅可以展示他们的工作成果、与其他志同道合的人联系，还能发现为他们的工作获得报酬的机会。在网站成立后的十年里，Talenthouse 向不断壮大的艺术家、摄影师、设计师社区，推出了由知名品牌和顶级广告公司提供的大量创作需求。

“没有创意社区，我们就只是一个技术平台。”Maya 说，“如果你专注于培育一个富有创造力的社区，为他们创造机会，让他们从其他创造性的工作中得到启发，在项目上进行合作，用真正的广告 brief 来练习他们的手艺，那么你就给了他们留下来的理由。”

Ello | Singaporean 3D artist LarrylkwEllo | 新加坡 3D 艺术家 Larrylkw

Ello | Hong Kong painter Sonya FuEllo | 香港绘画家 Sonya Fu

Ello | Indonesian digital collagist Evan LawrenceEllo | 印尼拼贴艺术家 Evan Lawrence

Ello | Indonesian designer Z.A SetiawanEllo | 印尼设计师 Z.A Setiawan

Talenthouse’s 2018 partnership with Ello, an art-focused social network, is a testament to their commitment to community building. “Ello represented a stunning, curated community of creators who wanted to showcase their work and engage a wider audience,” Bogle says. By opening its creative invites to Ello users, Talenthouse hopes for more artists to understand that they can make a living from their creative passions.

2018 年，Talenthouse 和专注于艺术的社交网络 Ello 合作，证明了他们对创意社区建设的承诺。“Ello 代表了一个令人惊叹的、有策划的社区的创作者社区，他们想要展示他们的工作，并吸引更广泛的观众。”Maya 说。通过向 Ello 用户开放其创意邀请，Talenthouse 希望更多的艺术家明白，他们可以通过自己的创作激情来谋生。

Ello | Malaysian graphic designer ZilinyeeEllo | 马来西亚平面设计师 Zilinyee

Ello | Indonesian illustrator & sculptor TobingdewiEllo | 印尼插画家与雕塑家 Tobingdewi

Since its genesis, Talenthouse has grown from housing portfolios and commission requests to actively setting up creative collaborations, engaging with artists and brands alike on a frequent basis. When working with brands, they’ll help shape briefs so that they can be easily understood by younger, amateur creatives. With artists, when their work is selected, team members from Talenthouse will sometimes take a hands-on approach and help them hone their vision into something that matches brand expectations. This is an invaluable mentoring process for many young creatives without experience working on commercial projects.

自成立以来，Talenthouse 已从一个上传作品集与委托要求的平台，发展到积极建立创意合作关系，经常与艺术家和品牌进行接触。在与品牌打交道的时候，他们会帮助设计创意方案，让较年轻的业余创意人才更容易理解创作需求。对于艺术家来说，当他们的作品被挑选出来时，Talenthouse 的团队成员有时也会插手帮助他们拓宽自己的视野，使其符合品牌预期。对于许多没有商业项目工作经验的年轻创意人员来说，这是一个非常宝贵的指导过程。

Talenthouse | Chinese photographer Bai DongyunTalenthouse | 中国摄影师 Bai Dongyun

In recent years, Talenthouse has begun to strengthen its presence in Asia. “We firmly believe that this region offers a wealth of incredible creative talent that we would love to uncover and showcase to the world,” Bogle says. “We have already identified over thousands of artists across Asia – particularly in the Philippines, India, and Indonesia. We’re also seeing a spike of interest from artists in China, Korea, and Japan and that’s just for starters.”

近年来，Talenthouse 开始加强其在亚洲的影响力。“我们坚信，这个网络社区供给了丰富且惊人的创意人才，我们愿意发现和展示给世界。”Maya 说，“我们已经找到了亚洲各地数以千计的艺术家，特别是菲律宾、印度和印度尼西亚的艺术家。我们也看到了来自中国、韩国和日本的艺术家们，而这仅仅是开始。”

Ello | Taiwanese illustrator artist RubaneeEllo | 台湾插画家 Rubanee

Ello | Singaporean painter BarbarianflowerEllo | 新加坡绘画家 Barbarianflower

Ello | Indonesian illustrator Ade MilhadEllo | 印尼插画家 Ade Milhad

Ello | Indonesian photographer Steven HardyEllo | 印尼摄影师 Steven Hardy

The idea of being a “starving artist” is often glamorized, as if hardship was a prerequisite to producing good creative work, but Talenthouse doesn’t believe in this in the least. It wants more people to understand that making a reasonable living through art isn’t so farfetched. With its mission to democratize creative work by allowing newcomers to compete with experienced artists, Talenthouse isn’t just helping young creatives get their foot in the door—it’s breaking down the door completely.

But even beyond providing artists a way to get paid for their work, the opportunities offered on Talenthouse are valuable in themselves. For young artists, these work experiences can be indispensable for growth, instilling the confidence that can set them up for long-term creative success. And it’s exactly this that makes Talenthouse so unique. Its vision is much more ambitious than just rewarding artists financially—it’s a platform that looks to empower the next generation of creatives.

俗话说“多吃苦才会吃香”，成为一个“饥饿的艺术家”可能听起来很有魅力，但是 Talenthouse 认为它并非如此。Talenthouse 想让更多的人明白，通过艺术谋生并非那么牵强。Talenthouse 允许新人与有经验的艺术家竞争，实现创意竞标，并不仅仅是帮助年轻的创意者进入这个领域——这完全打破陈规旧则。

除了为艺术家提供一种为他们的作品获得报酬的方式，在 Talenthouse 杂志上提供的机会本身也是有价值的。对于年轻的艺术家来说，这些工作经历对于成长是必不可少的，这可以给他们注入信心，长期以来可以使他们收获创意方面的成功。也正是这个原因，才使得 Talenthouse 如此独特。这是一个寻求授权给下一代创造性者的平台，而它的目标比仅仅满足艺术家的经济利益要远大得多。