Frequently Asked Questions

Here are all the questions you've ever had, a few that you haven't.

Don't see what you're looking for? Get in touch.

Why just Melbourne?

Because Melbourne is awesome! But also, we're just getting started, and we want to make sure we can get this thing right before we put it on a bigger stage. Don't worry though, we have plans, and with any luck, they might involve your city. You can put in a request on our Art Me Up form.

What can I make?

How long is a piece of string? Seriously, we've never found that one out. But on a serious note, ArtNeedsFriends is for anyone who wants to make anything and is looking for a partner-in-crime (or partners) to help them make it. This could be something in the art space, or a side business, or even a charity or cause. Whatever your plan is, there might be someone who wants to collaborate with you for it. All you need to do is ask.

What if someone is abusing me?

People are people, and sometimes said people have good days and bad days. But if the empathy route doesn't work for you, let us know and we'll have a few quiet words with the person giving you trouble.

I found a problem, can you help?

You only found one problem? That's brilliant! Of course, we want to know about it. We can put it on our very long list of other problems just waiting to be solved. So just let us know, and we can get started on fixing it.

You’re charging me for things? For Calls? WTF?

We know, we know. We don’t like it any more than you do, but the truth is, it’s either we charge you to your face, or we do what Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn do and sell your data instead. And in truth, selling your data seems like a lot of work so we would rather stay away from that and stick to the things we know, like offering a small transaction with the idea that your data is relatively safe. It also fits with why we exist in this world, you know, to make life easier.

Do you have advertising?

We plan to have some advertising, and we're hoping that between some select sponsors and some Calls, we can keep the lights on and in doing so, bring us closer to our purpose. You can read all about our rules on our Advertise with us page. And have we told you about our purpose? Don't get us started.

What is a collaboration?

What is life? What is the deal with freakshakes? What is in a hot dog? There are some questions we will never know the answer to. But this isn't one of them.

Your collaboration will depend largely on what your project/hustle/endeavour/cause actually needs, or maybe what someone else's project/hustle/endeavour/cause needs, but it will be different for everyone. Maybe you make socks in your spare time, but you really want to partner with someone to do the marketing side of things. Maybe you're a guitar player, but despite being able to play other instruments too, you really need a drummer and a bass player to go on tour. Or maybe you're passionate about a social cause and you're really good at organising things but rubbish at making posters or taking photos.

Your collaboration will be different, and it will be up to you to decide how you define it. We're just here to make sure that you can.

Do I have to pay my collaborators?

Now that, will depend on the type of collaboration you have. A theory could be that as a team, everyone would benefit from the collaboration. But sometimes that doesn't work out, so it is up to you to decide how you would support your fellow collaborator.

For example, if you are a guitarist looking to join a band, when you get paid, you all get paid, as one of you relies on the other. However, if you are a photographer looking to take band photos, your collaboration might be dependent on money as you don't really rely on each other in the same way.

In the end, people are people, so we're sure that you can come up with a mutually beneficial solution.

What happens next for ArtNeedsFriends?

Right now, you! Yes, you. We need you. And when we have you, we can make other things for you. Overall, we want to make life better for you makers, artists, and hustlers, and we have a lot of plans about how to do that. Watch this space, or, um, a space, but ideally one on this website.

You say you're a tiny purpose-driven enterprise, what the hell is that?

We want to do big things for society, but we're also young and tiny, so we don't know whether this will be the vehicle to do it. But if we have a purpose, then if the idea of artists collaborating with other artists doesn't achieve our purpose in the way we want, then we can try something new that might do so. Whatever happens, we want our purpose to be at the forefront our of decisions. Every single decision we make, from the policies we make, to the features we develop, to the advertising we choose, relates to it achieving this purpose.

How do I use ArtNeedsFriends?

Like a screwdriver. No really. Unless you're a tradesperson, you probably don't use your screwdriver that much. But when you get home with that IKEA flatpack, you want your screwdriver to work and you know that it will. That is how you use ArtNeedsFriends. It will be there when you need it, because you need it, so you can simply rest and relax and pluck it out of your toolbox when the moment takes you.

Where do your photos come from?

From cameras! Oh, you wanted something more specific? Some of the great photos come from a little website called Unsplash, which offers great photos for the price of an attribution for the photographer, which seems pretty reasonable to us. Some of the other photos come from Paul Kristoff, the editor-in-chief of the brilliant food, travel, and culture website, The City Lane, who was kind enough to let us put them up there. You can see the full details on our credits page.

Mr. Burns: your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?

Uh, thank you?