What does it mean to build an art career somewhere? Not the edited version, not the highlight reel, but the day-to-day reality of navigating a local scene, finding your collectors, and working out how far your reach can go from where you happen to be standing.
We asked artists from across the VAA community to share their honest experience of making work and building a practice in their corner of the world. Here, Kristen Palana writes from Rome, and Tamara Andjus from Zurich.
Rome | Kristen Palana
Kristen Palana | Rome, Italy
Kristen Palana is an American/Portuguese interdisciplinary artist originally from Swansea, Massachusetts, now based in Rome. Her work centres on sacred geometry, healing symbols, and mixed media, and has been shown across every continent except Antarctica – through international film festivals, Vatican-owned spaces, and galleries across the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
On the scene
“In Rome you are surrounded by thousands of years of art history and some of the most visited museums and galleries in the world, and yet the contemporary art scene here is surprisingly insular. There are gallerists and curators who can be quite protective of their circles, and as a foreign artist, you quickly learn that the art world here runs more on relationships than resumes.
That said, I have found my way in, and it has been through openness rather than strategy. Joining Creative Lunch – a simple programme that matches you with two local creatives for a small quarterly fee – introduced me to people I never would have met otherwise. Participating in the VAA OpenSpaces programme pushed me to look for exhibition venues all over the city, which is how I connected with Francesca Parasiso Casale, a curator and wellness facilitator who became a genuine collaborator and friend. Together we created The Art of Reset, an immersive solo exhibition in a Vatican-owned space during Rome Art Week 2025.
What Rome is still missing, in my experience, is the kind of cooperative, community-based artist culture that exists in many North American cities – the open studios, the local art associations, the informal meet-ups where artists support each other rather than compete.”
Kristen Palana | kpalana.com
On collectors
“My collectors tend to be mission-driven people wherever they are in the world. People who believe that art is not decoration but intention.”
“My work is for idealists. I make art for the world we want to create, not the world as it is. The people who respond to that tend to be women who are interested in wellness, healing, and living with more purpose. They find me online as often as they find me in person, which is part of why building my digital presence has always been as important to me as building local connections.”
On building internationally before locally
“I was showing work in festivals across the world and selling prints to collectors in dozens of countries long before I had a foothold in any single city’s art scene. I used to think that was doing things backwards. Now I think it might actually be the future.”
The Art of Reset – Rome Art Week 2025
Zurich | Tamara Andjus
Tamara Andjus | Zurich, Switzerland
Tamara Andjus is a painter based in Zurich. Known for expressive, emotionally charged work – horses, figures, movement, colour – she has built an international career from one of Europe’s most serious, if quietly understated, art cities.
On the scene
“Zurich’s art scene is compact but unusually dense. It combines serious institutions, international galleries, collectors, fairs, foundations, and artist-run spaces within a small city. What makes it distinct is the balance between discretion and global ambition: things are not always loud, but the quality is high.
What is still missing is more openness for emerging and mid-career artists who are not already inside established networks. Zurich has resources, but access can feel quiet, formal, and relationship based.”
Work by Tamara Andjus | tamaraandjus.com
On opportunities others might not know about
“Switzerland has excellent funding and mobility structures. Pro Helvetia supports Swiss artists and international exchange. There are also city and canton-level grants, including work scholarships and foreign studio opportunities. For artists outside Switzerland, residencies and collaborations with Swiss venues can be very valuable – programmes such as Rote Fabrik AiR, Villa Sträuli, and Zurich Art Weekend can become entry points.”
On visibility and working around it
“The biggest challenge is visibility. Zurich is international, but it is also reserved. I work around this by not relying only on the local market.”
“My career has been built through a combination of Zurich presence, international exhibitions, online platforms, gallery relationships, and direct collector communication. As an artist whose work is expressive and emotional, I try to make the work accessible without simplifying it.”
On advice for artists wanting to connect
“Come prepared. Visit during Zurich Art Weekend. Apply for residencies and grants where eligible. Do not approach it only as a sales market; approach it as a long-term cultural network. Zurich respects artists who are professional, independent, and clear about their voice.”
What connects them
Rome and Zurich could not feel more different on the surface – one sprawling and ancient, the other compact and precise. But both Kristen and Tamara point to the same truth: in any city, the formal doors are slow to open. The artists who build sustainable careers are the ones who find the side doors, show up consistently, and build their digital presence in parallel with their local one.
“A true artist makes work wherever they are and with whatever they have. – Kristen Palana”
Join the conversation
Tamara Andjus will be joining VAA for a free Art Café: Crossing Borders – Building an International Art Career, where she will be sharing her experience of navigating the international art market, building collector relationships across borders, and sustaining a practice beyond any single city’s scene.
30th June, from 2pm BST
Book your free place: https://visual-artists.org/?p=36717