GYST

There’s a lot more to being a professional artist than just making art full time. Artists need to organize visual records of their work, develop artist statements, maintain contact lists, and track exhibits in which their work is shown. GYST is a software program designed by artists, for working artists, to make the business aspects of being an artist much simpler.

The program, which comes in a Basic and a Pro version, allows users to easily manage the business of selling artwork. While both versions offer tools to track artwork, archive resumes and artist’s statements, and offer legal information, the Pro version offers additional tools like sample contracts, condition reports, insurance information, and the ability to track expenses for supplies. Both versions are available for a 30-day free trial and come in PC and Mac versions

GYST has also published a manual for artists, offering advice on grant writing, residencies, and gallery representation, for example. There are worksheets and a reference section as well.