The Effect of Art Theft

If you follow me on instagram, then you may already know about the recent art theft that has been at the top of my thoughts for the last few days. I was alerted by a couple of people that, to my surprise, a piece of my artwork was being sold as products on Amazon by a person or company that I did not give permission to.

Art theft is a violation, not only to me personally, but to the narrative that my work is based around and the audience that I cater to.

As an independent artist in this digital-driven space, this kind of theft has definitely been a concern for me since I began creating work and publishing it online. But as a young artist, the legal fees needed to copyright and trademark my work has never been an option. I graduated from college only seven months ago. I was not at all financially prepared to protect my work the way I knew it needed to be. I only wanted to create work that could touch people and make them feel seen in the art world. I’m incredibly happy to have managed to do that this year, but with that attention on my work comes people with intentions that do not serve me or my community. I’m disappointed more than anything. To see my work stolen from me, produced, and sold is a violation. To see my efforts to get the products removed met with ‘not enough evidence,’ and continue to be sold by someone without my permission, is a horrible feeling. It leaves you feeling powerless. But feeling powerless is not what my work is about. Black women are stolen from constantly, so I can’t say I’m surprised to have experienced this. But I’m using this experience to move forward with more protection.

I want to continue making my work and reaching new people. I want to continue to help Black women and women of color feel seen, heard, and cherished. Going forward, changes have to be made to protect my work and myself from people with poor intentions.

I’m thankful that I have an amazing group of people supporting my art and my message. I want to continue with my shop update, originally scheduled for mid July 2020. But after experiencing art theft firsthand, my priorities have to be reorganized. Prices and sizing options for the shop pieces will reflect the current top priority of handling legal fees needed to protect my work. My social media has also been set to private while I begin the process. I will return to a public account eventually, but for now I need to make sure that my work is limited to a smaller audience. My website portfolio will still be available to view. I encourage anyone who wants to share to do so via the website. With all these changes come legal fees to protect and trademark my work. If you have the means, please donate to help me make this happen.

I am so thankful for the people who admire my work with respect. I want to continue creating, and I intend to do so safely going forward.

Britney Symone