ARTST Guild & Gallery is an online community for artists to share their work, their ideas and their passion recently launched by Pharrell Williams. The name ARTST comes from Pharrell’s idea that “There is no I because it’s not about me.” “Being in N.E.R.D. you’ll notice that we always send out messages about what kids can do, what they can become, you can wait for the stars to align for you or you can reach up into the sky and align the stars. We created this network to give people an opportunity to get the visibility they deserve, to reach into the sky.” says Williams. The Genre of art is not limited at all spanning from music to architecture to painting and even digital.

Artst.com Gallery

I definitely love the concept of the site however it is a little sparse on the community aspect, mainly allowing you to search through the work of members of the site. There is a forum for discussions that are taking place within the community as well. With the amount of functionality we have become accustomed to with apps labeled as a “social network” or “community” Artst is a sharp departure. While I would love to see something that leverages current open API’s the simplicity of the site isn’t necessarily bad if you just like looking at art…I do. However, if you are looking for a more robust way to network within the Art community you won’t find it here just yet. Pharrell gives his reasons for starting the community and what it really is about below:

We reach out to Pharrell and his team to see if we could get some insight into the possibility of leveraging other social networks on the site but was unable to get an answer. However, when we asked “What the sites goal is…to reach a critical mass or to stay somewhat boutique?” He told us this:

Our basic aim is to bring creative people together to connect, compare and critique while enthusiast may find their favorite artist to follow or next piece of work to collect. So far a couple of people have gotten work by being on our site.

We want to offer the future holders of our world the visibility that will take them a step closer to their dreams.