What was solid yesterday feels uncertain tomorrow

What do 75 creative people have to say about the year ahead?

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Jan 29, 2025

Last week we launched the first ever ANONYMOUS Creative Futures Report where 75 artists and creators shared their honest thoughts about 2025. The responses were surprising.

Yes, there were the expected concerns about AI, algorithms, and financial uncertainty. But there was also a current of possibility running through it all – artists imagining new ways forward, even as the ground shifts beneath our feet.

We’re already seeing this spark new conversations in the comments, our DMs, and with people out in the world. There’s disagreement about the pros and cons of artist-to-artist circular economies. Artists we admire are questioning whether the “no day job” idea is a worthy dream or just a fallacy of a system catered to those with independent wealth. Friends are curious about how to do their own version and keep the conversation going.

In many ways, this was the point. Creative people already have loads of ideas about what the future holds: what’s out there that could help us or deter us. What kinds of conversations can we have when we honor what we know and where our dreams can take us?

"What was solid yesterday feels uncertain tomorrow," one creator told us through the report. It's the kind of sentiment that hits different when you realize others are feeling it too. Putting these individual perspectives together shows a bigger picture of where we're headed and where we might want to go.

All 75 anonymous contributors are on the earnings split, meaning they’ll each get a portion of any sales this release makes. These 75 voices co-wrote this project, but don't all agree on the future. But together they map out the key tensions shaping creative practice today: independence vs. networks, digital reach vs. local impact, abundance vs. scarcity.

What makes this report unique is not just the insights of any individual creator, but the weight of these perspectives when brought together. There's power in sharing these stories and knowing we're not alone in our questions about what comes next.

In addition to the physical printed version we launched last week, you can now get your hands on a free digital version and pick out your own points of inspiration. We’ve also added a physical edition for collectors outside the US.

ANONYMOUS Creative Futures is not a blueprint. It's something better: an honest look at this moment through the eyes of people actively working to shape what comes next. Maybe something to return to periodically across the year.

Get a copy, find your people, tell us your thoughts.

COLLECT THE ANONYMOUS FUTURE REPORT

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