a commentary on art in the more distant regions of global artmaking

It occurs to me that though many artists well known in their communities are not necessarily earning a living from that fact (something that keeps me from being annoyed by who gets recommended for "genius grants"...usually they could use the money), some who deserve national acclaim are doing okay, and it would be nice if there were a way of separating out the vehicles of recognition from the cash awards.

There are indeed artists who have a decent income already who deserve to be better known in the world at large, in any city you care to name. And there used to be non-cash-award touring exhibitions that featured the art of the people who were already "emerged" locally but utterly unknown past the city limits or outer reaches of the conurbations within which they resided. But now cash awards and their attendant press releases seem to be the only vehicle with which to publicize such folks to the entire planet.

I remember well when the corporations yanked the funding for the touring shows during the last great economic downturn, which devastated the art world more lastingly than it did the corporations or the country.