heaven is a thing you do
There seems to exist an assumption that people are born with natural talent. This belief can certainly benefit artists who have unique processes (if their work is not easily replicable, then most viewers cannot assess its technical merit), but for the most part I think it excludes a lot of people who might produce valuable work given enough encouragement and resources. In the digital landscape, we are stuck with trends that homogenize our feeds and make art bland and predictable. People who have the ability to create interesting things either aren’t visible (due to the algorithm affirming trends by promoting posts with a historically high engagement rate) or are put off from sharing their work because it’s scary to do something different.
Nearly every day I confront the risk I’ve taken by using my real name/photo on social media, but I’ve been doing it for so long, that whoever this online person is might as well exist separate from the “real” me.