YES YES and YES... steem could be such a great place for artitsts!
On steem it is possible to create value by appreciating original creative ideas and the ensuing social engagement... In a way, it is making it possible to "reward" the human ingenuity... it's called "proof-of-brain" for a reason... and ART is certainly the most human act of creation possible only by our cognitive virtues.
That said, I believe steem is missing a good app to showcase media arts well. While steemit and other major apps like busy etc work well for generic content, audio/visual art often falls short. I'd love to see a "lightbox" feature for images on steemit (click to enlarge in layer without leaving the page) and better video/audio-embedding options.
I am convinced there will be huge potential with dedicated communities, SMTs and new frontend-services built around that.... but most of all, I believe the blockchain fundamentals hold tremendous potential for an art-driven-community... not even neccessarily ON steem itself.