As an exhibiting artist, you have key responsibilities regardless of where you show and sell your art.
Never assume that venues (art galleries, nonprofit spaces, co-ops) will do all of the work for you. They have much on their minds and can’t give you their full attention.
Here’s a list of things to think about.
The Artist's Responsibilities for Any Exhibition Read
You don’t really think about art exhibition labels until you can’t read them or they look like a sloppy afterthought.
In order to give yourself proper credit for your art, it should have an object label next to it—wherever it’s shown, in person or online.
The only wrong way to do this is to not do it at all. I suggest you standardize your format so that it’s easy to use every time.
Pointers on Wall Labels for Your Art Exhibition Read
It’s difficult to curate a show of your own work—to separate your complex feelings following the creative process. It might be helpful when necessary to think about your art like a museum thinks about its collections.
Museums have permanent collections that they own, but they don’t keep the work in one place. They present fresh viewpoints, mixing up the pieces to give new perspectives. They also approach curating as an additive process. You start with the best and add only what will strengthen the curatorial thesis.
A museum would never try to cram as much as possible into one show.
Curating the Art on Your Artist Website Read
In the spring of 2018, Cathy Read took my Magnetic You course for artists. One of the most important lessons is to meditate on your art.
Cathy wrote pages and pages about a new body of work. Then she got an idea from another lesson to leverage all of that writing she had done. She put it to work and turned her written stories into audio for an exhibition.
Turning journaling into audio for your art show with Cathy Read (43) Read
Solo exhibitions, as well as 2- or 3-person shows, deserve your full attention.
If you have an important exhibition coming up, give it the (virtual) space it deserves. Create a page on your website for your show.
You probably already have a page for all of your exhibitions, but I’m talking about a single page that features only your special show.
This will be the premier place you send people for details about the exhibition, which will be easy for people to read because it only has one focus. It doesn’t include anything else.
Why would you share this info only on Facebook or in an email when you can create a storefront for your art? You’re paying for the virtual real estate already. Might as well use it!
Everything will be in one spot rather than scattered around online or in someone’s inbox.
The URL (website address) should be one that’s easy to share and to remember rather than a string of slashes and numbers. This isn’t always as easy if you have a template site, but make it happen if possible.
Here’s what your exhibition page should include, and I suggest listing everything in this order.
How to Promote an Art Exhibition on Your Website Read
There are all kinds of places where you could show your work.
Coffee shops would love to have your art!
Salons would fawn over it!
Professional offices would think they’d died and gone to heaven!
This is great news for you, especially when you are just starting out. It’s a stamp of approval when public spaces want to show your work.
Almost every artist does the “free” circuit. It’s where you get your toes wet.
These seemingly low-risk venues offer a venue for you to learn how to:
In addition, live venues test your conversational and and negotiating skills. There’s rarely a formal agreement in these venues, but you’d be wise to add that to your list of learning opportunities.
Because these non-art venues are considered less serious than galleries, many artists put very little effort into the process. After all, you’re looking for (here comes the e-word) “exposure.”
You deliver the work, install it yourself, add labels, and then, when the time comes, deinstall it and take it home.
Or perhaps the date for deinstallation is left open.
Six months fly by and your work is still there. The owners and patrons have gotten used to it. They quite enjoy having the nice backdrop. The owners don’t want to see it go, so they aren’t responsive to your attempts to communicate with them.
Your art show has turned into free décor.
Let me be clear that
Is Your Art Just Free Décor? Read
Are you still diddling around with juried shows or exhibitions with your art group? There’s nothing wrong with either one of these as a starting point, but there comes a time when you have to leave the nest. You have to plan a solo exhibition. Your career will grow rapidly when you start having solo
Curate a Solo Show of Your Art Read
Imagine the scenario: A patron visits your open studio event, walks around for a few minutes, and asks, “Are these for sale?” Or this version: A friend shares an image of your art that you posted on Facebook. Hundreds of people see it and a handful wish they could own it. But they think they can’t afford it because there’s no price. So they forget about it and move on.
Yep, It’s Art and It’s for Sale Read
I was talking with an artist-friend the other day and this came up . . . Deep Thought: What’s the difference between a vanity gallery and a co-op?
Why are co-ops (where artists pay to be members) considered okay, whereas vanity galleries (where artists pay to exhibit) are off-limits?
Vanity Galleries vs. Co-ops Read
We started talking about what it means to curate art and then looked at guidelines for you to do the job yourself. Today I want to give you some ideas to help freshen up your art – not just for others, but for you. You will learn things about your art when you challenge yourself to look at it in new ways. Because we’re meeting in a virtual space, we’ll look at how this might be done on a website, but everything I share here could be applied to a live venue.
Remix Images of Your Art for a Fresh Look Read
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