I was once asked by a friend of a friend to display my pictures in an upcoming exhibition. The organiser of the event had seen my work and liked it, and thought it would be ideal for the theme of the exhibition. It was also an opportunity for upcoming artists to get exposure.
When I first found out, I was in an initial state of shock, then excitement came over me and then suddenly fear started to set in. As it was my first time displaying my works in a gallery. I was not prepared, and I had no idea what to expect. The event organiser wanted to meet me to discuss the event and select prints from my portfolio. Luckily, I had put together my portfolio some time back so it came to be useful when called upon. Fortunately, the meeting went well with the event organiser. We agreed on which prints to use in the gallery and the commission the gallery would take on each print sold.
Shortly after the meeting, I was introduced by the event organiser to an artist that was currently exhibiting their work in the gallery. She mentioned, this was a good opportunity for me to ask the artist lots of questions on what to expect and how to prepare myself. The artist, a well known and established painter had displayed their work in galleries across the world. The artist, gave me one of the most important pieces of advice I still use today. He said "Always believe in your work". He went on and said, you will get positive and negative criticism from people. Criticism is sometimes important and sometimes unimportant. If you believe in your work, this will help you shrug off negative criticism. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and everyone has a different view on a Art. I thanked him for his time and advice, and left with a new outlook on the event.
I have always been someone who cringed or felt uncomfortable when someone complimented my work. I would always say "Thank you" politely and then try and change the subject or conversation. I already had in mind the type of questions I would have to answer. The things I feared most was dealing with negative comments and having to respond to them.
One of my first challenges in preparation for the exhibition, was to find a good printer and also someone to frame my prints. I had already agreed we would use 20 x "A3" prints for the exhibition. Most of my art work was a mixture of 35mm colour/b&w film and digital images.
With this in mind, I shopped around until I found an established printer with a good reputation for creating exhibition prints. To reduce costs, I would do most of the re-touching of the images myself. This reduced the overall cost considerably or get charged by the hour. Although, in hindsight, I would have preferred if this was done by a Professional. As the time spent on re-touching never ending.
During this time I was going back and forth to the printers to review print samples before he made the final prints. As a complete novice, some of my images I had never printed before or printed to that size. So this was quite a challenge, as I did not want to appear to fussy to the printer to p... him off. But I wanted to be satisfied with the final result. The final prints were made and I was happy with the end results. Seeing the final prints, the reality of the exhibition started to kick in, knowing the event was just over a month away.
The printer, recommended a friend of his who was a good picture framer, in his own words "would not cost me the earth". Based on his recommendation, I went to see the picture framer with my prints. We discussed frame sizes, the style of frames to use, borders for mounting, reflective glass or not etc. Whilst this was all taking place, I collected some flyers from the event organiser and started self promoting the upcoming event. By leaving flyers in shops, local businesses, and spreading the word through friends, emails, and Facebook etc. I also made several visits to the gallery leading up to the event to decide on where to hang my prints.
The opening night of the exhibition would be a private view and a chance for the public to meet the artists. Therefore, the artists would have to provide bottles of wine etc. for those attending the private view.
On the night of the private view. I turned up early before the guests arrived and brought my portfolio, together business cards and a book for guests to leave their comments. Also, a price list of the prints, coupled with a written overview of my work on display.
Overall, the private view was a success. I made some good contacts and got a lot of good reviews from those that attended on the night. The exhibition would continue for a month, and during that time I made several visits to review the comments book and check for any sales. I sold several prints during the exhibition and landed a some paid jobs off the event.
Looking back on the event. I know now there is a distinction between Art and commercial interests. As an upcoming artist you need the exposure and your first break. It is important to remember galleries are out to maximise their profit, plus they have a reputation to keep. So be weary of the galleries commission they will charge you for each sale of your works. Also, galleries have a tendency to choose the artists work to display, that they feel bodes well with other artists in the gallery or the theme of the exhibition.
Some artists host their own viewings by hiring galleries to host their event. This way, the artist takes a larger percentage of sales.
Also it is worth keeping an up to date portfolio of your work, as this shows potential clients your various styles, and helps you land future work.
It is important to take into account when pricing your work the commission charge per sale, printing/framing costs and the other additional costs you may incur. I found the comments book was great for feedback from visitors to the gallery. Preparation is key, as you want your first exhibition to be a success.
And last but not least enjoy yourself!!!
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