Is Approaching A Gallery Worth It?
Art: All SHE Makes curated directory member Abby Aceves
It’s been a while since my last post and I’m really excited to be back. In this month’s article, I’m covering the four career-related questions from the ASM community. Let’s jump right in!
How do/can I create an artist profile? (@sarahgboloereart)
I am guessing that profile in this context is referring to a portfolio. In that case, I would suggest starting by creating at least ten works in the same series. You’ll want to take high-quality images of these pieces cropped to the edges, and ideally, you’d also have detail shots if that is an important characteristic of your art. Then, build a platform online where you can keep these organized in one place. You should have access to these files digitally on your own computer, of course, but it will be easiest to present your work to potential clients, curators, and galleries if they are on a website or social media profile dedicated to your art. This way you can simply send a link when you connect with anyone who is interested in seeing more of your work. Most artists separate their pieces by series, style, or medium, but it may make more sense to group your art by the year it was created depending on how many pieces you have and how quickly you move between bodies of work.
Is it necessary to ‘look’ the part of an artist? (@soo_fay_designs)
This is an interesting question that I don’t think I’ve gotten before! I often joke with my husband that Hollywood’s idea of an artist is someone wearing paint-splattered overalls and anyone working in a gallery must be clad in an all-black ensemble. Now, while I do personally enjoy donning a monochromatic outfit to many of the art events I attend, I wear what I wear not because I think it is what is expected, but because it is what I feel most comfortable and authentic in.
My best advice here is to go with your gut and what makes you feel like you. When going to an exhibition opening or meeting a curator, you want to project confidence and you won’t be able to do that wearing something that makes you uncomfortable in any way. If planning for a specific event, it is likely that it will come with a dress code that you can use as a guide. Otherwise, you can use art events as an excuse to dress a little nicer than your everyday outfits, but it’s not a requirement. Circling back to the original question, no - it’s not necessary to look a certain way because that implies that ‘artist’ refers to one particular type of person when it actually describes such a diverse array of creative people!
What is the best way an artist who works in several different ways (photography, embroidery, installation, etc) can get exposure? (@vickyviolaart)
I like this question too because, from my experience, many artists think that working in multiple media or styles makes it more difficult for them to grow an audience for their work. While I can’t definitively say it is easier, I can argue that it has its advantages. I have mentioned this before, but the biggest tip to remember is that if you are introducing your work to a writer or curator for the first time, start with one body of work. If they are interested, then you can show them other styles later. Not doing this will very likely result in the other person being confused about your voice as an artist and thinking that you don’t have a clear creative direction yet.
Since you have multiple bodies of work in various media, seek out the best opportunities that are specific to those media. You can still apply to magazines, galleries, and exhibitions that are open to all contemporary artists, but I would suggest focusing effort on also submitting to opportunities that focus specifically on photography, embroidery, and installation. This way you’re building both a general audience for your work and niche audiences as well. If you don’t know where to start in terms of looking for opportunities for specific media, see where other photographers/embroidery artists/installation artists have had their work featured, join artist groups on Facebook or follow Instagram and TikTok accounts in that niche, and do research online to find media outlets that cover that type of artwork.
Is it worth approaching a gallery or is time better spent building your own following? (@krista_dedrick_lai)
Another great question! It depends on where you are in your career and what your next goals are. That said, I will mention that there isn’t really a drawback to investing time in building your own following. A gallery is a partner that can help you take bigger steps and make faster advancements in your career so once you have one or multiple, it can cause a snowball effect and you’ll move much more quickly than you would on your own. However, putting in the effort to do research, meet gallery directors, pitch your work, and test out relationships does take a lot of time that could be directed towards growing your email list, making connections via social media, and building a website to facilitate sales. So, I’ll go return to my first thought here, which is what are you looking for? For someone who feels that they need to break past their current audience, wants access to more collectors, and new exhibition opportunities, then seeking out a gallery is likely the next step. If this is the situation you find yourself in currently, I still think there is a way to balance both. Try to schedule time for both within your days or during the week. For example, one day you could do one to two hours of gallery research and another day you could spend one hour polishing your website (or whatever amount of time you have, even fifteen minutes a day adds up!).
Finally, in thinking about this question more, I realize that it may come from the idea that submitting to galleries and never hearing back is a waste of time. I’m certainly not trying to diminish the value of your time (I know we’re all busy these days) nor understate the disappointment of an outright rejection (my count is hundreds if not over a thousand at this point!) or the deafening silence of an email gone unanswered (is it really that hard to write back a simple no?). Instead, I’d like to give a friendly nudge for you to reframe any effort put towards approaching a gallery as something to celebrate even if it doesn’t work out. Putting yourself and your artwork out there is a big step and often takes a lot of confidence to do - especially if you haven’t done it before. In this way, it could be ‘worth it’ for the experience of trying. And while you may not get accepted right away, you’ll likely still make connections in the process. Not to mention, when I pitch or submit to bigger opportunities, even if the ones I had originally hoped for don’t come to fruition, sometimes equal or even better things end up coming my way! As they say - the world works in mysterious ways.
As always, thank you so much for reading. Please feel free to send topic ideas for me to cover to the All She Makes team or me directly @pxpcontemporary on Instagram. Hope that you have fun & relaxing things planned for your summer.
Cheers,
Alicia
