How to Show Your Art
Guidelines and tips that prepare artists in showing their creations.
Jan 29, 2009
A visual artist's foremost goal is to have their work be seen. Good professional habits of an artist, tips on submitting work and how to find juried shows aid this goal.
- Create a portfolio. Your portfolio of work is a body of artwork that best represents your consistent strengths. If you aren't sure about your strengths and weaknesses seek out a critique preferably from someone who is able to view your work objectively. Don't be shy about contacting an art professional and scheduling an informative interview. You may be surprised by who is willing to lend their advice. Also useful is a gallery book with a copy of your artist statement, artist resume and (once your track record becomes lengthy) a curriculum vitae. Be sure to include any postcards with your artwork on them for past shows, published articles about your work and any other information that you feel is helpful to viewers, for example if you are accepting commissions. For guidelines concerning these documents and other aspects of professional artist development, visit the College Art Associations guidelines web page.
- Photograph your work. High quality photography is essential in order to make your portfolio something portable. Many juried art shows accept digital images (jpeg files) of artwork and these images can be easily transmitted through email and onto websites. Slides are still used widely. Full color photos or postcard-sized prints are also useful if you are interested in mailing samples of your work to galleries, museums or to venues without light tables to view slides.
- Keep record of your work. Each time you enter a piece of art in a show you are asked the title, year, medium, dimensions and price. Over the years it is easy to forget when you made that piece. Having to measure your pieces again and again is time consuming. Create a simple log of your artwork and if possible include an image next to the information. A simple table in a word processor could include each of these pieces of information and a scaled down image of your work. This also works great as a price sheet. Journal about each piece as you are making it so that when you are asked to talk about it you have a readily accessible vocabulary about that piece. Also, details in your creative process are easily forgotten over time. These are useful in examining your studio practice, interesting to potential buyers and should be recorded.
- Maintain your work. In between shows keep your artwork stored safely. Wrap the pieces in paper, cardboard, cloth or some kind of protection. Store the pieces inside plastic to keep them dry. Label the outside with the title and/or description for easy locating. Before and after the showings, examine each piece for necessary touch-ups and repairs including the frame if applicable.
- Locate potential sites for shows. Make it a goal to have your work be seen. Keep an eye out for local places other than art galleries that have artwork or wall space. Some alternative venues are interior design firms, coffee shops, bars, bookstores, libraries, wine shops, cheese shops, salons. Simply introduce yourself and ask who you should talk to about possibly showing your artwork and make an appointment to show them samples of your work or email them your art in their space. Be prepared to include an artist statement or a short description of who you are and why you make the artwork that you make (about two paragraphs).
- Be Online. Whether you have a free blog or a professional website, have images of your work available online. Apply to online galleries like Ugallery.com and Saatchi gallery. This is easy access for anyone to instantly view your work. Upload your work onto callforentry.org (a.k.a. Café.org) so you can easily apply to juried shows that utilize this web tool.Also check out www.artistsregister.com, www.collegeart.org, and www.artdeadline.com for opportunities to submit to juried art shows.
Sources:
Senior Seminar Lectures, Angie Buckley, Artist and Professor University of Colorado at Denver, Colorado. August 2007 - December 2007.
Advanced Painting I & II Lectures, Mary Connelly, Artist and Professor University of Colorado at Denver, Colorado. August 2007 - May 2008.
B.F.A. Thesis Lectures, Mary Connelly, Artist and Professor University of Colorado at Denver, Colorado. January 2008- May 2008.
The copyright of the article How to Show Your Art in Art Galleries/Museums is owned by Veronica Franklin. Permission to republish How to Show Your Art in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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