By Santo, Fine Artist
ARTTIMES September 2004
My story picks
up in late summer of 2003 with tip from a friend about an opportunity to show
at a prestigious NYC University. I constantly look for ways to show my art other
than the usual association sponsored art shows or by gallery representation.
The benefits I achieved as a result of the ensuing University show were more
than I dreamed! I encourage the emerging artist to be proactive and self-promoting.
Through this article I relate the steps taken to produce and market this show.
Here’s how the next few months unfolded.
The University tip so intrigued me that I immediately
made an appointment for an introductory meeting to discuss a show. Before I
knew it I agreed to produce a show. We settled on the dates and off I went!
Up to this point, my limited experience with art shows
included sending a check and slides to an organization’s selection committee
and waiting to hear back. Never had I produced a show! Suddenly I was confronted
with every facet of a show’s production. I estimated that approximately
100 works were needed to fill this grand space.
I
had eight months to plan and produce an event that would be on exhibit for 3
months. Here’s what my to-do list looked like: Invite artists who paint
in a representational style (8 fellow artists from The Art Student’s League)
• Name our group of artists- we agreed on, “The Artists of Studio
Seven” (our ASL studio) • Plan a publicity strategy: write a press
release, organize a press packet, personalize cover letters, obtain photos,
bios, etc. (postage, stationery and copy costs) • Research and prepare
a mail list of galleries, news media and alumni publications with appropriate
contacts, titles, snail mail and e-mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers
(I used Excel spread sheet, Word and Avery labels) • Visit prospective
galleries in NYC on-line and in person to evaluate suitability (web access,
time and transportation) • Design, paint and prepare my own paintings
for hanging and delivery • Collaborate with the media: The Art Times,
“The Plight of an Emerging Artist”, by Santo, Jan/Feb 2004; American
Artist magazine, “Power in Numbers”, by Derrik J. Lang, July
2004 (a 2 page spread with photos); The Improper Hamptonian, by Nada
Kucharski, May 2004, featured our opening including photos; Reflections,
my alumni magazine, Spring 2004 announced the show (press packet, labels, photos
and slides, and transportation). How good can it get! • Collect the lists
and slides from each artist to present to the University making sure the slides
are correctly labeled (ex. painting height x width). We were required to submit
slides of our work for review to manage space considerations • Plan and
organize a guest book for the opening including welcome, bios, painting lists,
and photos of the artists and their paintings (stationery, binder and copy costs)
• Design and print invitations to send to friends, galleries and press
for the opening (stationery, labels and postage costs). This show was at a private
institution with a substantial built-in audience • Coordinate the opening
reception with the institution (each artist contributed) • Coordinate
painting delivery to the show (organized the vans to transport the work) •
Plan and purchase a gift for our show liaison (each artist contributed) •
Arrange for a group photo of the artists and the artwork • Call, mail,
e-mail and fax invitations to the media and galleries a few weeks before, and
every few weeks to remind them during the show (telephone, fax, postage and
postcard costs).
Renée Phillip’s books about artist self-promotion
and her gallery guide were of enormous help to me.
With her books and other books such as these as a reference I prepared
bios/resumes, press releases and packets, etc. and a list of every business
that might be interested in viewing our work.
Each artist benefited from the show in different ways.
Personally, I met my initial goal as an emerging artist to show my work, and
then some. To be sure, producing this show was equivalent
to a part-time job, severely cut into my painting time (and everything else),
and cost more than my initial budget estimate.
Just look at the opportunities I uncovered with the
initial tip! You decide from the results if the show was worth it! • A
three-month exhibition at a prestigious NYC institution • A significant
institutional credit on my art resume • An invitation to produce another
group show in a year or two • 2 acquired paintings for the institution’s
permanent collection, with a brass plaque under each (I think the plaque is
the cat’s meow!) • A solo gallery show this December • A huge
solo institutional show in February 2005 (133 linear feet to fill!) •
A portfolio review by two galleries • An invitation to jury a show this
Fall • An invitation for a speaking engagement summer 2005 • Video
footage and photos for future promotional pieces • Accomplishments for
the resume and material for future publicity packets • Experience painting
a body of large scale work for a public space • Visibility and name recognition
• The experience of producing an art show • A place to exhibit a
dozen of my paintings to a large audience for three months • The pleasure
of meeting and networking with innumerable business/industry contacts: art editors,
publishers, writers, galleries and institutions • 4 published articles
and announcements • A lead for a portrait commission • Most of all,
invaluable first hand experience in the Business of Art
Would I consider producing another show? – you
bet, in a heartbeat! Was the production time consuming and sometimes aggravating
with much time spent away from my painting? – yes! Was the marketing costly?
– yes, but modestly so considering the benefits! Were there any guarantees
for success? No. Did the show offer unlimited upside potential? Yes. Would I
encourage you to do the same? – absolutely! Was there a downside risk?
– none that I can think of! Can you?
(Santo’s painting of “Woman in Shawl”
won second place honors in the Portrait classification in The Artist’s
Magazine’s 21st Annual Competition; she lives in Manhattan).
