Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Curated Muse
podcast, and in this episode weare going to talk about one of
my favorite topics how to getartwork into galleries.
Now you can go online and findinformation everywhere.
I'm not gonna tell you anythingthat is brand spanking new and
magical that you've never heardbefore, but I will tell you that
(00:24):
this one piece of informationI'm going to share with you is
extremely important, and itcomes from being a gallerist,
comes from me being an artist.
It comes from me havingrelationships with other
galleries as a peer or even asan artist working with galleries
and having these conversationswith other gallerists and
(00:46):
curators.
Submissions to a gallery aregoing to be your number one way
of how you are going to makethat connection.
It's just like submitting aresume for a job, and out of all
the people that submit to us,at least 50%, if not more, do
(01:09):
not follow submission guidelinesand they do a lot of things
that make my head kind of shakeand go like why Is this for us?
Are you spamming us?
Are you throwing pancakes atwalls Like, did you even look at
the kind of artwork we show?
It is a lot of fun to getcertain submissions, because I
(01:29):
kind of chuckle to myself andthink, like, how do you not know
?
And then I realize I've been inthis 20 years.
Of course I know, but there's alot of people that don't, and I
have legacy knowledge and a lotof other artists do.
But there are going to bepeople listening to this podcast
that do not have legacyknowledge.
They're just starting out.
They don't even know where tobegin.
(01:51):
So this piece of knowledge thatI'm going to share.
We're not going to go into allthe reasons and details and
yeses and nos for getting into agallery, because we could be
here for two hours and youreally don't want to hang out
with me for that long, I promiseyou.
But there are things that areso imperative and important and
(02:11):
so simple that just payingattention and doing those things
will put you ahead of the rest.
So we're going to talk aboutsubmissions.
When you want to get into agallery, it's all about how you
submit your work.
First off, never walk into agallery and bring your portfolio
(02:33):
.
That's just a no, maybe call,write, and we'll talk a little
bit more about that.
But I'm just going to say thatright off the bat.
No gallery wants an artist towalk in with a portfolio and
show them their portfolio.
I don't know a single gallerythat's like.
That's amazing.
Let's do that Because if theydid, or I did or we did, we
(02:53):
would have people in and out allthe time and we would not be
able to work with collectors, wewould not be able to sell the
work the time and we would notbe able to work with collectors,
we would not be able to sellthe work, we wouldn't be able to
do the administration stuff andhang shows and all of that.
All we would be doing is lookingat artist portfolios, because
there are so many artists outthere looking for opportunities.
So don't do that.
First thing you want to do isfind out which gallery you want
(03:16):
to show at, because if you'regoing to submit your work and
you're not going to submit it toa gallery that shows your type
of work, it's kind of not goingto work for you, and we've had
so many artists that submit workto us that have no association
with what we're doing.
Like we're talking traditionallandscapes, like very
(03:39):
traditional plein air.
Well, if you look at ourwebsite, we do not show that,
and so first you need to look,find out what galleries, find
out where you fit.
You might not be 100% sure, butyou can get a vibe, you can get
a feeling.
You know it's not uncommon tolook at something and go hmm,
(04:00):
this is very traditional, myartwork's a little more edgy,
maybe I should go somewhere else, or vice versa.
And then, when you want to sendin a submission, you need to
look at the submissionguidelines.
Some galleries have them, somedon't.
Most of them do, and if theyhave them, because this is the
(04:20):
honestly the number one thingthat most galleries have to deal
with is submissions.
So there's going to be somedirective on their website,
whether or not they say we don'taccept submissions.
We accept submissions duringcertain times.
We do calls for art everycouple months, or we're open to
submissions, and this is how youdo it follow those guidelines.
(04:42):
A good example of following theguidelines is we have an open
call or when we are generallyjust doing open submissions.
We ask for your Instagram, butwe ask you not to use the handle
, meaning not use at sign orwhatever.
We ask for the full URL and 50%of people don't do that.
(05:03):
And why do we ask for it?
It might sound like well, why?
What does it matter?
There's a handle versus thefull URL and it's because we get
hundreds upon hundreds ofsubmissions and when they come
into my inbox, if it just hasthe at sign with your name, I
can't click it.
I have to copy it, paste it, goto Instagram, put it in hope
(05:26):
you spelled it right and pull itup.
If you put it within that formand it's a URL comes in my email
, I click it, I open it and Ilook at it immediately.
If I can't do that, it's goingin the trash.
Because it specifically says inthat submission guideline
please do not use an Instagramhandle, use your full URL.
(05:47):
And if you can't follow simpledirections, then you're probably
not going to be good to partnerwith.
Simple but important.
And then the secondary thing iswhen you are writing a gallery.
So, for example, in oursubmission guidelines we have a
section at the bottom that sayswhy you want to show with us.
(06:07):
Some galleries won't have aform and they will just have an
email and say you can sendsubmissions through this email
address.
However, you're going to sendthat submission in.
At least address a human being.
If you don't know who's runningthe gallery, at least address
the gallery, because it's goingto look like you're just
spamming and throwing pancakesat the wall if you don't, and we
(06:29):
also don't want you to talk allabout yourself all day long.
Yes, it's important for a jobinterview.
Yes, it's important for apartnership to be able to share
your accomplishments, to be ableto share what you have done and
why you might be a good fit.
But just like any goodpartnership, there needs to be
(06:51):
reciprocity.
Why don't you share in thatemail, starting off by saying I
really enjoy the roster ofartists you have.
I really like the themes inwhich you curate shows.
I really like this, this orthat.
Say something that lets thegallery know why you're even
(07:11):
interested in them.
You know we want to know that.
What do you like about what wedo?
Do you like our programming?
Do you like the way we marketour artists?
Do you like?
What do you like?
Why do you think we would be agood fit for you?
And in doing that, then sharewhat you do.
You know a good example wouldbe I really love the roster of
(07:33):
artists you have.
I think the shows that youcurate are thoughtful and
interesting and I would love tobe a part of that.
Hi, my name is so-and-so.
I am a mixed media artist fromRussia and my work can be found
on my website.
The next thing is making surethat you have a website or
(07:56):
Instagram.
A lot of galleries will be finewith an Instagram and kind of
just be okay without you havinga website.
Most galleries will want you tohave your own website and you
can get a website for free, forcheap.
Do it with a website builder.
You don't have to pay anybody.
As somebody who owns a webdesign, seo and digital
(08:20):
marketing company, which I'veowned for 26 years, I can tell
you that anybody can have awebsite.
You don't have to pay somebody.
You don't have to pay adeveloper.
You can create a simpleportfolio website.
Gallerists often feel thatartists aren't professional if
they're not willing to have evena simple website.
(08:40):
It doesn't have to be snazzy,it doesn't have to be beautiful.
It can be a white page justwith your art on it and maybe a
bio.
That is it.
But showing that you have movedbeyond Instagram, beyond
Facebook, beyond whateverplatform you're on into
professionally showcasing yourwork shows that you are more
(09:04):
interested in a professionalrelationship at this time, which
is helpful.
So really it's all about thesubmissions, the most important
part of making a relationshipwith a gallery is going to be
your submission Number onesubmitting to the right type of
(09:24):
gallery.
Number two, addressing theperson or the gallery in an
introduction.
Three, letting them know whyyou would want to exhibit with
them and making sure that youhave some type of professional
presentation for your work.
And that's it.
(09:45):
In another episode we'll talkfurther about this because,
again, I could go on this pathof talking about this for two
hours straight.
There's so much information,but just these little, teeny,
tiny pieces will put you abovethe rest.
50% of people do not do what Ijust told you and they go in the
(10:05):
trash.
You at least put yourself aheadof the game.
You at least show that you'reprofessional and are interested
and know what you want and youwant a partnership.
I hope this episode helped youand we'll see you again soon.
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Curated Muse
podcast, and in this episode weare going to talk about one of
my favorite topics how to getartwork into galleries.
Now you can go online and findinformation everywhere.
I'm not gonna tell you anythingthat is brand spanking new and
magical that you've never heardbefore, but I will tell you that
(00:24):
this one piece of informationI'm going to share with you is
extremely important, and itcomes from being a gallerist,
comes from me being an artist.
It comes from me havingrelationships with other
galleries as a peer or even asan artist working with galleries
and having these conversationswith other gallerists and
(00:46):
curators.
Submissions to a gallery aregoing to be your number one way
of how you are going to makethat connection.
It's just like submitting aresume for a job, and out of all
the people that submit to us,at least 50%, if not more, do
(01:09):
not follow submission guidelinesand they do a lot of things
that make my head kind of shakeand go like why Is this for us?
Are you spamming us?
Are you throwing pancakes atwalls Like, did you even look at
the kind of artwork we show?
It is a lot of fun to getcertain submissions, because I
(01:29):
kind of chuckle to myself andthink, like, how do you not know
?
And then I realize I've been inthis 20 years.
Of course I know, but there's alot of people that don't, and I
have legacy knowledge and a lotof other artists do.
But there are going to bepeople listening to this podcast
that do not have legacyknowledge.
They're just starting out.
They don't even know where tobegin.
(01:51):
So this piece of knowledge thatI'm going to share.
We're not going to go into allthe reasons and details and
yeses and nos for getting into agallery, because we could be
here for two hours and youreally don't want to hang out
with me for that long, I promiseyou.
But there are things that areso imperative and important and
(02:11):
so simple that just payingattention and doing those things
will put you ahead of the rest.
So we're going to talk aboutsubmissions.
When you want to get into agallery, it's all about how you
submit your work.
First off, never walk into agallery and bring your portfolio
(02:33):
.
That's just a no, maybe call,write, and we'll talk a little
bit more about that.
But I'm just going to say thatright off the bat.
No gallery wants an artist towalk in with a portfolio and
show them their portfolio.
I don't know a single gallerythat's like.
That's amazing.
Let's do that Because if theydid, or I did or we did, we
(02:53):
would have people in and out allthe time and we would not be
able to work with collectors, wewould not be able to sell the
work the time and we would notbe able to work with collectors,
we would not be able to sellthe work, we wouldn't be able to
do the administration stuff andhang shows and all of that.
All we would be doing is lookingat artist portfolios, because
there are so many artists outthere looking for opportunities.
So don't do that.
First thing you want to do isfind out which gallery you want
(03:16):
to show at, because if you'regoing to submit your work and
you're not going to submit it toa gallery that shows your type
of work, it's kind of not goingto work for you, and we've had
so many artists that submit workto us that have no association
with what we're doing.
Like we're talking traditionallandscapes, like very
(03:39):
traditional plein air.
Well, if you look at ourwebsite, we do not show that,
and so first you need to look,find out what galleries, find
out where you fit.
You might not be 100% sure, butyou can get a vibe, you can get
a feeling.
You know it's not uncommon tolook at something and go hmm,
(04:00):
this is very traditional, myartwork's a little more edgy,
maybe I should go somewhere else, or vice versa.
And then, when you want to sendin a submission, you need to
look at the submissionguidelines.
Some galleries have them, somedon't.
Most of them do, and if theyhave them, because this is the
(04:20):
honestly the number one thingthat most galleries have to deal
with is submissions.
So there's going to be somedirective on their website,
whether or not they say we don'taccept submissions.
We accept submissions duringcertain times.
We do calls for art everycouple months, or we're open to
submissions, and this is how youdo it follow those guidelines.
(04:42):
A good example of following theguidelines is we have an open
call or when we are generallyjust doing open submissions.
We ask for your Instagram, butwe ask you not to use the handle
, meaning not use at sign orwhatever.
We ask for the full URL and 50%of people don't do that.
(05:03):
And why do we ask for it?
It might sound like well, why?
What does it matter?
There's a handle versus thefull URL and it's because we get
hundreds upon hundreds ofsubmissions and when they come
into my inbox, if it just hasthe at sign with your name, I
can't click it.
I have to copy it, paste it, goto Instagram, put it in hope
(05:26):
you spelled it right and pull itup.
If you put it within that formand it's a URL comes in my email
, I click it, I open it and Ilook at it immediately.
If I can't do that, it's goingin the trash.
Because it specifically says inthat submission guideline
please do not use an Instagramhandle, use your full URL.
(05:47):
And if you can't follow simpledirections, then you're probably
not going to be good to partnerwith.
Simple but important.
And then the secondary thing iswhen you are writing a gallery.
So, for example, in oursubmission guidelines we have a
section at the bottom that sayswhy you want to show with us.
(06:07):
Some galleries won't have aform and they will just have an
email and say you can sendsubmissions through this email
address.
However, you're going to sendthat submission in.
At least address a human being.
If you don't know who's runningthe gallery, at least address
the gallery, because it's goingto look like you're just
spamming and throwing pancakesat the wall if you don't, and we
(06:29):
also don't want you to talk allabout yourself all day long.
Yes, it's important for a jobinterview.
Yes, it's important for apartnership to be able to share
your accomplishments, to be ableto share what you have done and
why you might be a good fit.
But just like any goodpartnership, there needs to be
(06:51):
reciprocity.
Why don't you share in thatemail, starting off by saying I
really enjoy the roster ofartists you have.
I really like the themes inwhich you curate shows.
I really like this, this orthat.
Say something that lets thegallery know why you're even
(07:11):
interested in them.
You know we want to know that.
What do you like about what wedo?
Do you like our programming?
Do you like the way we marketour artists?
Do you like?
What do you like?
Why do you think we would be agood fit for you?
And in doing that, then sharewhat you do.
You know a good example wouldbe I really love the roster of
(07:33):
artists you have.
I think the shows that youcurate are thoughtful and
interesting and I would love tobe a part of that.
Hi, my name is so-and-so.
I am a mixed media artist fromRussia and my work can be found
on my website.
The next thing is making surethat you have a website or
(07:56):
Instagram.
A lot of galleries will be finewith an Instagram and kind of
just be okay without you havinga website.
Most galleries will want you tohave your own website and you
can get a website for free, forcheap.
Do it with a website builder.
You don't have to pay anybody.
As somebody who owns a webdesign, seo and digital
(08:20):
marketing company, which I'veowned for 26 years, I can tell
you that anybody can have awebsite.
You don't have to pay somebody.
You don't have to pay adeveloper.
You can create a simpleportfolio website.
Gallerists often feel thatartists aren't professional if
they're not willing to have evena simple website.
(08:40):
It doesn't have to be snazzy,it doesn't have to be beautiful.
It can be a white page justwith your art on it and maybe a
bio.
That is it.
But showing that you have movedbeyond Instagram, beyond
Facebook, beyond whateverplatform you're on into
professionally showcasing yourwork shows that you are more
(09:04):
interested in a professionalrelationship at this time, which
is helpful.
So really it's all about thesubmissions, the most important
part of making a relationshipwith a gallery is going to be
your submission Number onesubmitting to the right type of
(09:24):
gallery.
Number two, addressing theperson or the gallery in an
introduction.
Three, letting them know whyyou would want to exhibit with
them and making sure that youhave some type of professional
presentation for your work.
And that's it.
(09:45):
In another episode we'll talkfurther about this because,
again, I could go on this pathof talking about this for two
hours straight.
There's so much information,but just these little, teeny,
tiny pieces will put you abovethe rest.
50% of people do not do what Ijust told you and they go in the
(10:05):
trash.
You at least put yourself aheadof the game.
You at least show that you'reprofessional and are interested
and know what you want and youwant a partnership.
I hope this episode helped youand we'll see you again soon.
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