what they didn’t teach you in art school- book
-#1 myth, discovered: never just a upward trajectory. not always going to have opportunities one year, roller coaster, reflect on why you didn’t get things. pick yourself up and keep going.
-ways to get your work out there. sometimes have to pay a fee. some are free. as much as you can. open competitions, invitations, art fairs, site specific projects, festivals, commissions, awards - found on art quest, artsadmin, artsjobs, a-n.co.uk, curator space
-zeitgeist open
-memorable? have to use best abilities to be memorable. need to turn up to things, not just for private view. be part of it - everything should be collaborative. ask, do you need a hand?
-uk young artists: city takeover: free.
-terms and conditions, good pictures of the work, name your image the following way: Name, Title, Media, Size & Date. Stand out for the right reasons once selected.
-was in salon 08, did research on selectors, contacted them saying looking forward to meeting them in private view... leading to more opportunities. just a simple thank you email. you want exhibitions to come in, but don’t come to you if you don’t give it your all.
-things happen behind the scenes, recommend you. asked if they’d want to do a talk. and she did, using that opportunity. speaking at the courtauld. in conversation with historian, again building new relationship. meeting other artists.
-invitations can happen randomly. asked to do a show. it was because she donated an artwork. and they asked how her work is, and showed them. so you have to be proactive.
-apart from exposure, why exhibit? residency? why do you want to make art? so other people can learn from your work? make friendships? press? nurture social media presence. with press writers curators, make sure you build relationships. collectively put that together and into the world. investment and friends with you. to inspire others, to be on someone else’s sketchbook one day. really important to pass on ideas. long term in art world. gather other exhibition opportunities, selling work (is not a measure of success!) did you get at least one of those things in this experience?
-exhibited for only two hours at private view, but met curator, collaborators then went to show with, had press write about the work, never planned, positive.
-different types of art organisations and gallery models: artist led spaces, publicly/privately funded galleries and museums,
-can’t just approach commercial galleries,
a lot of research needed, networking (online and offline) where you want to show your work.../ word of mouth. represent yourself. treating everyone on the course kindly.. / promotion: talk about it / make the most of every opportunity. eg if someone asks you to put your work on a shelf, don’t just tear a page from a sketchbook. / be professional and organised- emails. / present and memorable: going to talks and asking questions. / being kind and polite /
-be creative with spaces: eg in a lift in an apartment, create your own opportunities. have to really choose the art worlds you want to be in.
-anything that comes your way: timing? assistance? etc.
-ways to potentially make money: funding (crowd-funding, public) scholarships, grants, awards, residencies, exhibition fees (very rare outside of publicly funded institutions, like tate, but also not very much), other art jobs/part time jobs, selling work, commissions, budget properly. Invest in your practice. have you ever sold work? how you price your work? want to be affordable at the start. some residencies have to pay to do, some free (some have commitments, not for everyone) she had a part time job three times a week, in health regulations for 10 years.
-myth: you will get paid for your time (you won’t) what happens over time with your skills, and how much time spent. not a lot of logic in art world. do research. don’t be afraid to ask if your prices are okay. go to art fairs and see their prices.
-market/standard pricing, context and affordability, material costs, size/length potentially, experience, reputations. galleries may overprice you, and you might not sell work.
-be prepared and ready to talk about your work, flexible, engage, network, don’t jump on people, be professional. if it’s expensive, can pay over time. engage in all kinds of people. it might be your friends dad, or secondary school teacher, artists.
-collectors = ambassadors. buy others work. and that artist took her to dinner to say thank you.
-gallery representation: they don’t do the work. haven’t sold any of your work. they need investors. not necessarily for commercial. might not be running it for you to sell your work.
-artist statement.. why? can be deal breaker. shouldn’t see it as another stupid thing you have to do. but to reflect on your work. other people to write about your work and credit them. layered meaning, even more interesting. make it engaging, say more than you need and edit it. don’t just say it’s about identity, use thesaurus. get someone else to read it, quantify sentences, read it aloud. spellcheck.
-curators=guardians. curating is collaborations and partnerships. building experience. pay for publicity, wanna work with proactive people. gathering artists. things are always very tight, making it work.
-arthouse1 show, have talks to close the shows, can talk to the artists of you want because only a handful of people come.
-can post about shows you go to, and share your experience, people can find you through shows.
-be the person that comes more than once
all of those jobs that isn’t making art. have to go out and do yourself.
-finding artists for shows, tutors, seeing a lot of group shows, graduate shows, word of mouth, someone who shes watching, using Instagram, seeing what they’re up to, having a library. other people can come to you. have to be ready with promotion. business cards, invitations, website, social networks, newsletter in advance, research. people are busy, keep them in, invite them to lunch, website make really clear, they need to find your statement there. eg think of 5 or 10 people, DM, hand written letter by post.. be genuine
-have to make things Really easy and accessible for people.
-time: how busy she is, spent all this time and money, need to build the time, can’t do something two days before. eg your parents friends are coming over, have them to go to your show. don’t be apologetic, or say you have a show opening Tomorrow, don’t send PDF that you have to download..
-who do you want your peers to be? setting up your own peer group.. network. through exhibition, get together once in a while. eg the undead painters. involving your work, conversations. invite so and so. use social media to generate interest in your work. sometimes gets asked to be in a show. ownership, control your own career, can direct it, build an audience, can be independent.
-asked by artist led space in edinburgh, get airbnb, get train, had to know that she has to be there. meet people there. thinking about really good conversation. make yourself memorable. feeding back. A space to learn.
-how you engage is important. keep on creating new networks. her teaching career started with asking alumni’s to talk about her work. gave as much as she could, then asked to come back, people enjoy your content, build upon that to have sustainability.
-have lots of people write about her work, but not just out of the blue, have to nurture. writers usually on twitter. virtual to reality. buy them a bottle of wine, as a thank you. things can slip away if you don’t keep track. when she had a show, she’s there everyday, and people can meet and have conversations.
-almost all artists are Part time artists- creativity can be hard in variety of ways to earn money. be organised, committed, build relationships. panel talk
-never go to private view on your own. networking is actually just about enriching conversations that could just change your life... enthusiastic, Build your own art world.. positive.
-reputation and integrity, say thank you, being there after the show.
-keep reminding people you exist, cling on
-be generous, don’t just keep things to yourself, come back in lovely ways.
-how social media helped? see what people are up to, finding artists. leaving interesting comments.. do notice when people don’t post about the show. post about other people in the show as well, not just their own,
-young artists do commissions? draft contracts, need to have a contract. can’t ask them for more money. materials might cost, don’t know how long something’s gonna take. might take longer than you think. having that balance. you have to be flexible, adaptive. eg think it should be more blue. have to kind of guess what the other person wants, which can be hard. public commissions are different. usually more people. eg commission with restaurant, exciting. more opportunities, skills.
-contacting people to work: research about them.. show some knowledge.. ‘I know you through’ ‘saw you at..’ ‘so and so recommended me..’ pick your time - being friendly. turning up to things.
