I've been reading a lot about art recently and one of the great books I've read is "Making It in the Art World" by Brainard Carey.
One of the things he recommends sounds pretty simple, but I'm not sure most people would think this is possible: Host an art show in whatever space you have access to, no matter what size it is. The author, Brainerd, told stories of his friends having art shows in small apartments, with nice refreshments and a positive overall atmosphere and attitude.
I've actually already done this! Elizabeth and I have already hosted two art shows, both at my home, and both were fairly well-attended. Both of these shows were positive experiences for me. I didn't profit because I had to pay for refreshments and advertising, but I did get enough sales to break even.
Now that I'm ensconced here at Good Dad Studios, I hope to take show-making to the next level with more artists, more attendees, and maybe even some kind of journalist might want to write about it.
Here is my advice on how to create an art show, from my current limited experiences:
- Compile a list of creative contacts: You will need quite a few friends who make things you want to be associated with in order to have a full show. Most people will be busy on the day you want to stage the sale. Now, if you want to safeguard all the art yourself and run the show completely on your own, that is a different situation. The major barriers in that case will be logistical: keeping track of all the names, pieces, and money in addition to arranging your space.
- Find a venue: Think about how much space each artist will occupy. In my case, each artist has a table they set their work up on. If you need wall space, consider how you will mount or display all the pieces. Will you be making holes in the walls? Do you have permission to do that?
More questions: Will the venue be open on the day you need it? Can you afford the cost? Will you need to offset that cost by charging admission? Do you need insurance in case there's some mishap during your time at the venue? How much space should you allow between pieces or tables? I once had a terrible time at a show that marked out the spaces for the tents without even one spare half-inch of extra room between them! It's best to try attending and participating in a few shows before you host your own show, so you can be aware of what problems to anticipate.
- Set an advertising budget: You will need to start advertising your show no less than a month in advance! That will give people enough time to get your show on their calendars and invite their friends. Try making an event on your various social media platforms you enjoy using, to help people see and save your event information more easily.
- Hustle: If you can't get out there and tell everyone you know about your show, your event will probably not be much fun. You should also require all your vendors to share the show on their social media platforms more than once. I can't emphasize enough that if you do not ensure that your vendors are doing this to the fullest extent possible, your show could be small, sad, and regrettable.
- Organize: Have some way of making an email list or other way to keep everyone notified of when to show up, when to park, what to bring/not bring, any forms that need to be filled out, what the leaving procedure is, if you allow vendors to leave the show early if they want, fees of splits you are charging vendors, and so on.
- Do it: Have the show. While there, keep track of your sales, the overall intake of funds, how vendors are doing, traffic and flow issues, shopper satisfaction, and anything else that's relevant to your business.
- Postmortem: If you have time, meet or talk individually with your vendors to ask what they enjoyed or would like to change about the show.
That's about it! Best wishes in your art career and hope to see you soon at one of our events! If you are an artist and would like to be considered as a participant in one of our shows, email pam@themellowmakeryatx.com to inquire.
Blessings!
--Pam