Notes on Visual Art Exhibition Participation

The following information will be revised, broken into smaller parts and eventually further condensed as a downloadable PDF.. until then:
Recently a colleague asked me if I could provide any advice regarding participation in visual art trade exhibitions. Let me be a little clearer; I use the term “trade exhibition” because I am speaking specifically about large scale, multi-artist, multi-discipline visual art shows such as the Toronto Artist Project or the One of a Kind Show which a greater number of visual artists have been catching on to participating in recent years. Additionally, some of these notes could be applied to the well attended Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (TOAE) held annually at Nathan Phillips Square. But there are other, more specific concerns for TOAE which I will try to cover. Of course, these shows are in Canada, but some of this knowledge can be applied to just about anywhere else. Generally, the show organizers themselves are pretty good at answering questions that you might have, and do remind you of things you might need – but it is really your responsibility.

Some of this information will understandable inspire a “yeah, obviously!” from a few readers, but I want to try and cover as much as possible without going too overboard. I am not an expert on this, but have done 5 large scale indoor shows and 3 outdoor shows and have learned a few things along the way. One thing I have learned is that not everyone knows what to expect.  This is aimed mostly at those artists who have not done larger shows, but are a few years into their visual arts career or seriously trying to get there. I certainly welcome any comments that you might have for amendments or additions to this information. Just add a comment and I will consider all reasonable requests. My goal is to create an extensive, but concise checklist and advice column regarding participating in these show in order to help other artists organize their thoughts on the matter. If you have personal experiences, all the better – I would love to hear your input – and so would some of the artists who would benefit from these notes.

My Personal Experience:
I am not unique, as of course I am not the only artist who has done these shows. However, after fielding the query for some advice, I found myself thinking a great deal about all of the details that go into participation is large art fairs. I was lucky, when finally accepted to the TOAE, that I had seasoned comrades whom I could get direct advice from. One Mr. Paul Robert Turner and Ms Nurit Basin, both of whom I greatly admire, both for their artistic endeavors and for their friendship and experienced insight. They both gave me a full run down on what to expect, and how to do things as effectively as possible with as little stress as possible. TOAE can be a stressful show to do; at least exhausting. Most of their advice and support had little to do with the actual business of standing in front of your work and discussing it with collectors and art enthusiasts. It dealt specifically with the month leading up to the show, what to bring and how to do things. I went into my first TOAE in 2009 feeling good. Confident. Everything went smoothly. This article is my small way of reaching out and helping other artists organize their thoughts and materials in the months leading up to major art events.

Before I had started showing at the Toronto Artist Project in it’s second year (2009) I had already been through two years of success/failure at a competing show. In 2007 when I began participating in large scale art exhibitions, it was indoor at the MTCC . I didn’t know much of anything about what I needed to do or bring. Queries I sent took several days or more to receive an answer, if at all. I prepared myself by looking at photos of the exhibition from previous years to try and understand what was expected of me. Trial by fire in that show. I got by with a rather unfortunate looking booth of grid walls, cheap lighting and little understanding of what to expect. I had the paintings, postcards, cv and bio. But there was more to learn from that experience very quickly. When I got on board with TAP, things were a little different. I would email a question and they would respond. Quickly. I was impressed with the professionalism from the organization that ran TAP. Sure, they were big fish and had other well attended shows. But they treated their customers, the participating artists, with what appeared to be “respect”. Unheard of!!

The Decision to Participate
Lets start somewhere near the beginning. You have decided to get involved in an art exhibition. You have already been producing work for some time by now. Start doing your research. You need to know what shows are where and put on by whom. Consider this:

1.  Research the visual art shows in your area. Stay close to home first (ie: next major metropolitan city)
2. Retrieve submission documents from exhibition administration (usually downloaded from their website)
3. CREATE a FOLDER on your computer for Public Exhibitions – and another inside of this for the specific show.
4. Print up and review all submission requirements. Make notes – it helps clarify what is expected of you. If you forget that you need to submit 300dpi photos to a maximum width of 1800 pixels, you may decrease your chances of acceptance no matter how good your work is.
5. When is the deadline? More importantly when do submissions begin?
6. What is the booth cost? Can you afford to do it? Can you afford not to? Do they have a payment plan? What is the submission Fee? If you are denied acceptance is there an administration fee?
7. Are there extra costs? Yes when Indoor (electrical). Maybe No to outdoor (although the TOAE recently forced participants to rent grid walls instead of bringing there own, effectively increasing the cost over $150)
8. Photograph your work using a high quality digital camera. (the days of slides are nearly, if not already over)
9. Prepare your digital images. (cropped and as clear as possible)
10. Prepare your CV, Biography and whatever other support material may be required of you.
11. Follow instructions, stay organized, fill out all of the required submission documentation, print it up and review it more than once.
12. Submit your application exactly the way they have requested you to do so, as soon as possible after the submissions have begun to be accepted for review and well before the deadline. You can apply on the deadline date normally, but in some cases (TOAE maybe) it is beneficial to apply as soon as possible as it may affect your booth location choice.
13. Be patient… and get to work on new art that you will show at the exhibition. Work as though you will be in the show and you will be further prepared if you are accepted.

Not Accepted
Don’t panic. It sucks. We all know that. However, reflect on the fact that you have been hard at work on some new art which you now have in the event of a last minute call for submissions for a group show, charity auction, grant application, gallery or an upcoming art exhibition like the one you just applied for. This is not a career that benefits from the luxury of feeling sorry for yourself. On the contrary. Accept the decision and keep fighting forward. If you want to get into that show, apply again next year. In the meantime… go to the show and see other peoples work. Stay focused. Stay calm.

Accepted
Rad!! Now what? It’s so great that you have already been hard at work for this show, and are now so far ahead that all of your paintings* will be dry when the show opens and you are staring nothing but leisure time in the face. Forget that. It’s nonsense. You have been hard at work on your art so that you can be a little more prepared. My advice is to get right to work on some brand new pieces now that you have had a few months of feverish production to get your needle in the groove. Keep that record playing and you will find yourself with a lot of fresh work to choose from when you are actually preparing to set up the show.

There will be more than just the production of your artwork that needs to be taken care of. You need to consider a few things that you may already have, but may forget. In the months before the show… and again in the last few weeks.

AS SOON AS YOU ARE ACCEPTED IN THE SHOW:

1. Tell people. If you don’t have an emailing list – start one. Depending on where you are in your career you may have zero recipients, or a thousand. Utilize social media no matter how much you hate or disagree with it – unless of course your personal philosophy dictates that you must never use such things. You are running a business of course, and will call the shots. But, Twitter, Facebook, Linked in and on and on are here to stay.. for a while anyway, and can come in handy when you ask yourself “how do I let people know the good news?”.
2. Do you have a website? Good. If not.. what?? Seriously. Get on it. Buy “yourname.come” for starters. It may be the least expensive ongoing showcase of your work that you can have in the age of the internet. You don’t know how to build a website? Google “Free Artist Portfolios” – find one that is clean, professional and organized. Or, hire someone. Can’t afford that? Offer your artwork as a barter. I started my own art collection by bartering with artists for stuff I know how to do and they didn’t. There is always a way.
3. Update your CV, Biography and Artist Statement – format it the way you wish to present it at the show.
4. Create a Mailing List sign up sheet that you will have printed or buy a guest book.
5. Save everything to the FOLDER you have already created on your computer.
6. Get or source any hardware or other necessary exhibit items you need for your artworks – hooks, hanging wire, pedestals for sculptures etc. You know what you need. Be sure you have it and it is attached, ready, painted or whatever.
7. If you have a price list. Good. If not, create one. I am assuming readers are a few years into their careers and have prices set up. I cannot offer great advice about pricing if you do not have a track record of direct sales or through galleries already. However, the best I can do it is say, be realistic. There is lots of conflicting information about how to set your prices. Some of it is worth taking note of just so you know how it can negatively affect you. Think it through. Not too low, not too high. Consider what your peers are doing who are at a similar stage in their careers.
8. Get lights. I will touch on this a little more later on in this article, but start thinking about it, sourcing it, and buying it. Better to spend small amounts of money here and there over a few months, than have to scramble to come up with another $100 or more at the last second. Everyone’s needs may be different. However, everyones needs have similarities.  Think about where the lights will be on your booth – pointing inwards from a beam that goes across the top of the booth at the front or on the perimeter pointing down and in? I use clamp lamps, without a shade because they are cheaper than with a shade. I basically have a beam that runs across the front of the booth that I attach them to. You might absolutely have to have a shade – fine. Spend the extra money. Think about how many lamps you can get for the amount of electricity you are willing to buy. I usually get the lowest amount of electricity and work out that I can use up to ten clamp lamps with halogen bulbs up to 75 watts each.
9. Start thinking about postcards. After you thought about it for five seconds, decide which artworks accurately reflects the work you do. Make a list of all the information the postcard will need to have. My suggestion is to not add the show info. Instead, add your name, email address and website – maybe a phone number. If you have a permanent studio that you are not planning on leaving in the next two years.. you might add that. But, I would keep it simple. I say this because if you add “Your Name showing at the Giant Art Exhibition 2012″ you had better get rid of every single postcard you had printed and into the hands of the general public at that show. Otherwise, you will wind up with a lot of postcards that are useless unless you travel sideways to another dimension where the same show is being held again in the same year. Or travel back in time and keep doing the show, but that might not work as you may just be increasing the number of postcards you have to get rid of anyway. What? Make postcards that you can use again is the moral of the story. Also.. if you have a postal list – this is a great, tangible way to reach out to your audience prior to the show. Be prepared to have your cards at the printers so that you can pick them up at least two or three weeks in advance of the show at the very latest. I often pick them up two or three days before… and I always feel I should have done it sooner.
10. Tools and other stuff!! Imagine yourself standing in front of your booth. There are three walls. Your artwork is hanging on the walls. How did they get there? Consider all of the things you will need to arrive at the show with to make this happen. You need to hang lights – how will you do that? Make a list of items you may need. I have added a list further on regarding tools and other stuff.
11. Reserve a  rental van. Unless you don’t need one. If you have access to a truck, suv or a large car with a hatchback, make sure all of the art you want to bring, along with all of the above mentioned tools and lights and stuff will fit in one trip.
12. OUTDOOR SHOWS:
    In the case of TOAE or similar outdoor shows, you will need a canopy tent. I’m not going to say much more than that, but if you have been to the TOAE you know what I mean. These shows may rent them (TOAE does) or you can bring your own (good, long term investment). Occasionally you can find another artist who is not showing who may be willing to rent you theirs for less than the ones in the show.
    You will not need lights at an outdoor show, not that I know of anyway. Maybe there are some late night, all night, never sleep shows that lighting may be required somewhere on this planet of ours, but I don’t know where they are.

A FEW WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE SHOW:

1. Pay for your electricity or other show related costs before the deadline – you will get a cheaper rate.
   Also, I find it wise to pay for the parking pass if you plan to drive. Save money.
2. Does your artwork require any extra hardware? Eyelets? Wire? Do it now and don’t worry about it later.
3. Review your CV, Biography and Artist Statement and update if necessary. Fresh eyes tell no lies. I made that up. What I mean is, if you look again, you may find yourself dissatisfied with your formatting or presentation. Perhaps you have had an award you didn’t include or a show you were involved in.
4. Create a price list if you haven’t taken my previous mention seriously. Perhaps you created one but want to revise it. Take this seriously. Keep it clear. Remember to find out whether or not you need to charge taxes. Things have changed with the change from PST & GST to the HST. Better safe than sorry. If you are charging tax, make a note at the bottom of the price list. When people buy iPods, they know they are going to be charged tax and buy it anyway. If someone baulks at an artist charging tax, very politely explain to them that you are an independent self employed individual who is subject to the same tax laws as the rest of the country. They will understand.
5. Title Cards for your work.  Very important.
   Title / Year / H x W / Price
   Make more than one copy of each just in case. I usually make three of each. One is a backup. One is for the wall.
6. Have your CV, Biography and Artist Statement and Price List printed (at least 3 copies of each in case you spill coffee on one or drop another in a puddle). If you have a printer at home – great. I suggest getting some light card stock to print it on. If you do not have a printer at home, put it on a thumb drive and bring it to Staples or wherever you like to do business. Also, get anything else you need printed on regular paper (ie: mailing list sign up sheets). There are lots of ways to hang them. I use an hard plastic document holder that you can hang on the wall. Check Staples.
7. You should have already prepared your postcards, and sent them to a printer. In Toronto I use a few for different reasons, but my favorite by  is Pixel Print on Dundas West near Ossington. They did a great job on my bookmarks, and I will deal with them again, especially because of their eco-friendly options. You don’t need to spend a lot of money – but don’t cheap out either. Often, getting more printed is almost the same cost as fewer or even less expensive. I suggest at least 500. But, depending on how the show goes, you may wish you had printed 1000. You don’t want to see all of your postcards, business cards or bookmarks disappear after two days, and then spend Saturday and Sunday with nothing for the remaining visitors to take away. I will mention the postcard debate later in this article.
8. Prepare receipts that you can fill out, or buy a book of them. People like to have these when they purchase something, especially if you will need to deliver it the following week.
9. What method of payment do you accept? Do you need to rent a debit card machine? Are you able to take credit cards?
   Personally, I keep it to cash and cheques. Haven’t had any problems. Though the benefits are clear with credit and debit, but the cost of this may outweigh the benefit if it’s an off year for sales.
10. Little Red Dot Stickers. They are at Staples.
11. If you have made a list of tools you need, and do not have them, get them now. Label everything with your name. Put all of the tools together in one place so they are ready for you on move-in day. Do you have a chair? Do you need one? What about a little table for your cards? More later on.
12. Your Name Here. Often there is someone offering their service to put your name on your booth wall in big bold black letters. They will do this the day before the show. My suggestion is to find this person and pay them to do this. Ask around. Some of the other artists will be on that train… and the cost lowers with the more people who get this person to provide this service. I paid around $30-35 last year… maybe less, I cannot recall. It’s a good idea and looks super pro. If you have a sign of your own. Great… well, maybe great. I am going to be really frank with this. If you have a sign that looks like it would be right at home at the county fair, you may want to get something a little bit more, well, less county fair. No disrespect to the county fair, but if your sign-age does not directly relate to the style of work you do, let go of it for the big indoor show. You want to look as organized and presentable as possible. A big colourful sign may distract  your art standing out in  what is otherwise a giant contemporary art exhibition.
13. Rent a van if you need have not done so already. Unless you don’t need one.

Where is the Show and What Do You Get When You Show Up?

SET UP DETAILS: Make sure you pay close attention to the exhibition set up details. The organizers will provide you with explicit instructions as to what time slot you have been placed in, where to go, and what to do when you get there. Additionally, you will likely have a packet that include move in badges or paper work that you will need to present to organization staff at the Marshalling Yard. Whats the Marshalling Yard??? Exactly. You will find out when you read over all the info they send you and probably ask you to check in there.

Fast forward to set up day. You may like to bring a friend to help you set up. I prefer to go solo, though another hand is very very very useful. I am just always lost in thought and things go smoother for me if I just go with the flow. We are all different. Be nice to your friend, this may be their first art show set up as well. And really, they are there to help you because they like you.

When you arrive, it would be great if you had your own dolly or other form of hand cart. But they are space takers in the van. In my experience, there are plenty of dollies to go around at shows like TAP – bring I.D as it is how they ensure you don’t drive away with it. At TOAE though, its way easier if you have your own.

TOOLS
You made a list of tools you night need. You put them aside. Review the tool list in case you have forgotten anything. Cross reference what you have with the list and make sure you have it all there and it is labeled with your name. Do you need:

1.  A cordless drill with battery charger and fully charged spare battery?
   I bring a cordless AND an electric drill as back up.
2. Screws? How many do you need? Add another 10-20 just in case. What do their heads look like?
3. Drill bits for the screws you brought – including hole drilling bits. Easiest to bring all of the different drill bits just in case.
4. Nails?
5. Hammer?
6. Level. Very important. If you don’t have one, get a 36″ level. It makes hanging your work professionally much less stressful.
7. Tape measure & 12″ ruler. You’ll see.
8. Pencils? Sharpener?
   You will likely need to make little marks on the walls if you are hanging pictures
9. Pliers?
   You never know. I always have them and always use them.
10. Old School Hand Screw Drivers for the screws you have. Over kill? Yeah, but you never know when you are going to need one. Better prepared than scared. If your cordless drill battery dies, and your backup dies, or you don’t have a back up, you will need to charge them. Where will you plug it in? Exactly. You can argue that there is electricity right at your booth – but are you sure it will be on when you arrive? Be prepared for the unexpected. Make sure they are labeled as well. Someone else might not be prepared, and might ask to borrow something. I like to think everyone is honest and will definitely return something they borrow, but how is their memory? How is yours? Exactly. I have lent things out, and luckily the borrower had a better memory than I did. “Here’s your tool back” – “Thanks! I forgot you borrowed it!”. I have also forgotten things and was glad that other artists had my back in the same way I would have had theirs if they forgot something.
11. Lights?
12. Beam for lights?
    Easy to make. Think it through. You can also rent this.
    If you decide to not use a cross beam and want to put long neck lights around the perimeter facing inward – you will need somewhere to attach those as well. Consider lengths of light weight wood that you will attach to the top of the wall (Home Depot, Home Hardware, Rona, Harveys†). Be considerate of your neighbors – they may need to use some of that space as well.
    Pre-drill all of your holes. Nothing worse than drilling directly into a piece of wood at the show and splitting it down the middle. I also suggest painting them white. You’ll see why.
13. Power Bar. Not to eat – but to press the on off switch rather than unplugging extension cords. A good idea.
14. Power Bars. To eat.
15. Power cords.Not to rock out with, but to run electricity to your lights. Get the right length and right plug in ends for your needs. I suggest at least three fifteen foot cords with three plug in entries on each. That makes room for nine plugs in… which if you have ten lights, you’ll think you’ll be short one. However you decide to set up the lights, I generally have a couple of lights that are close enough to the power bar to plug in direct, but you may want a third power cord depending on how you have thought out your strategy. Fifteen footers may be overkill, and you may be cursing my name when you have left over wire that you need to loop up extra cord at one end. But, before you curse, think of the future – when you go from a 10×10 booth to a 10×15 or larger booth – you might need the extra length, and thats where you might say… “oh! thats why!”
16. Push pins? Shelves? Chairs? Table? Imagine you are at the show. What do you want to have there to help better market yourself. If you have postcards, where are they in that booth? On the floor? Ikea is not really Swedish for Common Sense.. but in this case it can be. What are you forgetting?

You may have noticed that the over reaching motto is prepare for the future and the unexpected.  If you think about this show and the next show at the same time, you will be that much more prepared at another show. Take your time. Not too slow, but steady and focused. Be patient with yourself and others. Also, be patient with the organizing staff from the show you are doing. They are there to help you as much as possible, after all you are their customers – but they are working hard as well and may not be able to jump when you expect them to. They are good people doing a fine job. They may have been working for several hours longer than you and may work well past the time you leave after setting up. Treat them well and luck will shine down on you in your career. Okay, I don’t know that for sure, but there is no reason to get angry about stuff. Enjoy this. It’s fun!

Lights!
I mentioned this in the list. Make sure you have really good lighting. Some art fairs provide the walls (TAP), or you may need to rent them. So lights are generally one of the only big extra worries that you might have. Bringing your own walls can be a giant headache – having them  ready for lighting and hanging your artwork is super great! You can rent lights or bring your own as I mentioned. Renting can be expensive, but if you budgeted for it, it can reduce the extra worry a little bit to have them there when you arrive (or at least up by show time). If renting is too much money, or if you might not want to get too many lights rented – I would bring your own. I suggested the standard clamp lamps. You probably already know exactly what clamp lamps are. If not. No worry they are as basic as possible and very useful for shows and studios. They can be purchased with a reflector shade, or without. I am repeating this I know, but just want to clarify things. I would get at least 10. If you get more than ten, you will need to make sure you done go over your electrical limit. The lighting things is pretty important. I am always reminded of this when I see an artist who’s booth is under lit. Under lit booths always look lonely.

Some Other Stuff:
Bring lots of water to the set up. Also, bring a snack like power bars and fruits. I never eat when I do that stuff… and by 7pm it’s a mistake that I should learn from. It can be a long day. Be prepared with water during show as well. Stocking up on water will keep you feeling good during the slower moments that can feel very draining.

At The Show:
You have spent the last few months preparing your work and gathering supplies. You have gotten all of your administrative stuff done, and successfully set up for the show. You went out for a drink, had a nice dinner and relaxed. You wake up feeling super lovely and you are ready to start the show. Breathe and Remember…

Enjoy yourself. I always remind myself of a few things before any show. It helps me keep my head on straight.

• Smile. Say hello. Let people look at the work without crowding them. At shows like this I find that with all the people around.. some people just want to see the work and move on. Smiling and saying hello let’s them know you are the artist and you are there. They might not want to talk… yet. People take notes. They return several times sometimes before saying a word. Funny like that. I love to people watch.
• Forget about selling. Keep that in the back of your head… subconscious like. Focus on being there to discuss your work with people who are interested in it. Forgetting the sell will help make you very relaxed. Being more relaxed will present itself in your demeanor, and make other people more relaxed.
• Know your work. People will want to know why. They will ask how. They will discuss philosophy and art history and movie references and comic books and literature (like comic books) and try and draw some further insight into your work through your motivations. If you say, “I just like motorbikes”. They may stare blankly and walk away. You learn a lot more about what you are doing when you talk about it… so think about your work and open up a little at a time… guage your audience. Too much information at once isn’t always good. If in doubt, I sometimes ask “how in depth would you like me to explain that, as it is rather involved”. There are some people who love to descend into the depths with you on certain art related motivations. Some do not.
• Don”t be too serious – remember, we are busting it old school to get work finished in time for a show, while juggling all of lifes other mysteries… and once the work is hung and the people start to arrive… there is nothing to fix. It’s done. You are there. Enjoy… this is what you worked towards. It’s a positive experience even if it is a bad experience. Enjoy enjoy enjoy.
•  Take a moment to visit other artist booths… best time is to arrive an hour and a half early on one of the regular days and go for a walk. You can always take a break mid show if there is an artist that you want to speak to.
• Make contacts. Remind people to sign up for your email list and to take cards.

After The Show:
You are tired. Of course. However, you still have to check into work, even if you are self employed and decide to take the following Monday off .

Follow up with the people who signed up for your email list right away. Thank them for coming – they deserve it simply for showing up at an art show and expressing their support for all of the artists who are working hard to give them something interesting to see and think about and perhaps take home with them. Make sure you send a special email off to those who have taken a chance on you and collected your work. They bought it for a reason, but reminding them how grateful you are that they support living contemporary artists is important.

Contact any collectors who you may need to deliver work to and schedule a delivery time as soon as possible if you hadn’t worked out those details already. The sooner they have the artwork that they have collected, the better you will both sleep.

If the show was financially successful, thats great. Enjoy that feeling for a few moments. This is a dicey game and it may not go so well the next time. That’s just real life. Re-invest wisely. Pay some bills if they are giving you anxiety. Put something away for a rainy day. Most importantly, get some supplies if you need them, and get started with planning your next body of work.

If the show did not go well, try not to panic even though you probably will anyway. It’s hard. It can be debilitating. Do your best to reflect on the show. Consider the positive and the negatives. Is there anything you can improve on? Remember, it is not always the fault of your work or your self, sometimes it is what it is and that’s that. But, be prepared to ask yourself the tough questions. If you feel your work was not strong enough, that’s okay. It’s better to reflect on what can be improved and set about improving it, than to assume it is the fault of the world… or something. The bottom line is that there is always room to grow and improve, and if you stop trying to be better, your “not so successful” shows will eventually outweigh your “successful” ones. Be objective. Also have a sense of humour.

Waste no time! No matter how the show turns out. It is done. Get over it. You will have lots of time for reflection when you are knee deep in new work. Jetting back into your artwork immediately, will help stave off some of the post exhibition blues that are sure to come, regardless of how the show went overall.

Or take a vacation, if thats what you need. I mean… whatever you do, if you are like me… is work related. I read books and find myself flipping back several pages because I have been thinking about a painting I could be working on instead.

THOSE SIDE NOTES! 

* I know there are other disciplines than painting… of course!! I dig it all!!! Well most. But, I am speaking with the voice of a painter, and as such, this is really from my own personal perspective. Love you.. you sculptors, print makers, glass blowers, drawers… et al.

† “Harveys Lumber” was the name of a hardware store near where I grew up out west in British Columbia.