"Exposure" - Facts about art shows
How do you exhibit and monetize your art? Last winter, I had the chance to participate in a project in the city of Liège in Belgium. I got the keys of an empty former fashion shop which was going to be teared down soon after. There I could set up the storeront the way I wanted and that really gathered interested visitors. And it made me learn a lot.
(The fashion shop, temporary being my gallery and atelier. November and December 2017.)
Fact is, for any artist trying to live out of his art, to regularly display your works in a proper fashion is mandatory. But as a semi-pro without an efficient agent, you might have to pay (upfront) for that, wheter in fairs, markets, conventions and even galleries who'd ask you for a rent. In some cases it is legit because they do a good job and it can really help rocketting sales but often, you'll be sold unguaranteed "Exposure", in other words, wind. This means time when you're not working on your art and quite high levels of stress and annoyance due to expectations, money invested, travel expenses etc...
Me and my pal ASH PURE in Hamburg Comic Festival, hoping for sales
Anyway, when I self-published my second comic book in October 2017, I went on organising several small, one-evening shows (I called them vernissages) between Berlin and Brussels. These pop ups were absolutely rewarding and they didn't need a lot of organisation, some facebook events, networking and emails lists. Usually no more than 30 to 60 people would come over but all would be there for the art! And they would all buy something, mostly fine art prints and books, because these are no more than 40€.
Signing books and art prints in Brussels, winter 2017
For original works that won't go under 500€, it's different. The exhibition needs (obviously besides being actively curated and not too badly placed) to be visitable daily for at least several weeks. The place must have a permanency and a proper promoting campaign is more than necessary (altough without the right network it might be useless). In order to spend hundreds or even thousands of euros in your painting, potential buyers need more time to think about it.
Exhibition of the 54 original works of "Devlok, the techno-templar". Liège - Winter 2017
Original works from "Devlok, the techno-templar". Liège - Winter 2017
Original works from "Devlok, the techno-templar". Liège - Winter 2017
Original works from "Devlok, the techno-templar". Liège - Winter 2017
Original works from "Devlok, the techno-templar". Liège - Winter 2017
Original works from "Devlok, the techno-templar". Liège - Winter 2017
Original works from "Devlok, the techno-templar". Liège - Winter 2017.
As the little red dots mean, some of the original pages of the graphic novel were bought.
What to remember from this? Weight the cons and the pro of any show you're planning, if you see it's a lot of invest, efforts for a too risky outcome, pay attention. If you can organise something simple where you know the visitors will be interested, go for it!
Thanks for having read!
More info about me on http://www.haedre.com and on http://www.facebook.com/haedreart
Merci d'avoir partagé ton expérience.
L'exposition de son travail est un sujet qui reste flou quand on débute dans le domaine sans trop savoir où on va.
Bien rédigé et intéressant.
Ces locaux m'avaient l'air d'être une vraie pépite : avec ces câbles apparents, un petit côté bricolo-futuriste qui accueille plutôt bien ton univers graphique.
oui pour beaucoup d'artistes cela commence par la difficulté de mettre un prix sur son travail. On n'ose pas demander trop, on confond travailler "pour le fun" et "sérieusement" alors qu'on y passe déjà plus de 8h par jour. Je ne sais pas si beaucoup d'écoles apprennent réellement à se débrouiller dans le monde de l'art mais acquérir un semblant d'expérience prend beaucoup de temps et d'erreurs. Effectivement un des premiers pas est de savoir clairement ce que l'on veut. Passer du stade de simple désir à celui de la volonté d'arriver à son but!
Sinon les locaux étaient chouettes mais mal chauffés! :D
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