How to exhibit your art. In the most amazing ways.
Image: Becoming Artist Karen Lockert, Innermost, 2nd International Becoming Artist Exhibition, Prague, CZ
I’m willing to bet that you’ve had an experience, or two, or twelve where you’ve shown your work to someone and the person didn’t really get it.
Felt awful, awkward and unsatisfying, right?
Now think of a time when the exact opposite happened. Recall one of those magical moments when you showed your art and people got it - like really got it! Conversations flowed. Everything felt genuine. Art sold. You walked away feeling profoundly grateful for the experience.
Exhibiting Your Art in the Perfect Places Does This
I used to believe that having a great exhibition had to involve endless amounts of unpleasant activities - schmoozing, filling out calls for entries and waiting for the rejection letters to come.
I also used to think that there was some elite, secret formula that only a handful of artists were given.
I thought this until I finally looked back on the most satisfying exhibitions I’ve had and realized that all of them came from zero schmoozing, prostrating, rejection letters or anything inauthentic or yucky.
In fact, everything about these exhibitions felt completely aligned with my most authentic self.
There is A Magic Formula, But It’s Not What We Think It Is
I’ve discovered that to have an exhibition you love you have to saturate every aspect of it with you. From the artwork you make, to how it happens, to who shows up - all of this has to align with who you are and what you believe in.
You see, your most miraculous exhibition is an act of creation, just like your art is.
When you choose to create an exhibition, you also create incredible results. Once you value how you exhibit your art as much as the art itself, things start to change. When this happens you leave an exhibition feeling satisfied and inspired. You leave with sales made. You leave with a deep sense of purpose. You leave with people wanting to know more.
I’ve broken down what I’ve done over the years into seven basic steps. These steps have led to solo exhibitions, exhibitions at major art institutions, exhibitions in the places I’ve wanted and exhibitions I’ve loved.
7 Steps to Exhibit Your Art in the Perfect Places
Step 1: Clarify your Vision
Creating an exhibition you love starts on the inside. We often think to ourselves, “I want to exhibit my work”, but that’s as general as saying, “I want to eat food.” In order for the Universe to help co-create our desire, it needs to be given clear, well-defined requests. Before taking any action, ask yourself: What kind of exhibition do I want to have? How do I want it to feel? What does the space look like? Who is in the room?
If you don’t know what you desire, start by formulating a clear, open-ended question: “What would it take for me to find the most perfect venue to exhibit my work?” Or, “Who would I have to be in order to have the clarity and conviction I need to step into a solo show of my work?”
As your vision comes into focus, write it down and flesh it out.
Step 2: Feel It First
The truth is that what we’re really after, in addition to exposure, sales, and recognition is how we want our exhibition to make us feel. Perhaps you want to feel validated, seen, appreciated, or taken seriously as an artist. Perhaps what you really want is to feel joyful and in your skin. Whatever it is, you have the power to feel this way right now. That feeling, when amplified and multiplied starts to manifest itself externally.
Close your eyes and picture yourself inside of your most miraculous exhibition. What are you feeling? What are you saying? Who do you see around you? What feeling does this bring to your life? Who are you being? Name it and feel it – daily.
Step 3: Admit That You’re Scared
While having an exhibition is the very thing we desire, it can also scare the pants off us and unleash a boatload of what-ifs. “What if no one comes?” “What if it gets bad reviews?” “What if I can’t finish the work on time?” “What if no one understands the work?”
Moving forward without recognizing these fears is a recipe for self-sabotage. Until you pause and acknowledge that they’re there, these fears will work really hard to keep you safe and small. Step 3 is to get out your journal and write down all of your fears, stream-of-consciousness style – from the silly to the small, to the seemingly far-fetched ones.
Step 4: Make it Real
Now that you’ve seen the vision for your show and taken the time to feel it, the next step is to describe it as concretely as possible. Create a clear and concise written description, similar to what you would use if you were applying for a grant. Describe your upcoming exhibition to a complete stranger or a twelve-year-old and make sure that they can understand what you’re wanting to create.
Doing this work will let the universe know you mean business and it will help you to speak clearly to potential venues.
Step 5: Know Who Your Work is For
Artists like to believe that their work is for “everyone.” While this is a nice idea I can assure you that it’s rarely true – not everyone will love your work and not every gallery is the right match.
Having an exhibition in the perfect place means finding the place where your perfect people hang out.
The art world may or may not be the right place for your work. You need to think about who loves your work and what kind of places they would find themselves in. Is it your local coffee shop? An industrial warehouse? Your neighbourhood yoga studio? A design hotel? That gallery you’ve been eyeing up?
Take some time to investigate the places you’re drawn to and how it aligns with who your work is for. Does the gallery have a mission statement? Which kinds of artists do they represent? Are you a match? Would your perfect audience hang out there?
Step 6: Think Big and Brainstorm
Make a list of every possible venue you can think of from conventional galleries to site-specific locations, your living room, coffee shops, etc. Step 6 is about tapping into the infinite possibilities that are always available to you, honouring your creative process and letting your intuition guide you. Once you have a list of places go through the list again and cross of all the places that you are energetically a “no” to.
Let these considerations inspire you:
LOCATION:
Would you love to show locally or exhibit in another city or country? Do some research if you’re not familiar with what’s out there – go to local gallery crawls or research art galleries in other cities.
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION:
Who do you know that knows someone? Applying through a gallery’s traditional submission channels is one way, but asking someone who knows the gallery owner, proposing a show yourself or asking around might yield amazing results.
CALLS FOR ENTRY:
There are Calls for Entries all over the internet. You might find an opportunity there that speaks to you.
Step 7: Take Inspired Action
You’ve got a list, you know what you desire and the possibilities are wide open. What could you do, right now, to make this exhibition a reality? The key to creating an exhibition you love lies in knowing what you’re here to create, who it’s for and letting your intuition and creative process guide you. One of my best shows came from heeding the intuitive call to pop into a gallery one afternoon. The rest was history.
It’s completely possible to have an incredible art career. And exhibit your art. And sell it. In reality, there are only two things standing between you and a successful art career. Find and eliminate these things and your art career will thrive while your work sells.