Getting into a gallery using the information at your fingertips
How being curious can help you get into a gallery: behind the scenes research offers free and readily available information to help you get into a gallery.
1. Research: Art Galleries Near Me
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when looking for an art gallery. Open a document on your computer or pull out a notebook and start a list of brick-and-mortar art galleries near you and further afield that you like.
- Go to their websites one by one.
- Note their address, their website, the name of their director (and their email if they list one).
- Read their description (what do they say they show?) read the director’s resume. Where did they go to school? What is their area of interest or expertise? How does it align with what you do? (hint, if it doesn’t, there will be less interest). You may be surprised at the potential overlap.
Make an initial list of galleries as long as you want, but select under 10 as your first crop of research, ideally no more than 3-5. Create a spreadsheet. Reserve a column, row or page for each gallery, then figure out what information (beyond what’s mentioned above to collect in your notes).
Here is a spreadsheet example you can use (Google docs).
2. Take notes on the exhibiting artists
One item to be sure to note. Who does the gallery show? On each gallery website, look at their list of artists. If you are seeking gallery representation, is this a gallery that offers representation? Or, do they just exhibit artists? What level of artist do they show? Emerging artists? Mid-career artists? Established or Blue-chip? What style?
The artists a gallery shows will tell you a lot about whether or not you may fit into their exhibition program. If you have exhibited with some of the artists before, that’s a clue that you may be on the right track. Make notes at who they’ve exhibited in the past, and their current and upcoming exhibitions.
3. Look up the artists: Reach out to one of the artists
Don’t be a stalker, but take a few notes: if you know one of them, prepare to send them an email. If you don’t know any, are you connected on linkedin or Instagram via a mutual friend or acquaintance? Go to their website and make a note of contact details.
Prepare to send them a note! Cold emails are least desirable. See if there’s someone who can make an introduction. Take care: it’s important to figure out a way to connect that makes sense and isn’t demanding or entitled. Don’t ask them to connect you with the gallery director or ask if you can have a show there. Rather, ask for advice, ask to meet for a coffee. Some won’t respond, some will. Don’t hold it against them. If you’re lucky you’ll be in a similar position someday.
4. See if you need to eliminate any galleries with further research
Observe the style
Look at the gallery’s website and the installation photos in particular. How does it present the work on view? Would your work look good there? Would your art fit in the space? (Or, do you make oversized sculptures and the gallery is the size of a postage stamp?) Go to a search engine and see what other photos are there. Take notes.
Don’t forget to remove a gallery from your list of potentials if they don’t meet the criteria necessary for exhibiting your work.
Look for the online reviews
Check out what kinds of reviews a gallery is getting. If artists are writing that they’re not getting paid, run in the opposite direction. And while it may be disappointing to remove a high-potential gallery from your list, you want to be selective for the long-term benefit of your career.
5. Define the gallery’s business model
There are a variety of business models for galleries. The top ones I would note are: commercial, nonprofit, co-op, artist self-run (artist named, artist exhibiting their own work, vanity, or “unsure.” (sometimes you just can’t tell!)
Hint: read the “about” if you see one director highlighted – usually it’s a commercial space.
Co-ops, nonprofits, and more
If you have the funds, joining a co-op is an easy way to start showing quickly. You are essentially buying into an art club/business for a monthly fee, plus the labor they demand of you in return. Nonprofits range widely in what they can give and what you’ll get as a final product. Commercial galleries run from touristy shacks and mall spaces to the biggest galleries in the world.
The commercial gallery dream
Everyone would like to be represented by a standard commercial art gallery run by a high-flying gallerist with tons of connections who can sell their work just by picking up the phone or shooting off an email. However, this kind of opportunity is virtually nonexistent, at least to most artists.
Know the beast you’re approaching
The reality is that there are a variety of different ways art gallery businesses are set up and run, even though they all may have a physical or digital space with art available for acquisition. Knowing what kind of ‘animal’ you’re working with is incredibly important for your research and making the right types of inquiries that will get you the results you want.
6. Plan to stay up to date
Sign the online guest book, and get yourself on their mailing list. Ensure that you remain up-to-date with your chosen galleries, so you receive their upcoming events emails. Open them and read what the galleries are doing. This information tells you what galleries think is relevant, popular or what people want to attend. This is useful information for you. You can attend these events, or consider producing your own similar event.
7. Look at social calendars, city calendars, gallery’s upcoming events
Go on these websites, subscribe to the calendars, read the paper. Read and make mental and perhaps physical note of the events, openings, artist talks and the like. Mark them in your calendar. Plan to attend some. There is no substitute for networking and making in-person connections.
8. Research message / social media
Go to each of the galleries’ social media presences online. Follow the galleries you admire. Look through the posts, feel free to like a few posts, if you so choose. (don’t like every post or more than about 5, it’s creepy). See what they amplify on social media. How do they talk about art? What seems important? Is this what you think is important?
9. Research trends (and follow online) the beating heart of the art market
This includes such galleries as Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Sothebys & Christie’s auction houses; art fairs including Art Basel, Frieze. Online marketplaces such as Saatchi Art and Artsy are good to look at every once in a while too.
Read, at minimum, the highlights of the yearly art market report put out by UBS, and others, so you understand the overall market trends. Being well-informed will ensure you have foundational knowledge to both understand what sells and why, and have a macro view of the art market as a whole.
10. Research open calls
Research grants, residencies, and calls for exhibitions. Figure out what your budget is for submissions and research those galleries who have the calls. Some have open calls as their business model (e.g. your submissions are their source of revenue). Others use them to discover and feature new art. Same with residencies – some are done for the love of the art, others are off-season uses for vacation destinations. View it all through a gimlet eye when applying. Not because that residency or vanity gallery isn’t a valid place to start, but because you need to know what you’re signing up for. Don’t bite into an apple expecting a peach.
Open calls list
For some help, here’s the start of a list of websites that list open calls. I suggest making a list and checking it monthly. There’s a seasonal and yearly rhythm to calls and applications.
Artjobs
Callforentry
Discover submittable
Artcall
Artworkarchive call for entry