How to Find a Gallery for your Art & How to Work With Them

I just had a massive opening night, and I learned a lot in the process of putting things together. I was reminded that a few people have asked me how to find gallery spaces, so I’d like to share my experience with you – hopefully it’s helpful to you.

Be a regular

Gallery fitting is like dating – you want to be informed before making a decision. The best way to get this information is to attend openings at the galleries you want to exhibit in. See what type of art they display, how many artworks are in the show and what sort of crowd is coming to the show. Also, is there an opening speech? Put yourself in the exhibiting artist’s shoes and see how comfortable are you with everything.

Get to know the people

If you find out about a show via friends, chances are they know someone who is connected to the gallery owner. Get introduced to the gallery owner or manager. If you are truly confident about your work, you should feel confident talking to them. Use this chance to get to know the people, because you will be working closely with them for a few weeks if you get a show!

If you want to work outside of the norm, ask.

Some galleries have a set of rules to follow, others can be very flexible. Flexibility is great if you have a lot of ideas of your own, but that also means you have to put more work into it. The best way to approach this is to ask the gallery how they normally do things, and if they are okay with you working in the way that you have in mind. There are lots of reasons behind why places have things are currently set up the way that they do, but if you do want to change things around, don’t be afraid to ask. Just make sure you are focusing on the outcome, not the method. The gallery might even have a better idea to achieve the same result, let them help you solve the issue. Also, always think carefully about the consequences of your decisions, generally if it’s not something you will do yourself, it’s not worth doing.

There is also the art of proposal writing, but not every gallery or every show requires that, so I will talk about it in another post. Meanwhile, you can read a brief version of it in my post “How to take your artwork to the next level“

Communicate clearly

If you are not sure about something, always ask! There can be many people and variables involved in the decision making process, and if something hasn’t been discussed and time is running out, it’s always better to speak openly about it rather than wait and see what happens. An answered question is always easier to work with than the aftermath of miscommunication.

Don’t forget enjoy it

Make it fun and everyone (including yourself) will be relaxed and having a good time, which will help build positive momentum for the show and future shows.