Running your own gallery is a great way to showcase and promote your art! You can create yours for free, but it will cost you in time to put together an interesting show every month.
Running a gallery doesn’t require too much money or space, either — some spaces even offer paid galleries so that you never have to worry about running out of room.
There are many ways to get into this as a beginner artist, but one of the best is by starting with a group exhibition. A group exhibition is when several artists collaborate and contribute pieces to make a whole picture that represents their artistic style.
This article will talk you through the process of how to start a group exhibition for beginners. If you want more information, be sure to check out our other articles such as How to Make Your Art Look Professional and How to Sell Online.
What is a group exhibition?
A group exhibition is when different artists work together to make a picture that them as individuals and then they all appear in the finished piece. It was not only made by just them, however; there are usually others who collaborated and gave their input. This is called incorporating other styles into theirs and being creative.
It is also common to find members of the public donating funds or doing business cards or prints for the event. This helps keep the artwork accessible for anyone who would like to enjoy it!
Group exhibitions are very popular because people appreciate getting different looks from various artists.
Prepare your work
Before you even consider getting into showing off your art, you have to make sure your materials are in order!
You will need a computer with an internet connection and photoshop or another graphic designing software.
Make sure that you have taken enough pictures of your artwork so that you can either edit them or create new ones!
You should also try doing some research on how to improve your artistic skills. There are many ways to learn Photoshop, for example. You do not have to be professionally trained to produce beautiful works, but it is helpful to know what products and features help other artists’ paintings look their best.
Plan your marketing campaign
A good way to get into the gallery scene is by creating your own show. You can start with an exhibition in front of a mirror or a wall, some framed pictures you have already prepared, and then invite people to join you for the opening night!
Vendors are a great way to gain exposure as an artist. Having a stall at a local event may help spread your name and business. If you’re more creative, you could make and sell art yourself!
Running an exhibition takes time so be sure to plan ahead. Decide what days and times work best for you and your business and go from there.
And don’t forget about all those internet tools that can boost your profile! People will look up you online, so try to add some value to them. Create a page on Facebook, share your work, write blogs – anything that gets attention and grows your audience.
Create your website
Now that you have a place to display your work, it’s time to create an online space for it!
A good way to start is by creating a free WordPress account. You can use this as a platform to launch your own site or simply to add pages and content.
From there, choose a domain name and install WordPress onto your server. It is very important to pick a unique domain name that clearly defines who you are as an artist.
Your domain should be catchy and include your surname and some sort of keyword related to your art style. For instance, if you focus on still life photography, then yourdomainname.com/stilllife would make a great domain.
You can now move on to designing your website. The look and feel of your site will vary depending on what type of artwork you want to share.
For example, if you love taking pictures of landscapes and nature scenes, then you could design your site with lots of bright colors and natural settings. Or maybe you like to take candid photographs which do not plan in advance.
A good tip is to use plain white background and neutral toned photos to show off your artistic skills. Your visitors will also appreciate these new sites that are easy to navigate.
After you have designed your site, you will need to pick your theme. A theme is the skin (or cover) of your site that people see. They determine how your site looks and feels.
Connect with the gallery owner
As we mentioned before, posting pictures online can get you some likes, but it will not make your dreams of being an artist come true.
To truly succeed in becoming an artist, you must be willing to put in work into developing your artistic skills. This means going beyond just taking nice pictures and uploading them onto social media sites.
Getting exposure is only half of the battle! The other part is working on your artistic talent by doing things like practicing drawing or painting, experimenting with mediums and styles, and studying art.
There are many ways to gain more experience as an artist so that you can take your craft seriously. By interacting with artists and giving credit to their works, you show how much effort they have put into their artwork and help promote their career.
By sharing your own talents, people will want to see what you got up to and give you feedback which helps you improve as an artist.
Offer your services
As you can probably tell, offering your artistic skills is a great way to get exposure for yourself and your work. Creating freebies such as artwork or writing is an excellent way to gain attention for your art!
If you’re more experienced in one area, then offering those services is another way to draw attention to yourself. For example, if you are good at drawing, offer to do drawings as part of your business plan or promotional material. If you are very good at painting, offer to paint some item or space for people to admire.
The trick is to pick areas that will appeal to most people so that it is not too individualized. People love original creations, so creating something new always gets many reactions.
Blogs and websites with large followings are perfect opportunities to offer your services. You may even be able to hire someone else to pay you while sharing their link to social media. Or perhaps they already have a stream set up where others can view and like your work, making it easy to add yours!
Running into dead ends or no response when asking if anyone wants to see your work is totally normal. Sometimes artists need help promoting themselves, which is okay! It just means you’ll have to try different approaches until you find a solution that works for you.
Ask for the show
Asking your colleagues, friends or even strangers for a gallery show is a great way to get into the art scene! Most people are aware of their skills and artistic qualities so it’s easy to ask them if they would like to display some work in a public setting.
The hardest thing about asking for a show is knowing what kind of artist you want to invite onto your own stage. You don’t need to be a famous painter, but you do need to know how to use Photoshop! Or maybe you have an idea that could take shape as a painting, sketch or sculpture.
Either way, you should never put pressure on someone to accept your invitation.
Tell your friends
A few tips for getting into a gallery event or show is telling your friends about it. If you’re already talking about art, then adding that extra detail can help get others involved in the exhibition!
It’s also worth mentioning it online – add the event listing to your favourite sites and blogs, and leave comments. Spread the word as much as possible so that more people are informed!
And don’t forget to follow the artists on social media – they’ll likely announce the opening of their own page soon enough!
Getting outside support really helps too – ask around if anyone knows of any events happening during the exhibition period, or if there’s anything else going on at the same time.
Be consistent
Consistency is one of the most important things when it comes to running a gallery show. This means showing up at the same time every week, keeping the schedule the same from one day to the next, and being able to describe your work to people who have never seen it before.
Running a gallery event requires a lot of effort so don’t expect anyone to be supportive unless you are working hard to bring in visitors. People will not come to see your work if they do not know what it is or why you created it.
Consistently putting out quality art can win over new fans and get you more followers on social media. If you want to gain attention for yourself as an artist, start building an audience now!
Getting some feedback about your artwork can also help you make better designs for future pieces. Don’t hesitate to ask others for their opinion, but remember that everyone else does not have your artistic talent.
Your friends and family may not think your painting/sculpture looks good, which could hurt your confidence as an artist. Plus, they might try to persuade you to change something about it, which would take away from your creativity.
Keep looking into different styles and techniques until you find one you like and then use those skills to create your own unique paintings.
